Abstract
Growing up in a violent home predisposes children to a host of behavioral and emotional difficulties. This study examined whether perpetrator and victim gender have an impact on depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior for victims of child physical abuse (CPA) and also with regard to witnessing interparental violence (IPV). This study also examined whether witnessing siblings being abused would elicit high levels of depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior. College students (n = 675) were assessed for both exposure to IPV and child physical abuse prior to age 18. Participants completed measures of depression and aggression. With regard to victims of CPA, participants victimized by both parents and those victimized by mothers only had significantly higher levels of aggression. For depressive symptoms, females having both parents as perpetrators or fathers only had significantly higher depressive symptoms. With regard to witnessing IPV, being abused by both parents was associated with endorsement of more aggression and depressive symptoms. With regard to witnessing sibling violence, the results were similar to those found for victims of CPA.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Literature in the area of family violence use the words gender and sex in this context. The word sex is often used by researchers to describe the biological sex of a person. However, the word gender is being used in this paper to refer to the biological sex of a person. Although some researchers suggest that the word gender describes more of a social construct, the word is being used in this paper to ensure that the reader understands that the biological sex of a person is what is being discussed as opposed to the behavior of sexual intercourse.
References
Allen, C. M., & Epperson, D. L. (1993). Perpetrator gender and type of child maltreatment: Overcoming limited conceptualizations and obtaining representative samples. Child Welfare, 72, 543–554.
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561–571.
Blumenthal, D. R., Neemann, J., & Murphy, C. M. (1998). Lifetime exposure to interparental physical and verbal aggression and symptom expression in college students. Violence and Victims, 13, 175–196.
Briere, J., & Runtz, M. (1988). Multivariate correlates of childhood psychological and physical maltreatment among university women. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12, 331–341.
Buss, A. H., & Perry, M. (1992). The aggression questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 452–459.
Carlson, B. E. (1991). Outcomes of physical abuse and observation of marital violence among adolescents in placement. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6, 526–534.
Christopoulos, C., Cohn, D. A., Shaw, D. S., Joyce, S., Sullivan-Hanson, J., & Kraft, S. P., et al. (1987). Children of abused women: I. Adjustment at time of shelter residence. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49, 611–619.
Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (1997). Families as systems. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 243–267.
Foa, E. B., Riggs, D. S., Dancu, C. V. S., & Rothbaum, B. O. (1993). Reliability and validity of a brief instrument for assessing post traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 6, 459–473.
Golin, S., & Hartz, M. A. (1979). A factor analysis of the Beck Depression Inventory in a mildly depressed population. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 35, 323–325.
Groth-Marnat, G. (1990). The handbook of psychological assessment (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.
Hatzenbuehler, L. C., Parpal, M., & Mathews, L. (1983). Classifying college students as depressed or nondepressed using the Beck Depression Inventory: An empirical analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 360–366.
Hegar, R. L., Zuravin, S. J., & Orme, J. G. (1994). Factors predicting severity of physical child abuse injury: A review of the literature. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 9, 170–183.
Holden, G. W., & Ritchie, K. L. (1991). Linking extreme marital discord, child rearing, and child behavior problems: Evidence from battered women. Child Development, 62, 311–327.
Howells, N. L., & Rosenbaum, A. (in press). Examination of sex differences and type of violence exposure in a mediation model of family violence. Journal of Emotional Abuse (Special Issue).
Hughes, H. M. (1988). Psychological and behavioral correlates of family violence in child witnesses and victims. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 8, 77–90.
Kaufman, J., & Cicchetti, D. (1989). Effects of maltreatment on school-age children’s socioemotional development: Assessments in a day-camp setting. Developmental Psychology, 25, 516–524.
Lefrancois, G. R. (1990). The lifespan (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Lightfoot, S. L., & Oliver, J. M. (1985). The Beck Inventory: Psychometric properties in university students. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 434–436.
Litrownik, A. J., Newton, R., Hunter, W. M., English, D., & Everson, M. D. (2003). Exposure to family violence in young at-risk children: A longitudinal look at the effects of victimization and witnessed physical and psychological aggression. Journal of Family Violence, 18, 59–73.
Martin, S. L., Sigda, K. B., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (1998). Family and neighborhood violence: Predictors of depressive symptomology among incarcerated youth. Prison Journal, 78, 423.
McCloskey, L. A., Figueredo, A. J., & Koss, M. P. (1995). The effects of systematic family violence on children’s mental health. Child Development, 66, 1239–1261.
McCloskey, L. A., & Lichter, E. L. (2003). The contribution of marital violence to adolescent aggression across different relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 390–412.
O’Keefe, M. (1994). Linking marital violence, mother–child/father–child aggression, and child behavior problems. Journal of Family Violence, 9, 63–78.
Richter, P., Werner, J., Heerlien, A., Kraus, A., & Sauer, H. (1998). On the validity of the Beck Depression Inventory: A review. Psychopathology, 31, 160–168.
Ricks, S. S. (1985). Father–infant interactions: A review of empirical research. Family Relations, 34, 505–511.
Rosenthal, J. A. (1988). Patterns of reported child abuse and neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12, 263–271.
Rossman, B. B. R., & Rosenberg, M. S. (1997). Psychological maltreatment: A needs analysis and application for children in violent families. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 1, 245–262.
Saadeh, W., Rizzo, C. D., & Roberts, D. G. (2002). Spanking. Clinical Pediatrics, 41, 87–88.
Shahinfar, A., Fox, N. A., & Leavitt, L. A. (2000). Preschool children’s exposure to violence: Relation of behavior problems to parent and child reports. Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 70, 115–125.
Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (1986). Societal change and change in family violence from 1975 to 1985 as revealed by two national surveys. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 465–479.
Straus, M. A., Hamby, S. L., Boney-McCoy, S., & Sugarman, D. B. (1996). The Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2): Development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283–316.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families (2005). Child Maltreatment, 2003. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Howells, N.L., Rosenbaum, A. Effects of Perpetrator and Victim Gender on Negative Outcomes of Family Violence. J Fam Viol 23, 203–209 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9144-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9144-5