Abstract
This study 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 were also 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 addressed implications of the findings for future research and for clinical practice.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M. (1982).Developmental Psychopathology, Wiley, New York.
Alessi, J. J. and Hearn, K. (1984). Group treatment of children in shelters for battered women. In Roberts, A. R. (ed.),Battered Women and Their Families, Springer, New York, pp. 49–61.
Beck, A. (1978).Beck Depression Inventory, Center for Cognitive Therapy, Philadelphia.
Beitchman, J. H., Zucker, K. J., Hood, J. E., DaCosta, G. A., Akman, D., and Cassavia, E. (1992). A review of the long-term effects of child sexual abuse.Child Abuse Negl. 16: 101–118.
Berk, R. A., Newton, P. J., and Berk, S. F. (1986). What a difference a day makes: An empirical study of the impact of shelters for battered women.J. Marr. Fam. 48: 481–490.
Berger, A. M., Knutson, J. F., Mehm, J. G., and Perkins, K. A. (1988). The self-report of punitive childhood experiences of young adults and adolescents.Child Abuse Negl. 12: 251–262.
Brewin, C. R., Andrews, B., and Gotlib, I. H. (1993). Psychopathology and early experience: A reappraisal of retrospective reports.Psychological Bull. 113: 82–98.
Briere, J. (1992). Methodological issues in the study of sexual abuse effects.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 60: 196–203.
Briere, J., and Runtz, M. (1987). A brief measure of victimization effects: The Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC-33), Paper presented at the Third National Family Violence Research Conference, Durham, New Hampshire.
Briere, J., and Runtz, M. (1988a). Multivariate correlates of childhood psychological and physical maltreatment among university women.Child Abuse Negl. 12: 331–341.
Briere, J., and Runtz, M. (1988b). Symptomatology associated with childhood sexual victimization in a non-clinical adult sample.Child Abuse Negl. 12: 51–59.
Briere, J., and Runtz, M. (1989). The trauma symptom checklist (TSC-33). Early data on a new scale.J. Interpers. Viol. 4: 151–163.
Blumberry, W., Oliver, J., and McClure, J. (1978). Validation of the Beck Depression Inventory in a university population using psychiatric estimate as the criterion.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 46: 151–163.
Carlson, B. (1991). Outcomes of physical abuse and observation of marital violence among adolescents in placement.J. Interpers. Viol. 6: 526–534.
Coopersmith, S. (1981).Manual of the Adult Self-Esteem Scale, Consulting Psychologists Press, Consulting Psychologists Press.
Davis, J. A. (1985).The Logic of Causal Order. Sage, Beverly Hills.
Davis, L. V., and Carlson, B. (1987). Observation of spouse abuse: What happens to the children?J. Interpers. Viol. 3: 278–291.
Elliot, D. M., and Briere, J. (1991). Studying the long-term effects of sexual abuse: The Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC) Scales. In Burgess, A. W. (ed.),Rape and Sexual Assault, Garland Publishing, New York.
Elliot, D. M., and Briere, J. (1992). Sexual abuse trauma among professional women: Validating the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 (TSC-40).Child Abuse Negl. 16: 391–398.
Fantuzzo, J. W., DePaola, L. M., Lambert, L., Martino, T., Anderson, G., and Sutton, S. (1991). Effects of interparental violence on the psychological adjustment and competencies of young children.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 59: 258–265.
Fantuzzo, J. W., and Lindquist, C. U. (1989). The effects of observing conjugal violence on children: A review and analysis of research methodology.J. Fam. Viol 4: 77–94.
Finkelhor, D. (1984).Child Sexual Abuse: New Theory and Research, Free Press, New York.
Foa, E. B., and Kozak, M. J. (1986). Emotional processing of fear: Exposure to corrective information.Psychological Bull. 99: 20–35.
Gelles, R. J. and Cornell, C. P. (1990).Intimate Violence in Families, Sage, Newbury Park.
Gelles, R. J. and Straus, M. (1988).Intimate Violence, Simon and Schuster, New York.
Gold, E. R. (1986). Long-term effects of sexual victimization in childhood: An attributional approach.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 54: 471–475.
Hershorn, M., and Rosenbaum, A. (1985) Children of marital violence: A closer look at the unintended victims.Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 55: 260–266.
Hodges, W. F. (1991).Interventions for Children of Divorce: Custody, Access, and Psychotherapy (Second Edition), Wiley, New York.
Hodges, W. F., London, J., and Colwell, J. B. (1990). Stress in parents and late elementary age children in divorced and intact families and child adjustment.J. Div. Remarr. 14: 63–79.
Hodges, W. F., Tierney, C. W., and Buchsbaum, H. K. (1984). The cumulative effect of stress on preschool children of divorced and intact families.J. Marr. Fam. 46: 611–617.
Hotaling, G. T. and Sugarman, D. B. (1986). An analysis of risk markers in husband to wife violence: The current state of knowledge.Viol. Vict. 1: 101–124.
Hughes, H. M. (1982). Brief interventions with children in a battered women's shelter: A model preventative program.Fam. Relat. 31: 495–502.
Hughes, H. M. (1986) Research with children in shelters: Implications for clinical services.Children Today 21–25. (Cited in Jaffeet al., 1990).
Hughes, H. M. (1988). Psychological and behavioral correlates of family violence in child witnesses and victims.Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 18: 77–90.
Jaffe, P. G., Wolfe, D. A., and Wilson, S. K. (1990).Children of Battered Women. Sage, Newbury Park.
Jaffe, P., Wolfe, D., Wilson, S. and Zak, L. (1986). Similarities in behavioral and social maladjustment among child victims and witness to family violence.Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 56: 142–146.
Karyl, J. (1992). Psychometric evaluation and validation of the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC-33) scales. Unpublished Masters Thesis, University of Colorado.
Landis, T. (1990). Children in shelters: An exploration of dissociative processes and traumatization in some children (Doctoral dissertation, University of Colorado, 1989).Diss. Abstr. Internat. 50(12): 5884.
McNally, R. J. (1993). Stressors that produce posttraumatic stress disorder in children. In Davidson, R. T., and Foa, E. B. (eds.),Posttraumatic Stress Disorder DSM-IV and Beyond, American Psychiatric Press, Washington D.C.
Leonard, K. E., and Blane, H. T. (1992).J. Interpers. Viol. 7: 19–30.
Pagelow, M. D. (1984)Family Violence, Praeger, Toronto.
Pynoos, R. S., and Eth, S. (1986). Witness to violence: The child interview.J. Am. Acad. Child Psychiatry 25: 306–319.
Pynoos, R. S., and Eth, S. (1985). Children traumatized by witnessing acts of personal violence: Homicide, rape, or suicide behavior. In Eth, S. and Pynoos, R. S. (eds.),Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Children. American Psychiatric Press, Washington, DC., pp. 17–44.
Rosenbaum, A., and O'Leary, K. D. (1981). Children: The unintended victims of marital violence.Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 51: 692–699.
Rosenberg, M. (1984). The impact of spouse abuse in children's behavior, perceived competence, and social problem solving abilities. Doctoral dissertation, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
Rouse, L. P. (1991). College students and legacy of spouse abuse.New Direct. Stud. Serv. 54: 51–62.
Roy, M. (1982). Four thousand partners in violence: A trend analysis. In Roy, M. (ed.),The Abusive Partner: An Analysis of Domestic Battering, Worstrand-Reinhold, New York.
Silvern, L., and Kaersvang, L. (1989). The traumatized children of violent marriages.Child Welf. 68: 421–436.
Silvern, L., Karyl, J., and Landis, T. (1995). Individual psychotherapy for the traumatized children of abused women.
Silvern, L. and Katz, P. A. (1986). Gender roles and adjustment in elementary school children: A multidimensional approach.Sex Roles 14: 181–202.
Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., and Steinmetz, S. K. (1980).Behind Closed Doors: Violence in the American Family, Anchor Books/Doubleday, Garden City, NY.
Straus, M., and Gelles, R. J. (eds.) (1988).Physical Violence in American Families: Risk Factors and Adaption to Violence in 8,145 Families, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ.
Suh, E. K., and Abel, E. M. (1990). The impact of spousal violence on the children of the abuser.J. Ind. Social Work 4: 27–34.
Ulbrich, P., and Huber, J. (1981). Observing parental violence: Distribution and effects.J. Marr. Fam. 623–631.
Wallerstein, J. S., and Blakeslee, S. (1989).Second Chances: Men, Women and Children a Decade after Divorce, Tichnor and Fields, New York.
Williams, L. M. (1992). Adult memories of childhood abuse: Preliminary findings from a longitudinal study, Paper presented at the 1992 National Symposium on Child Abuse and Neglect. Washington, D.C.
Wind, T. W., and Silvern, L. (1992). Type and extent of child abuse as predictors of adult functioning.J. Fam. Viol. 7: 261–281.
Wolfe, D. A., Jaffe, P., Wilson, S. K., and Zak, L. (1985). Children of battered women: The relation of child behavior to family violence and maternal stress.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 53: 657–665.
Wolfe, D. A., Zak, L., Wilson, S., Jaffe, P. (1986). Child witnesses to violence between parents: Critical issues in behavioral and social adjustment.J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 14: 95–104.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Silvern, L., Karyl, J., Waelde, L. et al. Retrospective reports of parental partner abuse: Relationships to depression, trauma symptoms and self-esteem among college students. J Fam Viol 10, 177–202 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02110599
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02110599