Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Little is known about the extent to which immigration may play a role in the experience of family violence and the link between various types of family violence, including child maltreatment and intimate partner violence. This study uses nationally representative data from the United States (US) to explore whether one's immigrant status and acculturation to the US may influence the link between childhood experiences of abuse and being the victim or perpetrator of intimate partner violence in adulthood. Compared to US-born adults with US-born parents, foreign-born individuals were less likely to report a history of sexual and emotional abuse in their childhood, but were more likely to report physical neglect. Immigrant status was not associated with intimate partner violence perpetration or victimization in adulthood among respondents with or without a child maltreatment history. Among those without a child maltreatment history, foreign-born adults who were more acculturated to the US were more likely to report perpetrating intimate partner violence compared to US-born adults with US-born parents. Results tell us that immigrant status and acculturation are important factors to consider in family violence experiences.