NCJ Number
156225
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1995) Pages: 177-202
Date Published
1995
Length
26 pages
Annotation
The effects of childhood exposure to parental partner abuse are discussed.
Abstract
This article discusses the results of a study which tested whether retrospective reports of childhood exposure to parental partner abuse were associated with internalizing aspects of adult adjustment. Participants were 550 men and women college students. Among women, childhood exposure to partner abuse was related to depression, trauma-related symptoms, and low self-esteem; among men, exposure was associated with trauma-related symptoms. These relationships were statistically independent of reported parental alcohol abuse and divorce. Relationships of parental partner abuse to low self-esteem and depression among women also were independent of variation in retrospective reports of child sexual and physical abuse. However, the relationship of partner abuse to trauma-related symptoms depended, in part, on the co-occurrence of child abuse. The discussion addresses implications of the findings for future research and clinical practices. Previous studies are described briefly. Tables, references