Pathways From Witnessing Parental Intimate Partner Violence to Involvement in Bullying: Empirically Testing a Proposed Conceptual Framework

Abstract

We tested a proposed conceptual framework in which we hypothesized that witnessing parental intimate partner violence (witnessing parental IPV) is linked to children's bullying and peer victimization. We also hypothesized that the relationship between witnessing parental IPV and bullying and peer victimization in childhood would be mediated by increased psychological problem behavior, school absences, and problematic peer interactions. We utilized data from the National Survey of Children's Health. We found that witnessing parental IPV was positively related to children's bullying and peer victimization not only directly, but also indirectly through the mediating role of psychological problem behavior, school absences, and problematic peer interactions. Our findings highlight the importance of exploring the mechanisms by which bullying and peer victimization increase in those who have witnessed parental IPV.

Keywords: Bullying; Family violence; Intimate partner violence; Peer victimization; Youth violence.