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Young men growing up around parents who are physically violent to each other are 43% more likely to carry out violence or abuse in their own relationships, new research by the University of Bristol has found. This finding could not be explained by other factors in the person's background, and suggests that if the families of young boys who grow up in violent households are better supported, this could prevent some future violent or abusive relationships.

Using data from 3,243 families from Bristol's Children of the 90s cohort, the researchers estimated intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) risks among young women and men aged 18–21, according to their mothers' IPVA victimization and perpetration status by age 18 (overall and separately for physical, sexual, and psychological IPVA subtypes).

The study, on the SSRN preprint server, found the strongest relationship was between physical parental IPVA and perpetration among young male adults, where those who grew up around parental IPVA were 45% more likely to perpetrate IPVA compared to those who did not. This was after accounting for background differences, such as how educated or affluent the family was.

The research estimated that this physical parental IPVA accounted for up to 1 in 10 cases of young male perpetration, with most of these cases being represented by young males who grew up around both parental physical IPVA and were maltreated themselves during childhood.

Intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA)—physical, sexual, or psychological abuse (including controlling behaviors), between current or past intimate partners—affects 1 in 3 women globally, with the potential to be physically and mentally damaging across generations. It is estimated that a quarter of UK adults have grown up in a household where IPVA has taken place.

Links between parental IPVA and young adult IPVA had been found in previous studies in other countries, but has relied on young people having witnessed IPVA between their parents, and recalling this from decades earlier.

The aim of the study was to get a more reliable estimate for the relationship between parental IPVA and young adult IPVA, where parental IPVA was reported by the parents at the time, and specifically for a U.K. population.

The research also explored the role of other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as child maltreatment, or parental mental health problems, in contributing to this risk, as ACEs are more likely for families with parental IPVA.

Dr. Annie Herbert, Sir Henry Wellcome Research Fellow at the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit in Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences (PHS), and the study's lead author, said, "Our findings suggest that interventions that aim to reduce risks of IPVA could target young boys, such as teaching healthy ways to handle difficult emotions or conflict and about healthy relationships.

"Services supporting families who experience IPVA should consider wider adversity which increases risk of future IPVA outcomes."

The research team suggest further work is needed to better understand the pathways between parental physical IPVA and this perpetration and ways to intervene. However, this would need large datasets that have adequately collected this information, as well as detailed accounts from vulnerable families.

Up to 10% of young male perpetration was accounted for by physical parental IPVA, but this leaves an unexplained 90% that supports continued research into other risk factors.