Long-term Adjustment to Witnessing Marital Violence and Experiencing Maltreatment during Childhood: Risk and Protective Factors

Semi-structured interview was also conducted to collect qualitative data from 8 participants. Results: Results indicate a significant relationship between child abuse and marital violence. Eleven percent of the participants reported experiencing physical abuse and exposure to parental marital violence during childhood.

Participants who experienced dual violence reported more trauma symptoms and behavioral problems than those experiencing only one form of violence or none at all. Exposure to both marital violence and child abuse during childhood was a significant predictor of young adults’ problem behavior and traumatic symptoms, after controlling for other potentially confounding risk factors. Cultural factors also play a significant role in predicting young adults’ problem behavior and traumatic symptoms, after control variables were accounted for.