A recent study led by Rachel Kidman from Stony Brook University has found that adolescent boys who experience violence are more likely to engage in intimate partner violence (IPV). The research, published in PLOS One, used data from mobile phone surveys conducted with nearly 500 boys aged 15 to 19 living in Soweto, South Africa, between 2020 and 2022.
The study highlights the mental and physical health consequences of IPV and emphasizes the importance of understanding why young men or adolescent boys perpetrate such violence. While previous evidence links childhood abuse with later violence perpetration, this study focuses on how daily experiences of violence during adolescence impact IPV behavior.
Parental consent was obtained for participation in the surveys, ensuring privacy for all respondents. The surveys asked about experiences of verbal, physical, and sexual violence over the past 24 hours. A total of 12,603 surveys were completed.
The findings indicate that approximately one in ten boys were victims of violence on an average day. "We also saw that the boys’ experience of violence changed on a day-to-day basis," said Kidman. She noted that experiencing violence made boys more likely to perpetrate IPV against partners on those days.
Kidman explained that this dynamic is not well-documented in existing literature focusing on long-term effects of childhood exposures. By examining real-time experiences, the study identifies new intervention points for preventing IPV.
The research expands knowledge in three key areas: highlighting adolescence as a critical period; using mobile surveys to reduce recall bias; and demonstrating how dynamic exposure to violence influences daily IPV behavior.
"These results mean we have an opportunity to intervene and interrupt the cycle of violence during adolescence," said Kidman. She suggested teaching emotion regulation skills to reduce IPV perpetration among adolescents.
Further studies are recommended to explore factors contributing to same-day IPV perpetration and whether elements like anger or alcohol use play a role.
The research received support from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health under Award R01MH119878.