Adverse Childhood Experiences and Later Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Victimization: Towards an Integrated Intervention

Keneni, Tamene (2016) Adverse Childhood Experiences and Later Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Victimization: Towards an Integrated Intervention. PhD thesis, Addis Ababa University.

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Abstract

Background: A growing number of evidence suggests that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) affect children’s cognitive, psychosocial and behavioural functioning across the life-span. Specifically, exposure to ACEs at home and out of home in childhood increases the likelihood of children’s involvement in Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) later as adolescents and adults. But, in spite of the favourability of the socio-cultural and economic realities in Ethiopia for childhood exposure to ACEs and the ubiquity of IPV, the link between exposure to ACEs as children and involvement in IPV as adolescents and adults is not studied in Ethiopia. Purpose: With a prime objective to fill the apparent gap and paucity in research, this research primarily sought to examine the relationships between partner violence perpetration and victimization and childhood exposure to ACEs. Other variables like self-esteem, attitude towards couple violence, general self-efficacy, maternal warmth and emotion regulation were also included in the regressions run to predict the variables of IPV. Methods: Four hundred and sixteen undergraduate and graduate summer students (271 men and 145 women) provided the data through self-administered questionnaire. Chi-square test of independence, Mann-Whitney U test, bi-variate and partial correlation and simple and multiple regressions were used to analyze and make meaning of the data. Results: IPV is highly prevalent in the current sample. About one-half of the participants (49.88%) and majority (71.74%) of them responded that they perpetrated at least one form of physical violence and psychological violence, respectively, against their current or former partner. Similarly, more than one-third (35.27%) and significantly greater than one-half (56.97%) of them admitted having been victims of physical violence and psychological violence perpetrated, respectively, by a current or former intimate partner. In aggregate, no significant gender differences were found in psychological violence perpetration, physical violence victimization and psychological violence victimization but physical violence perpetration was significantly more prevalent among men than among women. ACEs, attitude towards couple violence, general self-efficacy, self-esteem, maternal warmth and emotion regulation together significantly predicted physical violence perpetration and explained about 93% of variance in it. ACEs, general self-efficacy, self-esteem, maternal warmth, and emotion regulation predicted psychological violence perpetration and together accounted for about 73% of the variance in it. Physical violence victimization was significantly predicted from ACEs, general self-efficacy, attitude towards couple violence, self-esteem, maternal warmth and emotion regulation and they together explained about 34% of variance in it. ACEs, general self-efficacy, attitude towards couple violence, self-esteem, maternal warmth and emotion regulation significantly predicted psychological violence victimization and they together explained only about 17% of the variance in psychological violence victimization. The effect of ACEs in predicting physical violence perpetration was slightly greater for men than for women. Conclusion: Both men and women perpetrate and are victim of IPV and exposure to ACEs was found to be one of the most important risk factors of adult intimate partner violence and one can think that the roots of abusive behaviours within intimate relationships are found primarily in the family of origin. Therefore,elimination of domestic violence requires integrated prevention strategies derived from family perspective that target both ACEs and domestic violence and women and men.

Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > RJ101 Child Health. Child health services
Divisions: Africana
Depositing User: Vincent Mpoza
Date Deposited: 27 Nov 2018 09:09
Last Modified: 27 Nov 2018 09:09
URI: http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/7636

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