Violent as youth, violent later, study finds

SEATTLE – Youth violence and adult domestic violence are directly connected, researchers at the University of Washington say after observing the behavior of more than 800 people over the past 22 years.

“Most people think youth violence and domestic violence are separate problems, but this study shows that they are intertwined,” said Todd Herrenkohl, lead author of the study and a UW associate professor of social work.

The value of the study’s findings lies in prevention, Herrenkohl said. Teaching kids to get along at an early age and also during adolescence could prevent all kinds of adult violence, the researchers found.

“The message is a hopeful one,” he said, adding that the researchers feel something can be done to decrease the violent tendencies of people who are heading down that path.

The Seattle Social Development Project, run by researchers in the UW School of Social Work, has been studying the behavior of more than 800 people since they were fifth-graders in 1985 and will continue to follow them into adulthood. The researchers have periodically asked them to answer a series of questions. For these new results, the researchers focused on about 650 of the original participants who had a partner.

One finding that is unique to this study is that it’s almost never too late to stop violent behavior, the researcher said. Many social intervention programs, such as playground mediation, usually focus on children in elementary school.

The results of this study show that programs that teach young people nonaggressive problem solving and communication could be equally effective in middle schools for early adolescents. Herrenkohl added, however, that earlier intervention is better and a more comprehensive approach that goes beyond the playground would have the biggest impact.

Adolescents who engaged in violent behavior throughout their teen years, as well as those whose violence began in their mid-teens, were both more likely to engage in domestic violence in their mid-20s than other young adults, according to the results, which were published in the current issue of the peer-reviewed journal Violence and Victims.

The researchers found other factors that indicate domestic violence is likely later, such as living in a neighborhood where attitudes toward drug sales and violence were favorable. Another important factor was whether the person partnered with someone who has a similar background of violent, anti-social behavior.

“Individuals who have a history of anti-social behavior may be more likely to find a partner with a similar history and re-create what they experienced as children,” Herrenkohl said.

But the findings concerning personal drug and alcohol abuse surprised the research team, which found no independent link between alcohol and drug use and domestic violence.

Herrenkohl acknowledged that other research has shown a relationship between alcohol and drug use and violent behavior, but this study examined more moderate kinds of violence, like hitting, kicking and biting.