Developmental antecedents of partner abuse: a prospective-longitudinal study.

Prospective measures of risk factors for partner abuse were obtained from a large birth cohort in 4 domains: socioeconomic resources, family relations, educational achievements, and problem behaviors. Partner abuse outcomes were measured at age 21. Results showed that antecedents of abuse included risk factors from all 4 domains. Risk factors were similar for men and women. Some age 3 antecedents were significant, but the strongest correlations were from age 15. In multivariate analyses, the most consistent predictor was the presence of early problem behaviors. In a cross-validation tests, abuse was moderately predictable by the same antecedents, whether the outcome measure was self-report or reports from partners of sample members. Findings suggest that theories of partner abuse should account for developmental influences from multiple life domains and that primary prevention of partner abuse should begin in adolescence.

Gender differences in partner violence in a birth cohort of 21-year-olds: bridging the gap between clinical and epidemiological approaches.

This study describes partner violence in a representative sample of young adults. Physical violence perpetration was reported by 37.2% of women and 21.8% of men. Correlates of involvement in severe physical violence differed by gender. Severe physical violence was more strongly associated with unemployment, low educational attainment, few social support resources, polydrug use, antisocial personality disorder symptoms, depression symptoms, and violence toward strangers for men than for women. Women who were victims of severe physical violence were more likely than men who were victims to experience symptoms of anxiety. The findings converge with community studies showing that more women than men are physically violent toward a partner and with clinical studies highlighting violence perpetrated against women by men with deviant characteristics.

Psychiatric disorder in a birth cohort of young adults: prevalence, comorbidity, clinical significance, and new case incidence from ages 11 to 21.

Mental health data were gathered at ages 11, 13, 15, 18, and 21 in an epidemiological sample using standardized diagnostic assessments. Prevalence of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed. revised; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) mental disorders increased longitudinally from late childhood (18%) through mid-(22%) to late-adolescence (41%) and young adulthood (40%). Nearly half of age-21 cases had comorbid diagnoses; and comorbidity was associated with severity of impairment. The incidence of cases with adult onset was only 10.6%: 73.8% of adults diagnosed at age 21 had a developmental history of mental disorder. Relative to new cases, those with developmental histories were more severely impaired and more likely to have comorbid diagnoses. The high prevalence rate and significant impairment associated with a diagnosis of mental disorder suggests that treatment resources need to target the young adult sector of the population. The low new-case incidence in young adulthood, however, suggests that primary prevention and etiological research efforts need to target children and adolescents.