A recent study led by Rachel Kidman, PhD, from Stony Brook University, reveals a link between adolescent boys' exposure to violence and their likelihood of using violence against intimate partners. The research utilized weekly mobile phone surveys from nearly 500 boys aged 15 to 19 in Soweto, South Africa, collected between 2020 and 2022. The findings are published in PLOS One.
The study highlights the mental and physical health consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and the importance of understanding why young men or adolescent boys perpetrate IPV. It focuses on how new daily experiences of violence affect IPV perpetration rather than past childhood abuse.
Parental consent was obtained for participation in the surveys, ensuring privacy for all information collected. The region where the respondents live has high levels of violence and IPV involving adolescent boys, with an additional risk of HIV transmission.
Surveys asked about experiences of verbal, physical, and sexual violence over the past 24 hours. A total of 12,603 surveys were completed to assess the relationship between boys' victimization by violence and their IPV perpetration. Results showed that approximately one in ten boys experienced violence on an average day.
"We also saw that the boys’ experience of violence changed on a day-to-day basis," states Kidman. "Critically, on days that they experienced violence themselves, boys were much more likely to perpetrate violence against intimate partners."
The research expands this field by showing significant associations between adolescent experiences of violence and IPV perpetration. Mobile surveys provided data largely free from recall bias, offering a more accurate analysis.
“These results mean we have an opportunity to intervene and interrupt the cycle of violence during adolescence,” says Kidman. She suggests teaching emotion regulation skills could reduce IPV perpetration among adolescents.
Further studies should aim to determine how exposure leads to same-day IPV perpetration by examining factors like anger or alcohol use.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health under Award R01MH119878.