RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EXPERIENCES OF PARENTAL VIOLENCE DURING CHILDHOOD AND WOMENS PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMATOLOGY

Data were collected from 472 women between the ages of 18 and 45 drawn from five sources: outpatient alcoholism treatment, DWI education pro grams, a shelter for battered women, outpatient mental health treatmen t, and randomly from the community. To control for alcohol problems an d help-seeking behavior; respondents were classified into three groups : women with alcohol problems and in treatment, women without alcohol problems and in treatment, and women in the random sample. Controlling for respondents'(a) help-seeking behavior; alcohol problems, race, ch ildhood socioeconomic status, and parental alcohol problems, (b) exper iences of father-to-daughter verbal aggression and violence, and (c) l evel of severity of father-to-daughter abuse were found to predict adu lthood psychiatric symptomatology. However experiences of mother-to-da ughter verbal aggression and violence, as well as level of severity of mother-to-daughter abuse were found unrelated to adulthood psychiatri c symptomatology in the multivariate analyses. Explanations for the gr eater effect of father verbal abuse and violence are discussed.