Domestic Violence and the Developmental Trajectory of Depressive Symptoms in the US:

This longitudinal study examined the long-term effect of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) on the developmental course of depressive symptoms across the transition to adulthood (approximately 17 to 23 years). The study utilized data from the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS), a cohort study of the development of delinquency and other youth problems in a community sample of 1,000 diverse urban youth in the US, followed from age 14 to adulthood, to investigate two critical questions: 1) What is the common growth pattern of depressive symptoms across the transition? 2) Does exposure to domestic violence predict the growth of depressive symptoms over time controlling for other risk factors? A latent growth modeling approach was employed to answer the research questions. In general, self-reported depressive symptoms tended to decrease across the transition to adulthood. Furthermore, adolescents who were exposed to domestic violence were more likely to continue to have an increased level of depressive symptoms over time than non-exposed adolescents. Conceptual and practical ramifications are discussed.