Exposure to Interparental Violence and Psychosocial Maladjustment in the Adult Life Course: Advocacy for Early Prevention

This study investigated the association between exposure to interparental violence in childhood & mental health outcomes in adulthood. A retrospective cohort study of 3023 French adults was conducted in 2005 through at-home, face-to-face interviews. The outome measures were current depression & lifetime suicide attempt, intimate partner violence, violence against children, & alcohol dependence. Results indicated a significant association of exposure to interparental violence during childhood & depression, lifetime suicide attempt, & alcohol dependence. However, when childhood family-level stressors were introduced into the model, the effect of having witnessed interparental violence decreased but was still significant for all outcome measures except lifetime suicide attempts. (37 refs.)