An Examination of Within- and Between-Family Influences on the Intergenerational Transmission of Violence and Maltreatment
| Author | Bradon A. Valgardson,Joseph A. Schwartz |
| DOI | 10.1177/1043986218810598 |
| Published date | 01 February 2019 |
| Date | 01 February 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
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Article
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice
2019, Vol. 35(1) 87 –102
An Examination of
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Family Influences on
the Intergenerational
Transmission of Violence
and Maltreatment
Bradon A. Valgardson1 and Joseph A. Schwartz1
Abstract
Using a sample of sibling pairs from the National Survey of Adolescent to Adult
Health (Add Health), the relationship between child and adolescent maltreatment
and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration was examined within a genetically
sensitive framework. After accounting for within-family similarities, maltreatment
during childhood did not predict IPV. Maltreatment in adolescence, however,
predicted increases in the likelihood of threatening an intimate partner as well as
a combined measure of IPV. These results indicate that maltreatment represents
only a single facet of the larger suite of family-level influences that contribute to the
development of IPV perpetration.
Keywords
intimate partner violence, sibling comparison, child maltreatment, adolescent
maltreatment, genetic influences
Introduction
In the United States, more than one in three women and one in four men will be the
victim of intimate partner violence (IPV) at some point in their lifetime (Black et al.,
2011), with nearly 95,000 individuals arrested for violence against the family and
1University of Nebraska Omaha, NE, USA
Corresponding Author:
Bradon A. Valgardson, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska Omaha,
218 CPACS, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182, USA.
Email: bvalgardson@unomaha.edu
88
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 35(1)
children during 2015 in the United States (Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI],
2015). Although family violence and IPV perpetration are commonly linked to men, a
well-developed literature identifies both men and women as perpetrators (Archer,
2000). Previous research indicates that women not only engage in IPV but also, in
some instances, report a higher prevalence of IPV perpetration than men (Archer,
2000). Although this finding may seem counterintuitive, it falls in line with exchange
theory which posits that female perpetration may be greater than male perpetration if
the potential costs of engaging in IPV (i.e., criminal sanctions) are perceived as being
less certain or severe for females relative to males (Straus, 1999, 2006). Also in line
with exchange theory, previous research has indicated that females may be more likely
to report perpetration compared with males because the stigma that accompanies male
perpetration is arguably greater (Stets & Straus, 1990).
Despite the prevalence of IPV perpetration among both males and females, the under-
lying processes that contribute to IPV remain less understood (Hines & Saudino, 2004).
Much of the existing literature has focused on the role of adverse childhood experiences
(ACEs; Pinto et al., 2010), examining factors such as maltreatment, economic hardship,
and exposure to other types of violence (Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Neidig, & Thorn,
1995; Mair, Cunradi, & Todd, 2012; Pournaghash-Tehrani, & Feizabadi, 2009; Stith
et al., 2000). Based on these results, previous studies have pointed to social learning
processes as the primary mechanisms contributing to the intergenerational transmission
of violence (Akers & Jensen, 2006; Bandura, 1973; Mihalic & Elliott, 1997). Within the
family context, social learning theory states that children who are abused or witness
violence may come to view violence as an acceptable means of conflict resolution or a
mechanism to cope with stress (Mihalic & Elliott, 1997). Techniques of violence are
reinforced in abusive homes, ultimately teaching children to cope with stress in intimate
relationships through violence and aggression (Gelles, 1972). In addition, abusive rela-
tionships can inhibit the development of normal coping mechanisms resulting in height-
ened risk of responding to stress and conflict with violence (Finkelhor et al., 1988).
In addition to learning processes contributing to the transmission of violence from
one generation to the next, a complementary line of research has recognized that par-
ents and their offspring also share genetic predisposition for problem behaviors
(Barnes, TenEyck, Boutwell, & Beaver, 2013; D’Onofrio et al., 2007; Hines &
Saudino, 2002; Lynch et al., 2006). In other words, abusive parents not only model
violent behavior, but may also share genetic predispositions toward aggressive behav-
iors (Herzberger, 1983). This finding aligns with Moffitt’s (1993) developmental tax-
onomy, in which children who exhibit persistent and severe behavioral problems (i.e.,
life-course persistent offenders) tend to have experienced a combination of both envi-
ronmental and biological risk factors. These results indicate that the underlying mech-
anisms linking maltreatment and IPV perpetration are likely multifaceted and include
a combination of both environmental and genetic influences. Directly in line with
these observations, the current study aims to examine the relationship between mal-
treatment and IPV perpetration while accounting for genetic and environmental influ-
ences that cluster within families by examining five hypotheses:
Valgardson and Schwartz
89
Hypothesis 1: Families with children that experience greater levels of maltreat-
ment in childhood will have a higher likelihood of engaging in future IPV perpetra-
tion compared with families with children that experience less maltreatment in
childhood.
Hypothesis 2: Within families, siblings who experience greater levels of maltreat-
ment during childhood will also have a higher likelihood of perpetrating IPV com-
pared with siblings who experienced no maltreatment in childhood.
Hypothesis 3: Families with children that experience greater levels of maltreat-
ment in adolescence will have a higher likelihood of engaging in future IPV perpe-
tration compared with families with children that experience less maltreatment in
adolescence.
Hypothesis 4: Within families, siblings who experience greater levels of maltreat-
ment during adolescence will also have a higher likelihood of perpetrating IPV
compared with siblings who experienced no maltreatment in adolescence.
Hypothesis 5: The between- and within-family relationships observed above
involving maltreatment and IPV will be moderated by gender, such that males who
experience maltreatment will be more likely to engage in future IPV perpetration
relative to females.
Method
Sample
The current study analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent
to Adult Health (Add Health), a longitudinal and nationally representative sample of
American youth enrolled in middle and high school during the 1994-1995 academic
year (Harris, 2013). This study uses in-home interviews from Waves I (including a
parental questionnaire), III, and IV (with a fifth wave currently in progress), which
were collected when participants were between 12 and 21 years old (n = 20,745; col-
lected in 1995), 18 and 26 years old (n = 15,170; collected from 2001 to 2002), and
24 and 32 years old (n = 15,701; collected in 2008), respectively. Nested within the
Add Health sample is a subsample of approximately 3,000 twin, sibling, and cousin
dyads. The final analytic sample for the current study consisted of same-sex dyads
living in the same household and included monozygotic (MZ; 282 pairs) and dizygotic
(DZ; 245 pairs) twins, full siblings (606 pairs), half-siblings (185 pairs), first cousins
(84 pairs), and unrelated siblings (i.e., step-siblings; 154 pairs), resulting in a total of
1,556 same-sex pairs (3,112 individuals). Inclusion criteria included (a) participation
in Waves III and IV, (b) having a co-sibling who participated in Waves III and IV, (c)
reported being in a romantic relationship within the year prior to the Wave IV inter-
view, and (d) having complete data on at least some of the study measures.1
Measures
Dependent variable—IPV. Following previous research (Barnes et al., 2013), IPV was
measured using four items collected at Wave IV. Participants were asked how often in
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Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 35(1)
the past year (a) they threatened their partner with violence, pushed or shoved them, or
threw something at them that could hurt; (b) they slapped, hit, or kicked their partner;
(c) their partner suffered an injury, such as a sprain, bruise, or cut because of a fight
with the participant; and (d) they insisted that they have sexual relations, when their
partner did not want to. Response categories included 0 (never), 1 (this has happened,
but not in the last year), 2 (once in the last year of the relationship), 3 (twice in the last
year of the relationship), 4 (3 to 5 times in the last year of the relationship), 5 (6 to 10
times in the last year of the relationship), 6 (11 to 20 times in the last year of the rela-
tionship), and 7 (more than 20 times in the last year of the relationship). A majority
((i.e., never or has not happened within the past year). As a result, each item was
dichotomized (0 = no abuse and 1 = abuse occurring one or more times at any point
in the relationship). A final composite IPV measure...
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