Boys And Girls Who Witness Domestic Violence Become Abusive In Adult Relationships

Witnessing parental violence and a history of adolescent behavioral problems are the two greatest risk factors that children will be abusive in their adult romantic relationships, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

The researchers looked at several potential risk factors in a community sample of 543 children who were followed for 20 years into adulthood. A third risk factor, coercive parenting, also increased the risk of perpetrating domestic violence. The risk factors apply to both males and females; girls were just as likely to abuse their partners as boys.

The findings suggest that efforts to prevent domestic violence need to focus on young children instead of adolescents. “Targeting children who have been exposed to parents' aggression, and also boys and girls who display problems with aggression, when they are young, is going to be the best way to stop domestic violence from destroying families,” says the study’s lead author, Dr. Miriam Ehrensaft, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry.

For a copy of the full press release, visit http://www.apa.org/releases/partnerviolence.html.