School bullying perpetration associated with intimate partner violence perpetration

January 01, 0001

School bullying perpetration associated with intimate partner violence perpetration

School bullying perpetration and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration are both thought to stem from desire for power and control over others. These US authors conducted a cross-sectional survey of men aged 18 to 35 years (n = 1491) seeking services at participating community health centers between January 2005 and December 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts.

They found: "Two-fifths of men reported perpetrating school bullying as a child (n = 610; 40.9%). Men who rarely bullied in school were 1.53 times more likely to perpetrate past-year IPV than men who did not bully; this risk was elevated to 3.82 times more likely to perpetrate any past-year IPV for those men who bullied peers frequently."

The authors concluded: "The present study indicates that bullying peers in school as a child, especially frequent bullying perpetration, is associated with increased risk for men's perpetration of IPV as an adult. The effect remains strong after controlling for common prior risk factors for both bullying and IPV perpetration. Future research is needed to discern the mechanisms and underlying root causes of abusive behavior, such as power and control, as a means to prevent violence perpetration across settings and life stages."

This is a first step in understanding how to intervene to prevent bullying and intimate partner violence.

For the full abstract, click here.

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 165(10):890-894, October 2011 © 2011 to the American Medical Association
School Bullying Perpetration and Other Childhood Risk Factors as Predictors of Adult Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration. Kathryn L. Falb, Heather L. McCauley, Michele R. Decker, Jhumka Gupta, Anita Raj, Jay G. Silverman. Correspondence to Dr. Falb: kfalb@hsph.harvard.edu

Category: Z. Social Problems. Keywords: bullying, intimate partner violence, perpetration, men, cross- sectional survey, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Linda French, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 14 October 2011

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.

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