Violence in the Marital Dyad as a Predictor of Violence in the Peer Relationships of Older Adolescents/Young Adults

This study used self-report of older adolescent/young adult children from a general college population to examine if violent parental conflict tactics predict the use of similarly violent tactics in the same-sex and opposite-sex peer relationships of offspring. Conflict Tactics Scale data from 256 subjects indicate that parental violence within the marital dyad is predictive of violence in both same-sex and opposite-sex peer relationships. Surprisingly high frequencies of violence were reported within parents' marriages and by subjects in their current peer relationships. Implications of these findings are discussed.