Early childhood exposure to intimate partner violence and teen depression symptoms in the US

Among the various negative outcomes of intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure to children, depression symptoms are worthy of attention given the effects on well-being and long-term achievement. This study examined the effects of early childhood exposure to IPV between ages 1 and 3 on depression symptoms at age 15 and investigated whether maternal physical punishment at age 5 and peer bullying victimisation at age 9 affected the association. Data came from five waves of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The study was based on 20 U.S. cities with populations of over 200,000 people. The most recent wave of data collection occurs during the period between 2014 and 2017. The final analytic sample was 1,690 children. Structural equation modeling was utilised to examine the effects of exposure to IPV on physical punishment, bullying victimisation, and depression symptoms. Early exposure to IPV was associated with experiencing physical punishment at Year 5, which subsequently increased peer bullying victimisation at Year 9 and then depression symptoms at Year 15. Early exposure to IPV had a direct effect on depression symptoms at Year 15. Early exposure to IPV also had indirect effects on Year 15 depression symptoms through its effects on physical punishment and bullying victimisation. The total standardised effect of early exposure on depression symptoms was 0.06. Consistent with trauma theory and the ecobiodevelopmental framework, the results indicate that exposure to IPV appeared to have a long-term effect on children, manifested in teen depression symptoms.