Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an interpersonal trauma defined as physical, sexual, or psychological violence perpetrated by a current or former partner (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024). In Canada, 44% of women and 36% of men who have ever been in an intimate partner relationship experienced some form of IPV; 22.3% of women and 14% of men experienced severe physical violence (being hit, kicked, beaten, or burned) by an intimate partner during their lifetime (Breiding, 2015). There is an overrepresentation of young people and women in these statistics (Burczycka, 2016; Cotter & Savage, 2019), with women being more likely to experience severe forms of IPV, such as physical IPV leading to injury or even spousal homicide (Burczycka, 2019; Roy & Marcellus, 2019). IPV occurring at concerning rates leads to a high risk of children being exposed to violence in their family. Indeed, in Ontario, Canada, exposure to IPV is the most prevalent form of reported child maltreatment (Black et al., 2020; Nikolova et al., 2021). In 2018, 18% of the 158,476 children reported for child maltreatment in Ontario were investigated for exposure to IPV (Fallon et al., 2020). Unfortunately, children exposed to IPV tend to repeat these negative models in their own intimate relationships, either as victims or perpetrators (Kimber et al., 2018; Swartout et al., 2012). Although research has shown a tendency of IPV to continue intergenerationally (Cascardi, 2016; Smith et al., 2011), pathways from childhood exposure to adulthood IPV victimization are still misunderstood, which limits our ability to intervene efficiently to break these cycles. The current study investigates mediators and moderators of intergenerational cycles of IPV.

Theoretical Models of Intergenerational Intimate Partner Violence

Intergenerational continuity of IPV characterizes cycles where children who are exposed to IPV may later experience violent relationships (e.g., Franklin & Kercher, 2012). Indeed, children growing up in households where they are exposed to violence between parents can internalize these experiences in ways that contribute to an insecure attachment style, as well as viewing the use of violence within relationships as normal. As adults, these children may therefore be at a greater risk of experiencing IPV victimization. Theoretical models propose that the long-term impacts of child maltreatment, including exposure to IPV, on the ability to form and maintain positive relationships, but also on mental health, are implicated in this intergenerational continuity (Marshall et al., 2022). Specifically, insecure attachment or high-conflict relationships are more likely to be characterized by violent interactions (Godbout et al., 2017; Sommer et al., 2017). Mental health problems in IPV victims and perpetrators can also increase the risk of violence in intimate relationships (Spencer et al., 2019a). These, in turn, increase the risk for second-generation exposure to IPV in childhood (Sutton & Simons, 2021). Addressing mental health symptoms in parents with a history of childhood exposure to IPV thus represents a potential target for breaking IPV intergenerational cycles (Stephenson, 2021).

Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence

In line with theoretical models, empirical studies show that individuals are at an increased risk for IPV victimization as adults when they were exposed to IPV as children (Fanslow et al., 2021; Hasselle et al., 2020). In a meta-analysis on physical IPV victimization, the strongest risk factors were previous IPV perpetration and exposure to IPV in the family of origin (Spencer et al., 2019b). Significant associations were observed between a mother's maltreatment history, including exposure to IPV, her IPV victimization, and her adolescent daughter’s exposure to IPV (Adams et al., 2019). Using data from the longitudinal Rochester Youth Development Study, Smith et al. (2011) found that adolescents who were exposed to severe physical IPV between caregivers were at a greater risk of experiencing violence in their intimate relationships in emerging adulthood. Within this study, adult involvement in IPV (victimization and perpetration) was mediated by being in a violent intimate relationship in early adulthood, however, other potential mediators and moderators, such as mental health issues, were not investigated.

One potent risk or protective factor for the intergenerational continuity of IPV victimization may be mental health (Costa & Botelheiro, 2021). For example, in childhood, exposure to IPV is associated with a dysregulated stress response (Holmes et al., 2022a), and internalizing (e.g., anxiety, self-harm, depression) and externalizing symptoms (e.g., aggression, attention deficit and hyperactivity; Holmes, 2013; Holmes et al., 2015; Sonego et al., 2018). A recent study reviewing 50 years of empirical research on child exposure to IPV highlights its impact on mental health, while acknowledging the need for more research regarding protective factors that contribute to resilient outcomes for children exposed to IPV (Holmes et al., 2022b).

Mothers’ Mental Health

Children may not only experience symptoms during childhood following exposure to IPV, but this can also lead to adult mental health problems. In a sample of adults between the ages of 20 and 24, Cater et al. (2015) found that exposure to and the severity of IPV was associated with increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and self-harming behaviours. Similar results have been documented through a systematic review showing that many adult survivors of exposure to IPV report difficulties with depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and anxiety (Lagdon et al., 2014). These effects can result in some children experiencing a more difficult life trajectory with consequences that stem into the next generation. However, it is worth noting that many survivors present with resilient functioning, which could have a buffering effect for their children (Marshall et al., 2023).

Some studies have emphasized the significance of maternal psychological distress in understanding the effects of IPV and exposure to IPV on children (Spiller et al., 2012). However, very few studies have empirically investigated the role of psychological distress in IPV victimization and intergenerational cycles. Psychological distress, as a general measure of stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms, may best reflect the broad range and comorbidity of mental health symptoms that mothers may experience following exposure to IPV as children. In a sample of mother-child dyads (between the ages of 2 and 18), Wadji et al. (2022) found that mothers’ childhood experiences of physical abuse were associated with IPV victimization in adulthood and that cumulative experiences of childhood abuse and current IPV were associated with anxious and depressive symptoms in mothers. This study highlights the intergenerational link between exposure to IPV and later IPV victimizations in adulthood, as well as the important role of mother’s mental health. Another study documented an association between mental health problems and IPV, and the contribution of psychological distress, specifically post-traumatic stress symptoms, to the intergenerational transmission of IPV (Whiting et al., 2009).

Gaps in Past Research

More research is needed to understand not only how exposure to IPV as children confers a greater risk of IPV victimization in adolescence and adulthood, but also how this risk translates into the next generation. Childhood exposure to IPV may negatively impact mental health, which may be a determining factor in its intergenerational continuity, but this remains to be further examined empirically. Moreover, numerous studies address IPV, but only a few emphasize severe forms of IPV despite these being more strongly associated with intergenerational cycles of abuse than less severe IPV forms (e.g., psychological IPV) (Cater et al., 2015; Langevin et al., 2020). Additionally, the economic burden of severe forms of IPV, such as those leading to physical injury (e.g., sexual or physical IPV), is substantial. Indeed, in the United States, the estimated lifetime costs (e.g., medical costs, lost of productivity, disability claims, criminal justice, etc.) of severe IPV (i.e., sexual or physical violence and stalking) is $103,767 per female victim, resulting in an overall economic burden of nearly $3.6 trillion over the victims’ lifetimes (Peterson et al., 2018), highlighting the need for effective prevention.

The focus on emerging adults is also important as few studies have focused on intergenerational cycles of physical IPV among this age group, despite this developmental period being highly relevant to the topic of IPV (Islam et al., 2014; Franklin & Kercher, 2012). Indeed, the period of emerging adulthood, between the ages of 18 and 25, has been conceptualized as a unique developmental period that is characterized by many transitions in education, work, and relationships (Arnett, 2004). Examining IPV continuity among emerging adults captures long-term associations between childhood exposure and adult victimization in relationships. Further, the emerging adulthood period represents a time when individuals may form romantic relationships and start family planning. Thus, it represents an important opportunity for prevention and clinical interventions to break intergenerational cycles of IPV. More research into intergenerational cycles of IPV victimization will contribute to the identification of effective targets for IPV prevention and intervention.

Current Study

The current study examined the continuity of IPV by documenting how childhood exposure to IPV in mothers may increase the risk of their children being physically victimized in their romantic relationships in emerging adulthood. Specifically, we examined childhood exposure to IPV of emerging adults as a mediator, and maternal psychological distress as a moderator. Using a dyadic sample of mothers and their emerging adult children, the hypotheses proposed for this study were: 1) there will be a positive association between mothers’ exposure to IPV during childhood and their emerging adult child’s experience of physical injury by an intimate partner; 2) there will be a mediating effect of emerging adults’ exposure to IPV in this association; and 3) given the literature showing the impacts of exposure to IPV and IPV victimization on mental health, we hypothesize that mothers’ psychological distress will moderate the association between maternal and emerging adults’ childhood exposure to IPV, such that less psychological distress may be a protective against children’s exposure to IPV.

Method

Participants

A total of 1,218 individuals participated in an online survey, including 409 mothers and 809 emerging adults. Data screening measures were used to ensure the quality of the data, as recommended by DeSimone et al. (2015). Data were excluded if less than 75% of the survey was completed (n = 36); if participants provided an invalid identification number (n = 39); they indicated that their data should not be used (n = 36); they failed to correctly answer at least three out of five attention check questions (n = 121); or they completed the survey in 15 min or less, which represents half the mode completion time (n = 17). Furthermore, duplicate identification numbers were removed (n = 68), as well as mothers with missing ages (n = 68). Data cleaning measures resulted in a final sample of 578 emerging adults aged 18 to 25 years old (M = 20.87, SD = 2.17; 90% woman-identifying), and 253 mothers (M = 51.16 years old with a range between 36 and 66 years, SD = 5.82), with a total of 186 complete dyads.

Procedure

Participants were recruited across Canada from 2019 to 2021 through convenience sampling using social media advertisements, university department and local community organization listservs. Participants first completed a consent form as part of an initial survey, including their contact information as well as the contact information for the other dyad member, who was then emailed a link to the survey to indicate their consent. Participants were assigned an identification number which was used to match dyads and anonymize their information (e.g., 123456 and 123456-D). Due to COVID-19, recruitment was conducted predominantly online rather than through posting advertisements at physical locations. Both English and French-speaking participants were recruited to complete a series of online using Qualtrics. Questionnaires that were not readily available in French were back-translated. A $5 e-gift card was given to each dyad member who completed the survey together. All participants were also entered into a draw to win one of two iPads. Ethics approval was received from all participating institutions.

Measures

Sociodemographic Questionnaire

All participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire to obtain categorical information about participants’ ethnicity, levels of education, income, employment, and family status.

Childhood Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence

Both mothers and emerging adults answered yes or no to three questions which were adapted from the Conflict Tactics Scale 2 (CTS2; Straus & Douglas, 2004). The three questions are: 1) in your childhood, have you seen your mother or father destroy an object belonging to his/her partner intentionally, criticized him/her on his/her appearance, threatened to hit him/her or threw something at him/her? 2) Have you ever seen your mother or father shove, hit, or throw things at their partner? 3) Have you ever seen your mother or father kick, punch, or beat up their partner? Mothers’ responses (α = 0.855) served as the predictor independent variable and emerging adults’ responses were examined as a mediator (α = 0.732). A score ranging from 0 to 3 was computed, representing the number of abusive acts that the participant was exposed to.

Psychological Distress

The moderator variable was mothers’ psychological distress scores obtained using the PSI-14—Psychiatric Symptoms Index—Short version (Préville et al., 1992), which consists of 14 items assessing anxiety, depression, cognitive problems, and irritability. Example items on this questionnaire include: “did you feel hopeless about the future”, “did you feel nervous or shaky inside,” to which participants answered using a Likert-scale ranging from 0: never to 3: almost always in the past week. Total scores are brought to a scale ranging from 0 to 100 with higher scores reflecting greater psychological distress (α = 0.931).

Physical Injury

As the dependent variable, emerging adults’ responses on the injury chronicity subscale of the Conflict Tactics Scale 2 (CTS2; Straus & Douglas, 2004) were used. The CTS2 consists of 10 items to which participants indicate how many times their partner performed certain actions in the past year, with scores ranging from 0 to 50. The response options include once in the past year (1); twice in the past year (2); 3–5 times in the past year (3); 6–10 times in the past year (4); 11–20 times in the past year (5); more than 20 times (6); not in the past year but it did happen before (7); and this never happened (8). Response options 7 and 8 were recoded to 0. The physical injury chronicity score was calculated by summing the midpoints for each response options (e.g., 3–5 times = 4, 11–20 = 15 times; the 20 times + is recoded to 25 times). The chronicity score reflects how often participants were physically injured by their partner in the past year (α = 0.642). This subscale is comprised of two items: “I had a sprain, bruise, or small cut, or felt pain the next day because of a fight with my partner”; “I went see a doctor (M.D.) or needed to see a doctor because of a fight with my partner.”

Data Analysis

Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed in SPSS. Given the data screening measures that were introduced, missing data were minimal (less than 1%). A moderated mediation model tested with mothers exposure to IPV during childhood as the predictor variable, mothers’ psychological distress as a moderator, emerging adults’ exposure to IPV during childhood as a mediator, and emerging adults’ physical injury by an intimate partner as the outcome variable. Sociodemographic characteristics were not significantly associated with the emerging adults’ injury and were therefore not retained as control variables. The moderated mediation model using ordinary least squares regression was conducted in using the PROCESS macro for SPSS (Hayes, 2018).

Results

Preliminary Analyses

In the overall sample of 186 dyads, a high proportion of participants was White with moderate to high levels of education (Table 1). Mother-rated childhood exposure to IPV was positively associated with their self-reported psychological distress, and with childhood exposure to IPV and physical injury for their emerging adult child (Table 2). Out of the 186 dyads, 31.7% of young adults and 29.6% of mothers indicated being exposed to some form IPV as children. There were 136 dyads with emerging adults who had data available on the physical injury scale, as only participants who were in a romantic relationship within the past year completed the CTS2.

Table 1 Sample Characteristics
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Table 2 Correlations
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Moderated-Mediation Model

The results of the moderated-mediation model are reported using unstandardized coefficients (Table 3). The unconditional direct effect of mothers’ exposure to IPV during childhood on emerging adults’ reports of physical injury was significant. Mothers’ reports of exposure to a greater number of acts of IPV were associated with emerging adults’ experiencing a greater number of physical injuries by an intimate partner. Emerging adults’ exposure to IPV was also positively associated with emerging adults’ reports of past-year physical injury by an intimate partner (see Fig. 1 for a visual representation).

Table 3 Estimation of the Moderated-Mediation Model
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Fig. 1
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Moderated Mediation Model Results

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The interaction between mothers’ exposure to IPV and psychological distress on emerging adults’ exposure to IPV was significant. Specifically, the association between mothers’ psychological distress and emerging adults’ childhood exposure to IPV at three levels of the moderator are presented in Table 4. When psychological distress was low or moderate (16th and 50th percentiles), the association was non-significant. However, at high levels of maternal psychological distress (84th percentile), the association of maternal childhood exposure to IPV and emerging adults’ childhood exposure to IPV was significant. Psychological distress alone was not significantly related to emerging adults’ childhood exposure to IPV. The index of moderated mediation was not significant (SE = 0.009, 95% CI [-0.000, 0.033]), reflecting no moderation of the indirect effect of mothers’ childhood exposure to IPV on emerging adults’ physical injury by a romantic partner through emerging adults’ childhood exposure to IPV.

Table 4 Conditional Effects of the Focal Predictor at Values of the Moderator
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Discussion

The aim of this study was to examine intergenerational patterns of IPV, specifically how mothers’ experiences of exposure to IPV during childhood may be related to their child’s exposure to IPV in childhood, and to their experiences of severe physical IPV as adults. We also aimed to test for the possible moderating role of mothers’ psychological distress in these associations. In line with our hypotheses, we found evidence for the continuity of IPV victimization across generations, as emerging adults were more likely to experience severe physical violence in their intimate relationships when their mothers had a history of childhood exposure to IPV. These findings align with past research showing that exposure to IPV as a child is associated with experiencing abuse by an intimate partner as an adult (Madruga et al., 2017; Spencer et al., 2019b). We also confirmed the second hypothesis by demonstrating that this association was mediated by emerging adults’ childhood exposure to IPV. Finally, our third hypothesis – that mothers’ psychological distress would moderate the association between their own and their children’s childhood exposures to IPV – was supported. Indeed, mothers’ childhood exposure to IPV was only associated with their children’s exposure to IPV at high levels of mothers' psychological distress. This is in line with the literature showing that mental health may be a key factor involved in the transmission of maltreatment (e.g., Langevin et al., 2021), and in intergenerational cycles of IPV (Smith et al., 2011). Mental health problems can increase the difficulty of leaving an abusive relationship, and increase the possibility that children in the home are exposed to violence between caregivers (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder; Adams et al., 2021).

Strengths, Limitations, and Implications for Future Research

This dyadic study contributes to the literature on intergenerational cycles of IPV by highlighting potential mechanisms (childhood exposure to IPV) and risk/protective factors (mothers’ psychological distress) that can be further researched and targeted in clinical interventions. The model accounted for both mothers’ and their emerging adult child’s exposure to IPV as children, and emerging adult’s experiences of physical injury in their intimate relationships. It is important that research continues to investigate subtypes of IPV victimization to determine potentially unique risk and protective factors involved in intergenerational IPV, which may contribute to increased precision of interventions.

Methodological limitations of this study include the cross-sectional design and the use of retrospective recall of IPV childhood exposure. Additionally, only three questions adapted from the Conflict Tactics Scale 2 (Straus & Douglas, 2004) were used to obtain information about IPV exposure. It should be noted that the questionnaire used to measure emerging adults’ physical injury as the outcome variable showed an internal consistency of 0.642, while alpha values of 0.70 or above are generally considered desirable. Future studies might extend these findings by using validated questionnaires designed for collecting experiences of IPV exposure, as well as using multiple methods of gathering this information (e.g., qualitative interviews, child protection records). Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the directions of the associations documented in this study. Another limitation of our results is that the co-occurrence of multiple forms of IPV was not accounted for, and we did not examine some forms of IPV (e.g., economic, coercive control, sexual, psychological), or childhood exposure to different types of IPV. Furthermore, the current study included participants who had been in a romantic relationship in the past year, however, individuals can experience various forms of IPV by ex-partners as well. Thus, these participants could be included in future investigations.

We did not have data on fathers’ IPV histories or mental health, and this should be examined in future studies to determine if fathers’ histories of IPV exposure similarly relates to their emerging adult child’s victimization in intimate relationships. As well, it will be important to identify if there are differing risk and protective factors involved in cycles of IPV victimization with father-child dyads, which will guide future research and inform interventions. Further research employing similar moderation and mediation models would benefit from also including protective factors such as social support variables. Social support may moderate the effects of mothers’ childhood exposure to IPV on the development of psychological difficulties (e.g., Jose & Novaco, 2016). Qualitative research on this topic would provide insight into these quantitative results by furthering our understanding of participants’ lived experiences of intergenerational IPV, their help-seeking behaviours, and identifying gaps in clinical practice that could be helpful to address to reduce obstacles or barriers to receiving support, as well as leaving and recovering from violent relationships. Mothers’ experiences of IPV victimization should also be investigated in similar moderated-mediation models to account for a more complete understanding of intergenerational cycles.

Although this study did not examine mothers’ strengths in terms of their parenting and their relationships with their children, this could be further evaluated in research on intergenerational IPV. For instance, Scrafford et al. (2022) conducted focus groups with mothers who had experienced IPV, and service providers. They found that mothers described more parenting strengths than did the service providers (e.g., increased nurturance and compassion to compensate for IPV exposure; concern for child’s well-being as a motivating factor to leave a violent relationship; perception of motherhood as a strength; using creative strategies to comfort children despite housing and financial stress) (Scrafford et al., 2022). Continued investigation of the role of attachment styles in cycles of IPV victimization is recommended. Research suggests that anxious, avoidant, and disorganized attachment styles are associated with physical IPV perpetration and victimization (Spencer et al., 2021), which points to an important factor for early intervention with families. Future studies could test for mediating and moderating effects of both attachment and mental health variables to explain the continuity of IPV in parent-child dyads who have been exposed to IPV. This research could be further elaborated upon using qualitative methods to gain a deeper understanding of mothers’ and emerging adults’ experiences of IPV continuity.

Finally, IPV is more commonly reported among young women (Savage, 2021a), LGBTQ2 + women (Jaffray, 2021a), LGBTQ2 + men (Jaffray, 2021b), individuals of colour (e.g., Indigenous women) (Heidinger, 2021), and women with disabilities (Savage, 2021b). It is important to note that the current study was based on a sample of mothers and their emerging adult children, the majority of which self-identified as women. Additionally, most of the sample indicated being White with somewhat high levels of income and education. Diverse participants in terms of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender identification, and sexual orientation should be recruited in future research to better understand the associations involved in the intergenerational cycles of IPV among individuals who are at risk of experiencing IPV victimization.

Practical Implications

Several clinical implications can be derived from this study and applied in the context of child and women protection services. It is essential to assess families’ history of IPV exposure as a risk factor for the next generation’s IPV victimization. A crucial finding from our study that is clinically significant relates to mothers’ mental health. Health professionals need to evaluate and address mental health when working with families who have been exposed to IPV, as reductions in distress symptoms may help prevent cycles of IPV. Interventions should be tailored to mothers and their emerging adult children who have both been exposed to violence and experienced physical violence in their adult intimate relationships. Such interventions might include trauma-focused therapy or family-based interventions to address intergenerational patterns of violence. Education and awareness programs should be presented to the families to increase their understanding of IPV and awareness of the warning signs of IPV. In addition, family-centred prevention programs could also be presented to reduce the risk of IPV at an early stage by strengthening family relationships and reducing the risk of violence. Prevention programs should be offered to support mothers facing IPV as well as their children. Such programs would not only contribute to ending the current violence, but also prevent a potential intergenerational cycle of IPV. Couples therapy, which might be considered as an early prevention strategy for emerging adults, could also help to prevent partners from using violence toward each other helping them learn healthy ways of interacting, such as using constructive conflict resolution, communication, and coping skills in their daily lives. Social support resources for mothers experiencing IPV could also include support groups and accompaniment services to them as well as their children.

Conclusion

The current study found evidence for the intergenerational continuity of IPV, highlighting important associations between mothers’ exposure to IPV during childhood and their emerging adult child’s experiences of physical injury in intimate relationships. Importantly, mothers’ mental health was found to be a contributing factor within this cycle such that the association between childhood exposure to IPV in both members of the dyads was only significant when mothers reported high levels of distress. Intergenerational continuity of IPV is a complex and challenging issue that requires a systemic approach. A rigorous assessment and proper intervention should be offered to the mothers who experience IPV and their children who may be exposed to such violence at an early stage to break intergenerational cycles IPV. Clinicians and practitioners could play a critical role in breaking these cycles by using evidence-based practices to enhance maternal mental health through trauma-processing. Future studies should focus on identifying both risk and protective factors involved in various subtypes of intergenerational IPV in order to prevent and break these cycles.