Experiences within the Family of Origin and Intimate Partner Violence: A Dyadic Model Analysis

Experiências na Família de Origem e Violência Conjugal: Análise do Modelo Diádico

Experiencias Familiares de Origen y Violencia Conyugal: Análisis de un Modelo Diádico

Abstract

Intimate partner violence may be influenced by family experience. This study aims to test a dyadic model verifying the relationship between events experienced in the family of origin and intimate partner violence. This study addressed 304 heterosexual couples using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2), and Family Background Questionnaire (FBQ). The analyses were performed using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) and the structural equation model. Less intense violence was positively and significantly correlated with violence perpetrated by husbands and wives (r = 0.661; p < 0.01), whereas no correlation was found between severe violence and latent factors, excluding interdependence between the dyads. All the seven models presented satisfactory goodness of fit (CFI > 0.91; RMSEA < 0.08), except for the dimension “sexual abuse”. Therefore, the results reinforce that the events experienced in the family of origin influence intimate partner violence.

Keywords: family of origin; marital conflict; family violence