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Childhood Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and Adult Mental Health Problems: Relationships with Gender and Age of Exposure

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Abstract

Relatively little is known about the associations between childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and adulthood mental health problems. This study used 2,500 Swedish young adults’ retrospective self-reports to determine the prevalence of childhood exposure to IPV and examine the relationships between such exposure and gender, age of exposure and adult mental health problems. Twenty-eight percent of participants reported any childhood exposure to IPV. Exposure was more common among women, who were also younger at first exposure and exposed to more severe violence than men. Both exposure and severity of IPV were related to all mental health problems examined. The interaction of IPV exposure and gender, while significant, explained relatively little of the variance in mental health problems.

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Acknowledgments

The data collection making this study possible was financially supported by the National Board of Health and Welfare in Sweden (Socialstyrelsen), but the findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors only.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law, Psychology and Social work, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden

    Åsa K. Cater

  2. Department of Psychology and Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA

    Laura E. Miller

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA

    Kathryn H. Howell

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Sandra A. Graham-Bermann

Authors
  1. Åsa K. Cater
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  2. Laura E. Miller
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  3. Kathryn H. Howell
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  4. Sandra A. Graham-Bermann
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Correspondence to Åsa K. Cater.

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Cater, Å.K., Miller, L.E., Howell, K.H. et al. Childhood Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and Adult Mental Health Problems: Relationships with Gender and Age of Exposure. J Fam Viol 30, 875–886 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9703-0

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