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. 2023 Jan;38(1-2):NP1446-NP1472.
doi: 10.1177/08862605221090573. Epub 2022 Apr 26.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Intimate Partner Violence Among Youth in Cambodia: A Latent Class Analysis

Affiliations

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Intimate Partner Violence Among Youth in Cambodia: A Latent Class Analysis

Stephanie S Miedema et al. J Interpers Violence. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a global public health problem, including in low- and middle-income country settings, and are associated with increased risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) during young adulthood. However, current measurement of ACEs may underestimate sequelae of different combinations, or classes, of ACEs and mask class-specific associations with adult exposure to IPV. We used data among ever-partnered young women and men aged 18-24 years from the Cambodia Violence Against Children Survey (Nw = 369; Nm = 298). Participants retrospectively reported on seven ACEs and lifetime physical and/or sexual IPV victimization and perpetration. Latent classes comprised of ACEs were used as predictors of physical and/or sexual IPV perpetration and victimization, controlling for household wealth. Identified latent classes for women were "Low ACEs" (60%), "Community Violence and Physical Abuse" (23%), and "Physical, Sexual and Emotional Abuse" (17%). Latent classes for men were "Low ACEs" (48%) and "Household and Community Violence" (52%). Among women, those in the Physical, Sexual and Emotional Abuse class were more likely to experience and perpetrate physical and/or sexual IPV in their romantic relationships compared to the reference group (Low ACEs). Women in the Community Violence and Physical Abuse class were more likely to perpetrate physical and/or sexual IPV, but not experience IPV, compared to women in the Low ACEs class. Among men, those in the Household and Community Violence class were more likely to perpetrate physical and/or sexual IPV against a partner, compared to men in the Low ACEs class. Overall, patterns of ACEs were differently associated with IPV outcomes among young women and men in Cambodia. National violence prevention efforts might consider how different combinations of childhood experiences shape risk of young adulthood IPV and tailor interventions accordingly to work with youth disproportionately affected by varied combinations of ACEs.

Keywords: Cambodia; adverse childhood experiences; distal outcome; intimate partner violence; latent class analysis; violence against children.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Latent class profiles for 3-class model of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among ever-partnered young women. Note. Abbreviations: PSEA = physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; CVPA = community violence and physical abuse; LA = low ACEs.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Latent class profiles for 2-class model of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among ever-partnered young men. Note. Abbreviations: LA = Low ACEs; HHCV = Household and community violence.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Probability of intimate partner violence victimization or perpetration by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) class membership. Note. Abbreviations: PSEA = physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; CVPA = community violence and physical abuse; HHCV = household and community violence; LA = low ACEs.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Mean level of intimate partner violence perpetration frequency by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) class membership. Note. Abbreviations: PSEA = Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; CVPA = Community violence and physical abuse; HHCV = household and community violence; LA = low ACEs.

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