Childhood Maltreatment, Revictimization, and Partner Violence Victimization Through Midlife: A Prospective Longitudinal Investigation

Abstract

Existing research suggests that prior victimizations during a person’s lifetime, particularly childhood traumas and maltreatment, are risk factors for abuse and revictimization in adulthood, although longitudinal evidence is sparse. Using data from a 30-year ongoing longitudinal study of the long-term consequences of childhood maltreatment, this paper describes the extent to which childhood maltreatment predicts subsequent victimization and partner violence victimization at two time points in adulthood. Data were obtained from a prospective cohort design study in which children with court-substantiated cases of maltreatment (ages 0–11 years) and demographically matched controls were followed into adulthood and interviewed over several waves. Childhood maltreatment was assessed through juvenile and adult court records from 1967 to 1971 in a midwestern county area in the United States. Victimization experiences were assessed from 2000 to 2002 ( Mage = 39.5 years) and 2009 to 2010 ( Mage = 47.5) and included two types based on information from the lifetime trauma and victimization history instrument and questions about past year partner violence victimization. Individuals with histories of childhood maltreatment were more likely to report physical and sexual assaults and kidnapping and stalking victimization than controls through age 39.5. In contrast, the two groups did not differ at the later assessment at age 47.5, except maltreated individuals reported greater risk for sexual assault/abuse than controls. For intimate partner violence victimization at age 39.5, maltreated and control groups differed only in terms of victimization involving injury. Later in adulthood, more individuals with histories of childhood maltreatment reported partner physical violence victimization compared to controls. Although these longitudinal findings showed a general decline in victimization experiences over the two time points, these results demonstrate that childhood maltreatment increases risk for subsequent revictimization in middle adulthood, specifically for sexual assault/abuse and intimate partner physical violence victimization. These findings have implications for prevention and intervention efforts targeting maltreated children.