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Partner Violence During Adolescence and Young Adulthood: Individual and Relationship Level Risk Factors

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Abstract

Violence within romantic relationships is a significant public health concern. Previous research largely explores partner violence at one or two time points, and often examines a limited set of risk factors. The present study explored both individual and relationship-level risk factors and their associations with physical victimization and perpetration across more than 10 years using a community sample of 200 participants (50 % female; M age Wave 1 = 15.8). Additionally, we explored the effects of previous partner violence on the likelihood of future partner violence. Survival analysis indicated that externalizing symptoms and negative interactions (e.g., relationship conflict) were associated with both perpetration and victimization. Reporting an experience of partner violence did not significantly alter an individual’s risk of future partner violence. Overall, men were significantly more likely to report victimization; perpetration rates did not vary by gender. The results highlight the importance of examining multiple levels of risk.

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Acknowledgments

Appreciation is expressed to the Project Star staff for their assistance in collecting the data, and to the Project Star participants and their partners, friends and families. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jamie Novak.

Author Contributions

JN and WF conceived of the study together. JN performed the statistical analyses, interpretation of the data, and drafted the manuscript. WF also participated in the interpretation of the data and contributed to the writing of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

Preparation of this manuscript was supported by Grant 050106 from the National Institute of Mental Health (WF, P.I.) and Grant 049080 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (WF, P.I.).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Denver, 2155 S. Race Street, Denver, CO, 80209, USA

    Jamie Novak & Wyndol Furman

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  1. Jamie Novak
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  2. Wyndol Furman
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Correspondence to Jamie Novak.

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Novak, J., Furman, W. Partner Violence During Adolescence and Young Adulthood: Individual and Relationship Level Risk Factors. J Youth Adolescence 45, 1849–1861 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0484-4

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