Effects and Non-effects of Childhood Experiences of Family Violence on Adult

Partner Violence

NCFR—November, 2004

Michael P. JohnsonAlison CaresPenn State

Photos from Donna Ferrato, Living with the Enemy.

What Are the Effects? Mixed Opinions

•“…the most widely accepted risk marker for the occurrence of partner violence” (Kantor & Jasinski, 1998)•Metaphors of “intergenerational transmission” & “cycle of violence”•JMF decade review refers to non-transmission (Johnson & Ferraro, 2000)•Mixed findings of meta-analysis (Stith et al., 2000)

•Average effect sizes quite small (.10)•Larger effects for agency samples (.30)

Core Research Question

Are the effects of childhood experiences of family violence different for different types of adult partner violence?

Intimate TerrorismPower and control

Violent ResistanceResisting the intimate terrorist

Situational Couple ViolenceEscalation of situational conflict

Mutual Violent ControlTwo intimate terrorists

Types of Intimate Partner Violence

Hypothesized Effects of Childhood Experiences on Adult Partner Violence

•Strong effects only for intimate terrorism•IT is a function of general orientations•VR is a response to partner violence•SCV is a reaction to immediate situation

•Strong effects only for men•Successful same-sex model•Reinforced by patriarchal social context

•Strong effects only for parental partner violence

•Similarity to adult behavior

SamplePittsburgh, 1978 (Frieze, 1983)Married women from shelters and courts, matched with married women living on the same blockFace-to-face interviews with wives (n=272)Data on self and husband, reported by wives

Lots of missing data on husbands’ childhoods

MeasuresTypes created from data regarding both partners’ violence and non-violent control behaviors

Violence: Has he ever actually slapped or pushed you or used other physical force with you? Control scale: 11 items; alphas = .76, .45; dichotomized on basis of cluster analysis

Childhood parental partner violenceSingle item: Was there ever any physical violence between his parents that you know of?

Childhood parent-child violenceScale: 4 items; alphas = .82, .76

Gender Symmetry/Asymmetryby Type of Violence(Violent husbands and wives only)

Husbands Wives NIntimate terrorism 89% 11% 81

Violent resistance 15% 85% 61

Situational couple violence 55% 45% 167

Effects of Parent-Child Violence on Adult Partner Violence

(Odds ratios from full model)

Men Women

OR (n) OR (n)

Intimate terrorism 1.54 39 1.41 15

Situational couple violence .75 35 1.74* 46

Violent resistance 1.29 11 1.39 64

Non-violent -- 56 -- 116

*p < .05; **p < .01

Effects of Parental Partner Violence on Adult Partner Violence

(Odds ratios from full model)

Men Women

OR (n) OR (n)

Intimate terrorism 7.51** 39 1.33 15

Situational couple violence 2.40 35 1.95 46

Violent resistance 2.84 11 2.78** 64

Non-violent -- 56 -- 116

*p < .05; **p < .01

We make big mistakes if we don’t make big distinctions.

Different types of partner violence have…

Different causes, including gender and childhood experiences of family violence

Other research shows that they also have: Different developmental trajectories Different effects Different types of successful intervention strategies

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Intimate Terrorism/Domestic Violence

Adapted from Pence & Paymar, 1993