Previous research has found that childhood maltreatment predicts increased risk for violence and partner violence and there is some evidence for poorer executive functioning and low self-esteem. To date, there have been no longitudinal studies that have examined the extent to which executive functioning and self-esteem play a role in the relationship between child maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. This study aims to fill this gap by utilizing data from a prospective longitudinal study of children with documented court cases of abuse and neglect (ages 0–11 years) from a metropolitan county area in the Midwest (during the years 1967–1971) and demographically matched controls. Both maltreated individuals and matched controls were followed up and assessed over several waves of the study in young and middle adulthood. At mean age 39 years, inhibition and cognitive control were evaluated, while cognitive flexibility and nonverbal reasoning were assessed at mean age 41. Self-esteem was also assessed at mean age 41. Physical IPV perpetration was evaluated at age 47 using two different scoring strategies in separate models: the number of acts and variety of acts, ensuring avoidance of potential score skewness. Childhood maltreatment predicted lower executive functioning and self-esteem, and both independently predicted intimate partner violence perpetration. Lower executive functioning and self-esteem mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and physical IPV perpetration in midlife, irrespective of the scoring method. Findings suggest that executive functioning and self-esteem play a role in the cycle of violence. Implications and suggestions for future directions are discussed.

中文翻译：

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从童年虐待到亲密伴侣暴力实施：对执行功能和自尊作用的前瞻性纵向研究

先前的研究发现，儿童期虐待预示着暴力和伴侣暴力的风险增加，并且有一些证据表明执行功能较差和自尊心低下。迄今为止，还没有纵向研究检验执行功能和自尊在虐待儿童和亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）实施之间的关系中发挥的作用程度。本研究旨在通过利用前瞻性纵向研究的数据来填补这一空白，该研究对中西部大都市县地区（1967-1971 年）有虐待和忽视法庭案件记录的儿童（0-11 岁）和人口统计数据进行了研究。匹配的控件。在青年和中年阶段的几轮研究中，对受虐待的个体和匹配的对照进行了跟踪和评估。在平均年龄 39 岁时评估抑制和认知控制，在平均年龄 41 岁时评估认知灵活性和非语言推理。在平均年龄 41 岁时评估自尊。在 47 岁时使用两种不同的评分策略评估身体 IPV 实施情况在单独的模型中：行为的数量和行为的种类，确保避免潜在的分数偏差。童年虐待预示着较低的执行功能和自尊，并且两者都独立地预示着亲密伴侣的暴力行为。无论评分方法如何，较低的执行功能和自尊介导了童年虐待与中年身体 IPV 实施之间的关系。研究结果表明，执行功能和自尊在暴力循环中发挥着作用。讨论了对未来方向的影响和建议。