Household dysfunction and dating violence perpetration: the moderating effects of parental monitoring and closeness among middle school adolescents in Southeast Texas

Adolescent dating violence (DV) perpetration is a significant public health issue affecting millions of adolescents in the United States. Adverse childhood experiences such as household dysfunction (HD) have been exhibited to be risk factors for DV perpetration during adolescence and adulthood. Furthermore, the literature is scant regarding how positive parent-child relationships can mitigate these risk factors and decrease HD-related consequences among sixth-grade adolescents. Thus, our study examined the moderating effects of parental monitoring and closeness regarding the association between HD and DV perpetration among middle schoolers in Southeast Texas. In our cross-sectional study, we used the baseline data from a DV prevention intervention program for sixth graders aged 11–14 years (N = 101), Me & You Tech. We conducted adjusted multivariable regression models to examine the link between HD and DV perpetration, along with the moderating effects of parental monitoring and closeness. The multivariable logistic regression results regarding the association between lifetime DV perpetration, HD, parental monitoring, parental closeness, and covariates demonstrated a significant association between HD and lifetime DV perpetration (AOR = 1.36; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.83); however, the moderators did not exhibit significant effects. Our study highlights how early exposure to HD can lead to violent behaviors. Future research should investigate parental protective factors to enhance early prevention of HD-related consequences such as DV perpetration. NCT05225727. January 24, 2022. https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05225727 .