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Continuity and Pathways from Aggression in Childhood to Family Violence in Adulthood: A 30-year Longitudinal Study

Journal of Family Violence volume 23, pages 231–242 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Literature suggests that early patterns of aggressive behavior in both girls and boys are predictive of later violent behavior, including violence that takes place within family contexts. Utilizing the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a study of individuals recruited as children in the 1970s from inner-city schools in Montreal, this study examined different pathways whereby aggressive behavioral styles in childhood may place individuals at risk for continuing patterns of violence towards children and spouses. Childhood aggression directly predicted self-reported violence towards spouse for both sexes, with indirect routes through lowered educational attainment and marital separation. Aggression in childhood was also found to predict parents’ self-reports of using violence with their children. For mothers, educational attainment and current absence of the biological father from the child’s home also played important roles in predicting violent behavior towards offspring. These findings provide evidence of both continuity of aggressive behavior and indirect risk paths to family violence, via lower educational attainment and parental absence. In both men and women, childhood aggression may be an identifiable precursor of family violence and child abuse.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partially supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture. The Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project was initiated in 1976 by Jane Ledingham and Alex Schwartzman. The authors wish to thank Claude Senneville, Ming Wang, Lucie Bonneville, and the Concordia Project team for their assistance in data collection and analysis. Finally, we are most indebted to the participants in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research in Human Development, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Caroline E. Temcheff, Lisa A. Serbin, Alexa Martin-Storey, Dale M. Stack & Alex E. Schwartzman

  2. King’s College London, London, UK

    Sheilagh Hodgins

  3. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Jane Ledingham

  4. 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Py-170, Montreal, Quebec, H4B 1R6, Canada

    Caroline E. Temcheff

Authors
  1. Caroline E. Temcheff
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  2. Lisa A. Serbin
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  3. Alexa Martin-Storey
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  4. Dale M. Stack
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  5. Sheilagh Hodgins
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  6. Jane Ledingham
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  7. Alex E. Schwartzman
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Correspondence to Caroline E. Temcheff.

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Author Note

Caroline E. Temcheff, Lisa A. Serbin, Alexa Martin-Storey, Dale M. Stack and Alex E. Schwartzman, conducted this research at the Centre for Research in Human Development and Department of Psychology, Concordia University. Sheilagh Hodgins is at King’s College London. Jane Ledingham is at the School of Psychology, University of Ottawa.

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Temcheff, C.E., Serbin, L.A., Martin-Storey, A. et al. Continuity and Pathways from Aggression in Childhood to Family Violence in Adulthood: A 30-year Longitudinal Study. J Fam Viol 23, 231–242 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9147-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9147-2

Keywords

  • Family violence
  • Childhood aggression
  • High-psychosocial risk