Exploring the Long-Term Impact of Dating and Family Violence on American Indian Youth and Adults: The Role of Belongingness in Moderating Negative Effects

Exposure to violence during childhood and adolescence is an important issue, particularly among Native Americans, who experience violence at higher rates compared to other racial/ethnic groups. This early exposure to violence can significantly affect future physical and mental health outcomes—including depression, substance abuse, suicide attempts, obesity, and premature death—while also shaping subsequent relationships in adulthood. Though widely studied in the general population, research focused on American Indians is lacking, with cultural contexts and factors uniquely shaping the experiences of those affected. In AI/AN communities, belongingness is important for well-being and, as such, is a relevant cultural factor that calls for further exploration. Our research utilizes the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health dataset. Study 1 explores how dating violence experienced during grades 8-12 affects future romantic relationships in adulthood (ages 18-27 and 24-32), specifically as it relates to perpetration and victimization, and explores if family and school belongingness buffers the effects of violence on these later romantic relationships. Study 2 explores how family and dating violence experienced during grades 8-12 affects mental health in adulthood (i.e., depression and suicidality; ages 18-27). This study explores if childhood belongingness (i.e., family, school, sports, and other extracurriculars) buffers these relationships. Findings suggest that TDV in youth does not relate to adult IPV victimization or perpetration in this study, and family and school belongingness do not moderate the effect of TDV on the outcomes (perpetration/victimization) with the exception of school belongingness for males who had not experienced TDV, in which school belongingness was protective against victimization in adulthood for those males. For females, family belongingness seems to be a protective factor against both IPV victimization and perpetration in adulthood. For mental health, youth exposure to violence showed no direct effect on depression or suicidality, but family and school belongingness reduced depression and suicidality among females and depression among males. Belongingness was not found to buffer the relationship between childhood violence and mental health outcomes. The results indicate that belongingness is a protective factor among AI/AN participants, though it doesn't neutralize violence's effects. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of violence and belongingness in AI/AN communities, emphasizing sex differences and protective factors for future investigation.