Violence Across the Lifecourse: Child Maltreatment, Intimate Partner Violence, and Elder Mistreatment

The CVR webinar Evidence Hour series continues with this overview of research on the connections between child maltreatment and later forms of violence that extend to and beyond mid-life. We will discuss the developmental associations between child maltreatment, violence in adolescence, and intimate partner violence (IPV) and elder mistreatment. We will also review the existing, though limited, evidence on the close association between adult IPV and elder mistreatment. We will explain what is known about the persistence of violence in and across family and other interpersonal relationships, noting where gaps in knowledge remain and where research is particularly strong. Throughout the presentation, we will draw on theories to help explain the mechanisms by which early violence exposure leads to later violence victimization and perpetration, as well as factors that mitigate risks and promote resilience in individuals who encounter and are at-risk for violence at different points in the lifecourse.

Related scoping review: “Child Maltreatment, Youth Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, and Elder Mistreatment: A Review and Theoretical Analysis of Research on Violence Across the Life Course” (2020) in Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. (Email the Research Librarian for full-text.)

Presenters:

Todd I. Herrenkohl, Ph.D., is Professor and Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor of Children and Families at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. His scholarship focuses on the correlates and consequences of child maltreatment, risk and resiliency, and positive youth development. His funded studies and publications examine health-risk behaviors in children exposed to adversity, protective factors that buffer against early risk exposure, and prevention. An international scholar, Dr. Herrenkohl works with policy makers, school and child welfare professionals, and community partners to increase the visibility, application, and sustainability of evidence-based programs and practices in violence prevention, social emotional learning, and child trauma.

Karen A. Roberto, Ph.D. is University Distinguished Professor, Executive Director of the Institute for Society, Culture and Environment, and Senior Fellow at the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on health and social support in late life and includes studies of rural older women, dementia family caregiving, and elder abuse. Her elder abuse work draws attention to family perpetrators, elder abuse and the opioid epidemic, intimate partner violence, financial exploitation, sexual abuse, and polyvictimization. Dr. Roberto is the recipient of the Gerontological Society of America Behavioral and Social Sciences Distinguished Mentorship Award and the Gary Andrews Visiting Fellow Award from the Australian Association for Gerontology.

Sandy Bromley, JD, is the director of the Shelby County Crime Victims & Rape Crisis Center, a comprehensive victim service center providing crisis intervention, advocacy, counseling, and forensic nursing services to victims of crime in Memphis and Shelby County. Sandy has focused her entire career on the prevention and intervention of crime, working as a victims’ rights attorney, an educator with the national Stalking Resource Center and the Air Force bystander intervention program Green Dot, and a leader in victim services policy and programs. When she’s not working on these issues, you can find her cheering on the Boston Red Sox, traveling to see family and friends, or listening to her favorite politics podcasts. Sandy is a firm believer that resiliency is possible after trauma and in the power of hope in creating communities free from violence and oppression.

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