Childhood maltreatment and impulsivity as predictors of interpersonal violence, self-injury and suicide attempts: A national study

Prior research indicates that childhood maltreatment and impulsivity increase the risk for different types of violence, including violent behaviors directed toward the self and others. However, it is not known whether childhood maltreatment and impulsivity have independent effects on different violent behaviors. Therefore, this study examined the differential effects of childhood maltreatment and impulsivity on interpersonal violence, suicide attempts, and self-injury. Data were drawn from a nationally representative survey of 34,653 US adults, the 2004-2005 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Structural equation modeling was used to simultaneously examine the shared and specific effects of five types of childhood maltreatment and impulsivity on the risk of different violent behaviors (i.e. interpersonal violence, suicide attempts, and self-injury). Analyses were stratified by gender and adjusted for age and ethnicity. Impulsivity and childhood maltreatment independently increased the risk of suicide attempt, self-injury, and interpersonal violence. Childhood maltreatment had stronger effects on violence directed towards the self than on interpersonal violence in both genders, while impulsivity had a stronger effect on self-injury than on suicide attempt or interpersonal violence in men. These findings indicate that childhood maltreatment and impulsivity relate differently to the risk of different types of violence.