Exposure to Mother’s Violent Experience and Intimate Partner Violence in the Thai Context

Aree Jampaklay, Mahidol University
Fariha Haseen, ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research
Bencha Yoddumnern-Attig, Mahidol University

This paper examines the extent to which exposure to mothers’ experience of intimate violence at young age affects women’s own intimate violence in Thai context. The data was used from a survey of Intimate Partner Violence and Women’s Health in Thailand conducted in 2000. Descriptive analysis shows that women who witnessed violence against their mothers when they were young reported violence with their own intimate partner in a higher rate than women who did not witness violence against mother. Women who agreed to violent acts yield the highest rate of intimate violence, while women who stated that wife beating was unconditionally unacceptable experienced intimate violence in a lowest proportion. This paper will further use a multivariate analysis to explore how childhood’s violent experience affects intimate violence later in women’s lives and whether attitude towards violence can explain relationship between childhood’s exposure and intimate violence.