Long-term effects of witnessing marital violence for women: The contribution of childhood physical and sexual abuse

A sample of 313 college women completed a questionnaire about experiences w ith violence in childhood and adulthood and adult adjustment and relationsh ip functioning. Nine percent of the women reported having witnessed some ty pe of physical conflict between their parents. Witnessing marital violence was associated with other family mental health risks, childhood physical an d sexual abuse, and adult physical assaults by strangers. Women who witness ed marital violence reported more symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder than other women, after family background and abuse variables were account ed for. Significant interactions between witnessing marital violence and ch ildhood physical abuse were observed for measures of social avoidance and p redictability in partner relationships, indicating that the effects of witn essing marital violence depended on the presence of childhood abuse. Implic ations of these results for research and interventions are discussed.