Association of Exposure to Violence at Home with Aggressive Behaviors and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: Findings from the Generation XXI Cohort

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between exposure to violence at home and aggressive behaviors and depressive symptoms in adolescence. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the Portuguese cohort Generation XXI (n = 4,640). At age 13, participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing exposure to violence at home, involvement in physical fights, experience of bullying and cyberbullying, and depressive symptoms. Logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between witnessing violence at home and aggressive behaviors and depressive symptoms, adjusting for sex, maternal education, parental unemployment, family structure, and direct victimization, and child psychological and physical aggression. Results: Overall, 14% of participants reported witnessing violence at home, 10.1% experienced psychological aggression, and 9.7% reported physical abuse. Involvement in fights was reported by 17.4%, experience of bullying by 21.3%, and cyberbullying by 4.6%; 12.4% reported depressive symptoms. Witnessing violence at home was significantly associated with all outcomes. A dose–response pattern was found for involvement in fights (AOR 1−2 acts : 2.01, 95%CI: 1.53–2.64; AOR ≥ 3 acts : 3.33, 95%CI: 1.88–5.92) and depressive symptoms (AOR 1−2 acts : 1.97, 95%CI: 1.43–2.72; AOR ≥ 3 acts : 2.22, 95%CI: 1.11–4.44). Exposure to three or more acts of violence was also associated with experience of bullying (AOR: 2.07, 95%CI: 1.17–3.67) and cyberbullying (AOR: 3.74, 95%CI: 1.76–7.96). Conclusions: Witnessing violence at home has a detrimental impact on adolescent behavior and emotions. Findings highlight the urgent need for targeted interventions and policies to prevent domestic violence and mitigate its effects on children’s health and development.