Intimate partner victimization, poor relationship quality, and depressive symptoms during young adulthood

• Prevalence of violence underscores need to understand its consequences for well-being.
• At the bivariate level victimization is positively associated with depression.
• Poor relationship quality explains association between victimization and depression.
• Control attempts and jealousy exacerbate the effect of victimization on depression.

Using longitudinal data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (n = 927), we examined physical victimization, poor quality, and depression among young adults in casually dating, exclusively dating, cohabiting, and marital relationships. In multivariate models, victimization was a risk factor for depression with the inclusion of prior depression, family factors reflecting the intergenerational transmission of violence, sociodemographic background, and relationship characteristics including union status. With the inclusion of indicators of poor relational quality, victimization was not a significant predictor of depression. Arguing and poor communication influenced victimization and depression. Associations between victimization and depression did not differ by gender, nor were the effects of poor quality on depression conditional on gender. Thus, victimization occurs within relationships characterized by a range of negative dynamics. Multifaceted relationship-centered prevention efforts are more useful than focusing only on the use of aggression with a partner.