From Sibling Violence to Intimate Partner Violence: The Role of Moral Disengagement

Sibling violence is one of the most common forms of family violence; however, it is frequently overlooked because it is often labeled as bullying, rivalry, or typical childhood conflict. As a result, harmful sibling interactions may be minimized despite evidence of their potential long-term consequences. The present study examined whether early experiences of sibling violence, including perpetration and victimization, were associated with intimate partner violence in adulthood and whether moral disengagement statistically accounted for indirect associations between these variables. Participants were 591 adults (77% female), aged 18 to 93 years, who retrospectively reported on childhood sibling experiences using the Sibling Bullying Scale. Intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization were assessed using the short form of the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory, supplemented with items assessing physical aggression. Sibling violence was associated with intimate partner violence at the bivariate level, with more selective effects observed in multivariate models. Relational forms were particularly salient: sibling relational victimization showed the strongest direct associations with intimate partner violence victimization, whereas sibling relational perpetration was uniquely associated with moral disengagement. Moral disengagement was related to all intimate partner violence outcomes and mediated several pathways linking sibling relational perpetration to all intimate partner violence outcomes statistically accounted for several indirect associations between sibling relational perpetration and adult intimate partner violence, except for physical victimization. These findings suggest that forms of aggression often dismissed as normative may be associated with later relationship functioning and underscore the importance of recognizing sibling violence as a potential correlate of later intimate partner violence.