Citation

Wang MC, Horne SG, Holdford R, Henning KR. J. Aggression Maltreat. Trauma 2008; 17(2): 156-174.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10926770802355915

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the role of family of origin violence in predicting intimate partner violence (IPV). Male participants were divided into generally offending and family-only groups according to whether their violence occurred exclusively within intimate partner and family contexts or toward others outside the family as well. Results showed that exposure to family of origin violence affected IPV differently between the two groups of offenders. For generally offending offenders, exposure to family of origin violence significantly predicted IPV above and beyond demographic factors, alcohol and drug use, and bidirectional aggression. For family-only offenders, witnessing father-initiated violence toward the mother had a significant influence on their violent behavior toward their intimate partners. Clinical implications of these findings are addressed.