Short-Term Effects of Peer-Bullying Victimization on Intimate Partner Violence

Introduction

Although research has established associations between peer-bullying victimization and increased risk of intimate partner violence from a partner, most research has been cross-sectional and, therefore, unable to account for prior experiences of bullying and the cyclical nature of the bullying intimate partner violence relationship.

Methods

The goal of this study was to provide a robust evaluation of the effects of physical and psychological peer-bullying victimization on intimate partner violence victimization using longitudinal data from 2015 to 2017 that bridge the transition between middle and high school among youth from a predominately Latine agricultural region in California (analysis was performed in 2025). The authors explored whether physical and psychological peer bullying increased the risk for intimate partner violence and assessed contextual factors that may modify the relationship between bullying and intimate partner violence to identify intervention targets. To account for this time-varying confounding, the authors used sequential conditional mean models.

Results

All forms of bullying from a peer, including physical (AOR=1.77; 95% CI=1.32, 2.37; p<0.001) and psychological (AOR=1.58; 95% CI=1.10, 2.25; p=0.01) bullying, similarly increased the risk of intimate partner violence in the short term after accounting for prior experiences of bullying and intimate partner violence. In addition, the authors found that contextual factors, including increased neighborhood disorder and decreased social cohesion, modified the relationship between bullying and intimate partner violence.

Conclusions

There is a short-term immediate effect of bully victimization on intimate partner violence despite reoccurring and cyclical experiences of both bullying and intimate partner violence. Increasing social support from community members is a critical intervention target for preventing intimate partner violence among youth.