title: Witness of intimate partner violence in childhood and perpetration of intimate partner violence in adulthood.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  At least half a million women are victims of intimate partner violence in the United States annually, resulting in substantial harm. However, the etiology of violence to intimate partners is not well understood. Witnessing such violence in childhood has been proposed as a principal cause of adulthood perpetration, yet it remains unknown whether the association between witnessing intimate partner violence and adulthood perpetration is causal.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a propensity-score analysis of intimate partner violence perpetration to determine whether childhood witnessing is associated with perpetration in adulthood, independent of a wide range of potential confounding variables, and therefore might be a causal factor. We used data from 14,564 U.S. men ages 20 and older from the 2004-2005 wave of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nearly 4% of men reported violent behavior toward an intimate partner in the past year. In unadjusted models, we found a strong association between childhood witnessing of intimate partner violence and adulthood perpetration (for witnessing any intimate partner violence, risk ratio [RR] = 2.6 [95% confidence interval = 2.1-3.2]; for witnessing frequent or serious violence, 3.0 [2.3-3.9]). In propensity-score models, the association was substantially attenuated (for witnessing any intimate partner violence, adjusted RR = 1.6 [1.2-2.0]; for witnessing frequent or serious violence, 1.6 [1.2-2.3]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Men who witness intimate partner violence in childhood are more likely to commit such acts in adulthood, compared with men who are otherwise similar with respect to a large range of potential confounders. Etiological models of intimate partner violence perpetration should consider a constellation of childhood factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. aroberts@hsph.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Andrea L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Stephen E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Gilman
authors.forename: Garrett
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fitzmaurice
authors.forename: Michele R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Decker
authors.forename: Karestan C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Koenen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015984:Causality; D002648:Child; D017579:Domestic Violence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012747:Sexual Partners
references.citation: Lancet. 2002 Apr 13;359(9314):1331-6
references.pmid: 11965295
references.citation: Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2009 Mar;12(1):3-15
references.pmid: 19247833
references.citation: Child Abuse Negl. 1998 May;22(5):339-57
references.pmid: 9631247
references.citation: Violence Vict. 2002 Feb;17(1):3-17
references.pmid: 11991154
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2010 Mar 15;171(6):664-73
references.pmid: 20139129
references.citation: Stat Med. 2007 Feb 20;26(4):734-53
references.pmid: 16708349
references.citation: Violence Vict. 2004 Dec;19(6):701-18
references.pmid: 16007739
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 2003 Spring;15(2):297-311
references.pmid: 12931829
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 2000 Dec;68(6):1000-19
references.pmid: 11142534
references.citation: Clin Psychol Rev. 2004 Mar;24(1):99-122
references.pmid: 14992808
references.citation: Science. 1990 Dec 21;250(4988):1678-83
references.pmid: 2270481
references.citation: Med Decis Making. 2009 Nov-Dec;29(6):661-77
references.pmid: 19684288
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 2003 Apr;71(2):339-52
references.pmid: 12699028
references.citation: Child Abuse Negl. 1985;9(4):507-19
references.pmid: 4084830
references.citation: Stat Med. 2004 Oct 15;23(19):2937-60
references.pmid: 15351954
references.citation: Annu Rev Psychol. 2000;51:445-79
references.pmid: 10751978
references.citation: J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2003 Jul;9(5):760-70
references.pmid: 12901782
references.citation: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2008 Jan 1;92(1-3):27-36
references.pmid: 17706375
references.citation: J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2004 Sep;33(3):439-49
references.pmid: 15271602
references.citation: J Clin Epidemiol. 2001 Apr;54(4):387-98
references.pmid: 11297888
references.citation: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2003 Jul 20;71(1):7-16
references.pmid: 12821201
references.citation: Biometrics. 1985 Mar;41(1):103-16
references.pmid: 4005368
references.citation: Science. 2005 May 27;308(5726):1323-6
references.pmid: 15919997
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 2003 Aug;71(4):741-53
references.pmid: 12924679
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 1997 Feb;65(1):68-78
references.pmid: 9103736
references.citation: Child Abuse Negl. 2008 Aug;32(8):797-810
references.pmid: 18752848