Experiences with Family Violence in Early Adolescence: Global Evidence from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys

Grounded in family violence theories and the enormous cost of family violence throughout the world, we investigate family violence experienced by over 70,000 early adolescents aged 10–14 within and between 21 countries in 7 world regions. Results suggest that family violence is often high during early adolescence and that the level and type of violence varies around the world. A high percentage of early adolescents experience some form of family violence, with more early adolescents reporting psychological control than physical violence, both of which occur more frequently than parental support for corporal punishment or intimate partner violence. Reported family violence was higher in sub-Saharan Africa than in Latin America/Caribbean or Eastern Europe/Central Asia. Further analyses revealed stark and sometimes counterintuitive differences by wealth, maternal education, residence, adolescent sex and age, and household living arrangements. Evidence-based prevention and intervention programs tailored toward cultural, societal, and political factors can be instrumental in addressing the problem, as the enormous cost of family violence pervades throughout the life course, measured in terms of emotional/physical scars, mental health problems, lost economic output and foregone productivity, higher rates of crime and substance abuse, or decreased social and familial cohesion.