Original article
Relationship Context and Intimate Partner Violence From Adolescence to Young Adulthood

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.08.014Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

To assess changes in self-reported intimate partner violence (IPV) experience from adolescence through young adulthood. To examine whether individual change in indicators of relationship context—qualities and dynamics of the relationship, changes in partners, and relationship type (dating, cohabiting, and married)—were associated with change in self-reports of IPV.

Methods

Drawing on longitudinal population-based data, the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study, we used fixed-effects models to estimate within-person change in associations between features of respondents' intimate relationships and the proportion of relationships with IPV from adolescence through young adulthood. Analyses focused on 1,146 young men and women ages 13–29 years (51% female). Items measuring IPV were from the Conflict Tactics Scale.

Results

More than half of respondents (53%) experienced discontinuity in IPV across relationships. Among those reporting violence, the vast majority (87%) did not experience violence in all of their relationships. Age-related patterns were similar for men and women with IPV peaking in young adulthood. Infidelity, frequency of disagreements, and partner continuity were associated with a higher proportion of relationships with IPV. Improvements in the nature and character of romantic relationships were associated with a lower accumulation of IPV experiences.

Conclusions

IPV, although prevalent, does not represent a consistent experience. As young adults develop higher quality relationships they move toward desistance from IPV. Yet, variability in these experiences is observed, supporting previous calls for programs that promote the development of healthy relationships among adolescents and young adults.

Section snippets

Data

The TARS sample (n = 1,321) was drawn from the year 2000 enrollment records of all seventh, ninth, and 11th graders in Lucas County, Ohio. The sampling frame, devised by the National Opinion Research Center, consists of a stratified, random sample of students enrolled in school (but not necessarily attending) based on grade, race-ethnicity, and gender. The TARS sample of 1,321 is 81.3 percent of the original 1,625 students who were contacted. We conducted interviews in respondents' homes using

Results

Table 2 provides a distribution of the proportion of relationships with any IPV by the time the sample had reached wave 5 for men and women, collapsing the proportional measure into three categories—no IPV, IPV in some relationships, and IPV in all. For the total sample, continuity is represented by the 38.9% who had no IPV and 7.9% who reported always having IPV. Half (53%) experienced discontinuity in IPV, and among those reporting violence, the overwhelming majority (87%) reported some level

Discussion

This study revealed greater variability than stability in IPV across adolescence and young adulthood for men and women. More than half of respondents reported at least one IPV experience, but for most, this was not representative of their relationships overall. Less than one in 12 (8%) reported experiencing IPV in all of their relationships. Thus, consistent with prior work, we show that IPV is quite prevalent among youth. Yet, results also highlight that IPV experiences demonstrate a high

Funding Sources

This research was supported by grants from The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD036223 and HD044206); the Department of Health and Human Services (5APRPA006009); the National Institute of Justice and Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice (Award Nos. 2009-IJ-CX-0503 and 2010-MU-MU-0031) and in part by the Center for Family and Demographic Research, Bowling Green State University, which has core funding from The Eunice Kennedy

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    Copyright © 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.