Adult outcomes in women who experienced parental violence during childhood

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect 2003-10, Vol.27 (10), p.1127-1144
• Main Authors: Romito, Patrizia, Crisma, Micaela, Saurel-Cubizolles, Marie-Josèphe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Battered Women - psychology; Battered Women - statistics & numerical data; Biological and medical sciences; Child Abuse - psychology; Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data; Children & youth; Cross-Sectional Studies; Domestic violence; Employment; Employment Level; Family environment. Family history; Female; Females; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Italy; Marital Status; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Parents; Parents - psychology; Parents’ violence; Parity; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Social Services; Socio-demographic indicators; Spouse Abuse - psychology; Violence; Vulnerabilities and strengths of victims; Women; Women's Health
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2003.09.003

Objective: The aims of this work are to analyze the associations between violence suffered at the hands of fathers and mothers in childhood and adolescence and three outcomes in adulthood—having or not having children, marital status, and occupational status—controlling for the possible impact of partner violence. Method: This cross-sectional study examined a sample of 510 women, attending various health care and social services facilities in a Northern Italian city. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Results: Almost one quarter of the respondents reported some kind of abuse by one or both parents, and 18.2% had experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a partner or ex-partner; women abused by parents were more likely to experience partner violence. Irrespective of whether they experienced partner violence, women abused by parents were more likely to be childless, divorced or never married, and in a precarious occupational situation. Conclusions: This study is the first one carried out in Italy on this subject: results largely confirmed the trends found in studies in other countries. However, two of the associations which emerged, namely between parents’ abuse and being divorced or never married and between parents’ abuse and being childless, are worth noting, since they could be interpreted as failures or, on the contrary, as active and positive choices made by abused women in a difficult context. Qualitative data from case histories provided insights into the violence some women have suffered and its consequences, but also into women’s great resilience and strengths. Objectif: Tout en contrôlant l’occurrence des violences par un partenaire, le but de cet article est d’analyser le lien entre, d’une part, les violences des mères et des pères envers leur enfant, et, d’autre part, trois phénomènes de leur vie adulte, soit avoir ou ne pas avoir d’enfants, le statut marital et le statut socio-professionnel. Méthode: Cette étude transversale a examiné un échantillon de 510 femmes utilisant les services de santé et les services sociaux dans une ville du nord-est de l’Italie. Des données quantitatives et qualitatives ont été collectées. Résultats: Près d’un quart des participantes de l’étude déclarent avoir subi des agressions de la part de l’un ou de l’autre parent et 18,2% ont été victimes des violences physiques et/ou sexuelles de la part de leur conjoint ou d’un ex-conjoint. Les violences par le conjoint mises à part, les femmes agres