Longitudinal Study of Exposure to Family Violence

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is to fund the continuance of the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, which has focused on the occurrence and consquences of family violence and other forms of childhood adversity. The proposed study adds an adult assesment to three earlier waves of comprehensive, multi-method data collection in which parents and children were assessed over a 15-year period: in 1976-1977 when children were of preschool age; in 1980-1982 when children were of school age; and in 1990-1992 when children were adolescents. The study is unique in that it contains prospective data on direct abuse and children's exposure to domestic violence drawn from multiple sources (including child welfare case records and surveys of parents and children). Observations of families in the preschool and school-age periods provide additonal information on the quality of parent-child relationships. The next assessment will extend information on participants into adulthood, providing a rare opportunity to study, in a gender-balanced community sample, the enduring effects of childhood adversity and resilience in those previously exposed to violence, abuse, and other forms of child maltreatment (e.g., neglect). Analyses of new and existing data will investigate (a) the co-occurrence of domestic violence exposure, childhood abuse, and other stressors within and outside the family; (b) the effects of exposure to domestic violence and multiple forms of direct abuse on outcomes in adolescence and adulthood; (c) the psychosocial mechanisms through which exposure to domestic violence and direct abuse result in harmful, long-term effects; and (d) sources of protection and resilience in individuals over time. When they are next assessed, participants will be 28-37 years of age (avg: 33); assesment at this life stage will allow examination of changes in psychosocial functioning and behavior over several developmental periods. Retention of participants in the last assessment was strong (91%), and results of preliminary locating for the next adult assessment are highly encouraging. Findings of this study will have implications for practice and policies focused on reducing family violence and other risk factors, promoting resilience in vulnerable children and families, and strengthening environmental resources to lessen the enduring impact of violence exposure. The proposal involves a cross-site collaboration between two very qualified, highly productive research teams with extensive experience and considerable investment in this study.