Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Maternal Support and Physical Dating Violence Perpetration among Disconnected Young Women

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Child and Family Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Parental support is a well-documented protective factor against dating violence perpetration. However, no studies have investigated this relationship among disconnected, young urban Black women, despite higher reported instances of perpetration among this group. We hypothesized that higher levels of parental support would be associated with lower levels of dating violence perpetration. Participants were 374 disconnected, young urban Black women (ages 16–23) recruited from two employment training programs in Baltimore, Maryland. We used multivariate logistic regression analyses to assess the association between youth reported maternal and paternal support and physical dating violence perpetration. Over 20% of the sample reported past-year physical dating violence perpetration. Experience with recent dating violence victimization was the most robust correlate of physical dating violence perpetration (aOR = 6.44, p = 0.000). Contrary to prediction, maternal support was associated with a 37% increase in the odds of physical dating violence perpetration among participants (aOR = 1.37, p = 0.027). Findings highlight the need for additional research on the complex relationship between maternal support and physical dating violence perpetration among disconnected, young urban Black women.

Highlights

  • Disconnected, young urban Black women are at a heightened risk for physical dating violence perpetration, prompting the need to identify and promote protective factors.

  • Contrary to our hypothesis, maternal support was associated with an increase in dating violence perpetration among the sample.

  • Additional research is needed to better understand and protect vulnerable young women who may be at risk for perpetrating dating violence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ainsworth, M.D.S. (1982). Attachment: Retrospect and prospect. In C.M. Parkes & J. Stevenson-Hinde (Eds), The place of attachment in human behavior (pp. 3–30). New York, NY: Basic Books.

  • Arsenio, W. F., & Gold, J. (2006). The effects of social injustice and inequality on children’s moral judgments and behavior: towards a theoretical model. Cognitive Development, 21(4), 388–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banyard, V. L., Cross, C., & Modecki, K. L. (2006). Interpersonal violence in adolescence: ecological correlates of self-reported perpetration. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21(10), 1314–1332.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Epstein, N., Brown, G., & Steer, R. A. (1988). An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: psychometric properties. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56(6), 893.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Black, B. M., Chido, L. M., Preble, K. M., Weisz, A. N., Yoon, J. S., Delaney-Black, V., & Lewandowski, L. (2015). Violence exposure and teen dating violence among African American youth. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(12), 2174–2195.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bonache, H., Gonzalez-Mendez, R., & Krahé, B. (2017). Romantic attachment, conflict resolution styles, and teen dating violence victimization. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(9), 1905–1917.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., Tremblay, R. E., & Lavoie, F. (2001). Reactive and proactive aggression: predictions to physical violence in different contexts and moderating effects of parental monitoring and caregiving behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29(4), 293–304.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bucx, F., & Van Wel, F. (2008). Parental bond and life course transitions from adolescence to young adulthood. Adolescence, 43(169), 71–88.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi, D. M., Knoble, N. B., Shortt, J. W., & Kim, H. K. (2012). A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence. Partner Abuse, 3(2), 231–280.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cascardi, M., Jouriles, E. N., & Temple, J. R. (2020). Distinct and overlapping correlates of psychological and physical partner violence perpetration. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(13-14), 2375–2398.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland, H. H., Herrera, V. M., & Stuewig, J. (2003). Abusive males and abused females in adolescent relationships: risk factor similarity and dissimilarity and the role of relationship seriousness. Journal of Family Violence, 18(6), 325–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. R., Shorey, R. C., Menon, S. V., & Temple, J. R. (2018). Predicting teen dating violence perpetration. Pediatrics, 141(4), e20172790.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Copp, J. E., Giordano, P. C., Manning, W. D., & Longmore, M. A. (2019). Neighborhood norms, disadvantage, and intimate partner violence perpetration. Sociological Forum, 34(3), 594–615.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cornelius, T. L., Bell, K. M., Wyngarden, N., & Shorey, R. C. (2015). What happens after I hit? A qualitative analysis of the consequences of dating violence for female perpetrators. Violence and Victims, 30(3), 393–416.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Craddock, J. B., Rice, E., Rhoades, H., & Winetrobe, H. (2016). Are parental relationships always protective? A social network analysis of Black, Latino, and White homeless youth and sexual risk-taking behaviors. Prevention Science, 17(8), 914–924.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Craig, J. M. (2015). Which bond matters more? assessing the differential strengths of parental bonding measures on adolescent delinquency over time. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 14(3), 225–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunradi, C. B., Dellor, E., Alter, H. J., Caetano, R., & Mair, C. (2020). Problem drinking and marijuana use as risks for unidirectional and bidirectional partner violence. Partner Abuse, 11(1), 57–75.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Demir, M. (2010). Close relationships and happiness among emerging adults. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(3), 293–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Imperio, R. L., Dubow, E. F., & Ippolito, M. F. (2000). Resilient and stress-affected adolescents in an urban setting. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29(1), 129–142.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • East, P. L., & Hokoda, A. (2015). Risk and protective factors for sexual and dating violence victimization: a longitudinal, prospective study of Latino and African American adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(6), 1288–1300.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Espelage, D. L., Leemis, R. W., Niolon, P. H., Kearns, M., Basile, K. C., & Davis, J. P. (2020). Teen dating violence perpetration: protective factor trajectories from middle to high school among adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 30(1), 170–188.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Exner-Cortens, D., Eckenrode, J., & Rothman, E. (2013). Longitudinal associations between teen dating violence victimization and adverse health outcomes. Pediatrics, 131(1), 71–78.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Bauman, K. E., Ennett, S. T., Linder, G. F., Benefield, T., & Suchindran, C. (2004). Assessing the long-term effects of the safe dates program and a booster in preventing and reducing adolescent dating violence victimization and perpetration. American Journal of Public Health, 94(4), 619–624.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Froidevaux, N.M., Metcalf, S., Pettit, C., Penner, F., Sharp, C., & Borelli, J. L. (2020). The link between adversity and dating violence among adolescents hospitalized for psychiatric treatment: parental emotion validation as a candidate protective factor. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520926323.

  • Goncy, E. A. (2019). A meta-analysis of interparental aggression with adolescent and young adult physical and psychological dating aggression. Psychology of Violence, 10(2), 212–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goncy, E.A., Basting, E.J., & Dunn, C.B. (2020). A meta-analysis linking parent-to-child aggression and dating abuse during adolescence and young adulthood. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020915602.

  • Henry, R. R., & Zeytinoglu, S. (2012). African americans and teen dating violence. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 40(1), 20–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hickman, L. J., Jaycox, L. H., & Aronoff, J. (2004). Dating violence among adolescents: prevalence, gender distribution, and prevention program effectiveness. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 5(2), 123–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hines, D. A., Malley-Morrison, K., & Dutton, L. B. (2012). Family violence in the United States: defining, understanding, and combating abuse. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hipwell, A. E., Stepp, S. D., Xiong, S., Keenan, K., Blokland, A., & Loeber, R. (2014). Parental punishment and peer victimization as developmental precursors to physical dating violence involvement among girls. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 24(1), 65–79.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kann, L., McManus, T., Harris, W. A., Shanklin, S. L., Flint, K. H., & Quenn, B., et al. (2018). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2017. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 67(SS-8), 1–114.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman-Parks, A. M., DeMaris, A., Giordano, P. C., Manning, W. D., & Longmore, M. A. (2018). Intimate partner violence perpetration from adolescence to young adulthood: trajectories and the role of familial factors. Journal of Family Violence, 33(1), 27–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • King, D. M., Hatcher, S. S., & Bride, B. (2017). Adolescent predictors of female dating violence perpetration. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 12(1), 17–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinsfogel, K. M., & Grych, J. H. (2004). Interparental conflict and adolescent dating relationships: integrating cognitive, emotional, and peer influences. Journal of Family Psychology, 18(3), 505–515.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J., Misra, T. A., Selwyn, C., & Rohling, M. L. (2012). Rates of bidirectional versus unidirectional intimate partner violence across samples, sexual orientations, and race/ethnicities: a comprehensive review. Partner Abuse, 3(2), 199–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, S. F., & Fremouw, W. (2001). Dating violence: a critical review of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 21(1), 105–127.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1986). Discovery of an insecure-disorganized/disoriented attachment pattern: procedures, findings and implications for classification of behavior. In M.W. Yogman, & T.B. Brazelton (Eds), Affective development in infancy (pp. 95–124). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

  • Mendelson, T., Mmari, K., Blum, R. W., Catalano, R. F., & Brindis, C. D. (2018). Opportunity youth: Insights and opportunities for a public health approach to reengage disconnected teenagers and young adults. Public Health Reports, 133(1_suppl), 54S–64S.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S., Gorman-Smith, D., Sullivan, T., Orpinas, P., & Simon, T. R. (2009). Parent and peer predictors of physical dating violence perpetration in early adolescence: tests of moderation and gender differences. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 38(4), 538–550.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, A. M., Mrug, S., & Windle, M. (2015). From family violence to dating violence: testing a dual pathway model. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(9), 1819–1835.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mumford, E. A., Liu, W., & Taylor, B. G. (2019). Longitudinal trajectories of perpetration of adolescent dating abuse in a national sample. Aggressive Behavior, 45(3), 327–336.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mumford, E. A., Taylor, B. G., & Giordano, P. C. (2020). Perpetration of adolescent dating relationship abuse: the role of conditional tolerance for violence and friendship factors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(5-6), 1206–1228.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Okeke, N., Rothman, E.F., & Mumford, E.A. (2020). Neighborhood income inequality and adolescent relationship aggression: results of a nationally representative, longitudinal study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520908024.

  • O’Leary, K. D., Tintle, N., & Bromet, E. (2014). Risk factors for physical violence against partners in the U.S. Psychology of Violence, 4(1), 65–77.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Palazzolo, K. E., Roberto, A. J., & Babin, E. A. (2010). The relationship between parents’ verbal aggression and young adult children’s intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration. Health Communication, 25(4), 357–364.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Palmetto, N., Davidson, L. L., Breitbart, V., & Rickert, V. I. (2013). Predictors of physical intimate partner violence in the lives of young women: victimization, perpetration, and bidirectional violence. Violence and Victims, 28(1), 103–121.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Park, S., & Kim, S.- (2019). Who are the victims and who are the perpetrators in dating violence? sharing the role of victim and perpetrator. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 20(5), 732–741.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Patton, R., Katafiasz, H., Finney, N., & Tadros, E. (2020). Cisgender teen dating violence: differential associations with various substances used. Journal of Family Violence, 35(5), 519–525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivera, P. M., & Fincham, F. D. (2015). A latent class approach to understanding the intergenerational transmission of violence in emerging adult relationships. Violence and Crime in the Family: Patterns, Causes, and Consequences, 9, 23–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothman, E. F., Johnson, R. M., Young, R., Weinberg, J., Azrael, D., & Molnar, B. E. (2011). Neighborhood-level factors associated with physical dating violence perpetration: results of a representative survey conducted in Boston, MA. Journal of Urban Health, 88(2), 201–213.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Royston, P. (2005). Multiple imputation of missing values: update of ice. The Stata Journal, 5(4), 527–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schnurr, M. P., & Lohman, B. J. (2013). The impact of collective efficacy on risks for adolescents’ perpetration of dating violence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(4), 518–535.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sims, E. N., Dodd, V. J. N., & Tejeda, M. J. (2008). The relationship between severity of violence in the home and dating violence. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 4(4), 166–173.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, V., Epstein-Ngo, Q., Cunningham, R. M., Stoddard, S. A., Chermack, S. T., & Walton, M. A. (2015). Physical dating violence among adolescents and young adults with alcohol misuse. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 153, 364–368.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Skuja, K., & Halford, W. K. (2004). Repeating the errors of our parents? parental violence in men’s family of origin and conflict management in dating couples. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19(6), 623–638.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. A., Greenman, S. J., Thornberry, T. P., Henry, K. L., & Ireland, T. O. (2015). Adolescent risk for intimate partner violence perpetration. Prevention Science, 16(6), 862–872.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, C.M., Morgan, P., Bridges, J., Washburn-Busk, M., & Stith, S.M. (2017). The relationship between approval of violence and intimate partner violence in college students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517731315.

  • Spencer, C.M., Toews, M.L., Anders, K.M., & Emanuels, S.K. (2019). Risk markers for physical teen dating violence perpetration: a meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838019875700.

  • Stith, S. M., Smith, D. B., Penn, C. E., Ward, D. B., & Tritt, D. (2004). Intimate partner physical abuse perpetration and victimization risk factors: a meta-analytic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 10(1), 65–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szkody, E., & McKinney, C. (2019). Social support versus emotion regulation: Mediators of attachment and psychological problems after social exclusion. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 38(10), 882–905.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajima, E. A., Herrenkohl, T. I., Moylan, C. A., & Derr, A. S. (2011). Moderating the effects of childhood exposure to intimate partner violence: the roles of parenting characteristics and adolescent peer support. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(2), 376–394.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tandon, S. D., Latimore, A. D., Clay, E., Mitchell, L., Tucker, M., & Sonenstein, F. L. (2015). Depression outcomes associated with an intervention implemented in employment training programs for low-income adolescents and young adults. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(1), 31–39.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vagi, K. J., Olsen, E. O., Basile, K. C., & Vivolo-Kantor, A. M. (2015). Teen dating violence (physical and sexual) among US high school students: findings from the 2013 national youth risk behavior survey. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(5), 474–482.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Vagi, K. J., Rothman, E. F., Latzman, N. E., Tharp, A. T., Hall, D. M., & Breiding, M. J. (2013). Beyond correlates: a review of risk and protective factors for adolescent dating violence perpetration. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(4), 633–649.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • van Wel, F., Linssen, H., & Abma, R. (2000). The parental bond and the well-being of adolescents and young adults. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(3), 307–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velotti, P., Beomonte Zobel, S., Rogier, G., & Tambelli, R. (2018). Exploring relationships: a systematic review on intimate partner violence and attachment. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1166.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Weathers, F. W., Huska, J. A., & Keane, T. M. (1991). PCL-C for DSM-IV. Boston, MA: National Center for PTSD-Behavioral Science Division.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wincentak, K., Connolly, J., & Card, N. (2017). Teen dating violence: a meta-analytic review of prevalence rates. Psychology of Violence, 7(2), 224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the Eastside and Westside YO programs for their ongoing collaboration on this study, including the dedicated mental health clinicians working at the Eastside YO site. Funding for the implementation of the Healthy Minds at Work intervention came from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation, The Abell Foundation, the Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Aaron Straus and Lillie Straus Foundation, and the France-Merrick Foundation. The research portion of Healthy Minds at Work was developed as the core research project of the Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health, a prevention research center funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (grant no. 1-U48-DP-000040). Authors were also funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (1K01DA042134-01A1).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Terrinieka W. Powell, Amanda Latimore, Beth D. Marshall & Tamar Mendelson

  2. College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA

    Leslie Vanessa Martinez Fuentes

  3. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    S. Darius Tandon

Authors
  1. Terrinieka W. Powell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Amanda Latimore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Leslie Vanessa Martinez Fuentes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Beth D. Marshall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tamar Mendelson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. S. Darius Tandon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Terrinieka W. Powell.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This research involves human participants. All protocols were approved by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Institutional Review Board.

Informed Consent

We obtained informed consent from all adult participants. For participants younger than 18 years, parental written consent was required before enrolling in the study. Participant assent was obtained from all minor participants prior to participation.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Powell, T.W., Latimore, A., Fuentes, L.V.M. et al. Maternal Support and Physical Dating Violence Perpetration among Disconnected Young Women. J Child Fam Stud 30, 611–619 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01878-z

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01878-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation