Todd I Herrenkohl

University of Washington | UW · School of Social Work

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) places children at risk for negative developmental outcomes. However, many IPV-exposed (eIPV) children exhibit resilience, which is promoted by protective factors including positive, caring relationships. Sibling relationships can buffer eIPV children from poor adjustment outcomes but have scarcely been s...

Importance Most unwanted sexual contact victimization (USCV) research utilizes predominantly white, cisgender, heterosexual college student samples. Estimates of USCV prevalence and demographic variation can determine the need for dedicated funding and culturally relevant campus services for students in high-risk groups. Objective To estimate the...

This study explores formal and informal intimate partner violence (IPV) service use among women and transgender/nonbinary individuals in the state of Michigan during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 14.8% (N = 173) of participants experienced IPV during this period, and 70% utilized at least one formal IPV service (13.3%). Up to 22% of survivors r...

Importance: Most unwanted sexual contact victimization (USCV) research utilizes predominantly white, cisgender, heterosexual college student samples. Estimates of USCV prevalence and demographic variation can determine the need for dedicated funding and culturally relevant campus services for students in high risk groups. Objective: To estimate the...

For families with an early history of parental abuse and neglect (EHPAN), personal and situational stressors can increase relational vulnerabilities. We examined relationship dynamics between midlife adults with EHPAN and their parents during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of semistructured qualitative interviews with 31 particip...

A number of studies now confirm that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased and exacerbated mental health problems in the general population. Previous quantitative studies have found similar effects on mental health symptoms among adults with histories of childhood adversity; however, qualitative research is needed to provide a more in-depth understan...

Past research has emphasized the impact of prior trauma on adult depression and anxiety rates. However, few studies have examined the simultaneous connection between various trauma characteristics (e.g., type, variety, repetition, timing) and symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults. Understanding how these different trauma characteristics rela...

Purpose: Sexual and relationship violence has devasting effects on the health and well-being of college students. This study assessed the prevalence of dating abuse victimization and harassment among sexual and gender minority (SGM) college students within the first 3 months of college enrollment and identified potential demographic differences in...

Background: Childhood maltreatment is linked with health problems in adulthood. Theoretical models suggest that maltreatment leads to dysregulation in several bodily systems, and this has been corroborated using measures of physiological function (i.e., biomarkers). Methodological decisions involving the measurement of maltreatment and dimension r...

Negative mental health outcomes have been associated with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and intimate partner violence (IPV); however, few studies have identified risk and protective factors across levels of the social ecology that mitigate the onset of psychological distress and suicide risk associated with trauma. This study examines the re...

Victims of bullying, dating violence, and child maltreatment are all more likely than their peers to contemplate and attempt suicide in adolescence and young adulthood. However, knowledge of the relationship between violence and suicide risk is primarily limited to studies that isolate certain forms of victimization or examine several forms in addi...

Purpose Early experiences of childhood maltreatment have been linked to intimate partner violence (IPV) later in adulthood. Few studies, however, have examined the prospective relationship between child maltreatment and IPV perpetration in the context of proximal and distal risk factors for violence, such as depression and alcohol misuse. Method D...

Background School-based drug use prevention programs have demonstrated notable potential to reduce the onset and escalation of drug use, including among youth at risk of poor outcomes such as those exposed to trauma. Researchers have found a robust relationship between intervention fidelity and participant (i.e., student) outcomes. Effective implem...

Critics are raising serious questions about who is “served” by statutory child protection systems if they utilize an intervention model based on reporting, investigation, and removal. Public health approaches present an innovative alternative, but how to get the right support and interventions to the right people at the right time remains challengi...

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the early release of thousands of incarcerated individuals, including those with histories of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Survivor advocates stress the importance of adequate supports for decarcerated individuals during re-entry, and notification and supports for their partners or ex-partners if ther...

Objective: This study investigated the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) experienced both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and increased economic insecurity in food, phone/internet services, health care, and housing. We also assessed sociodemographic differences associated with increased economic insecurity among women and...

While research shows that adult intimate partner violence (IPV) and harsh parenting of children co-occur, less information is available about whether specific types or patterns of IPV create greater risk for harsh parenting, and whether these patterns vary by gender. This study used latent class analysis (LCA) to examine unique patterns of IPV perp...

Early relational health between caregivers and children is foundational for child health and well‐being. Children and caregivers are also embedded within multiple systems and sectors, or a “child‐serving ecosystem”, that shapes child development. Although the COVID‐19 pandemic has made this embeddedness abundantly clear, systems remain siloed and l...

Measures to contain the global COVID-19 pandemic led to stay-at-home orders across the world, accompanied by fears of a global surge in intimate partner violence (IPV). We administered an online general-population survey to 1169 women and transgender/nonbinary individuals throughout the state of Michigan in June–August 2020 to assess changes in the...

Background The long-term health effects of physical child abuse are well documented in self-report, retrospective studies. However, there have been few longitudinal, multimethod studies on physiological responses to stress and the onset of chronic disease, thereby slowing the advancement of prevention and intervention programs. Objectives This stu...

Background and Objectives We examined the prospective association between two measures of child abuse, one based on official child welfare records and the other based on parent self-reports, and the perpetration of elder mistreatment by an adult child. We also examined measures of adolescent and adult depression and substance use problems as predic...

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brings new worries about the welfare of children, particularly those of families living in poverty and impacted other risk factors. These children will struggle more during the pandemic because of financial pressures and stress placed on parents, as well as their limited access to services and systems of support....

Social work prides itself as a profession committed to improving the lives of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. Achieving this mission requires candid conversations about racism as a social justice and public health issue and the role of social work in dismantling white supremacy and promoting racial justice. At its core,...

This article reports the results of a scoping review of the literature on life-course patterns of violence that span the developmental periods of childhood, adolescence, and early and middle adulthood. We also assess the evidence on elder mistreatment and its relation to earlier forms of violence. Additionally, we draw on theories and empirical stu...

Objectives: Long-term negative effects of child maltreatment, including risk for depression, are well established. The role of acute stressors in the relationship between maltreatment and depression is not as clear. We used data from a prospective study to test a stress sensitization hypothesis; whether child maltreatment lowered the threshold at...

In this article, we argue for a new approach to child welfare—one that replaces existing child protection systems beset by scandals and tragedies with broad-scale system re-alignment that places public health prevention and early intervention at the forefront of efforts to engage, support, and empower families. We explain that the ‘rescue and remov...

This study tests a developmental cascades model in which childhood maltreatment is hypothesized to influence adult educational attainment by increasing attention problems and reducing successful school experiences during adolescence. Two path models tested direct and indirect associations of childhood maltreatment with adult educational attainment....

This commentary refers to research by IJzendoorn and colleagues (2019), who conducted an umbrella synthesis on child maltreatment antecedents and interventions. Comments that I offer underscore the valuable contribution of this work for ongoing research, policy, and practice relevant to the etiology and prevention of child maltreatment. The synthes...

In an attempt to explore innovative models to improve student achievement, close the opportunity gap, and deepen the knowledge and skills of current and future educators, the Washington State Legislature passed a bill in 2012 that created a pilot project called Collaborative Schools for Innovation and Success (CSIS). This introduction describes the...

Background/Context The literature review by Phelps in this special issue highlights the challenges of research–practice partnerships and other forms of insider–outsider collaboration in education. In addition to addressing well-known challenges, this case study article focuses on the full-service community school model as a strategy to address holi...

Highlights Trauma in children and adults is prevalent. Advances in trauma‐informed programs, practices, and systems are necessary. Articles appearing in the special issue cover a range of topics and areas in trauma approaches.

Background: Unacceptably high staff turnover has plagued traditional approaches to child protection, seemingly forever. Around the globe, numerous studies, reports and inquiries have highlighted how statutory agencies, focusing on risk-oriented investigations of suspected maltreatment, experience significant issues with worker stress and its occup...

Highlights Schools should play an important role in promoting resilience in children who experience trauma. Schools remain poorly equipped to address the needs of children with trauma histories. More research on classroom‐based and school‐wide trauma‐informed interventions is required. Evaluation of school‐based programs requires designs suited to...

This volume provides readers around the globe with a focused and comprehensive examination of how to prevent and respond to child maltreatment using evidence-informed public health approaches and programs that meet the needs of vulnerable children, and struggling families and communities. It outlines the system failures of contemporary forensically...

Although there is a number of weaknesses in the body of research that details the experiences and development outcomes of multi-type child maltreatment, existing evidence is rather conclusive as to what it reveals about the co-occurrence of different forms of abuse and neglect in children. Rarely do children encounter a single form of maltreatment,...

This chapter acknowledges the successes in child protection as well as the weaknesses and limitations that need to be addressed through the development of public health approaches. The child protection intervention framework is problematized as not delivering well enough the aims it has espoused. Global perspectives and historical developments are...

This chapter summarises the major themes and key messages presented in the book and explores the new and emerging opportunities described by contributing authors. It pulls together the critical issues that are likely to continue to beset the development and implementation of public health approaches and system reform processes. The major learnings...

Objectives: To examine whether the (a) childhood neighborhood context predicts alcohol use disorder, nicotine dependence, and cannabis use disorder symptoms at the age of 39 years; and (b) socio-economic status during young adulthood mediates these relationships. Gender differences were also examined. Study design: The Seattle Social Development...

This study focused on gender differences in the prediction of adult intimate partner violence (IPV) by subtypes of child abuse and children’s exposure to IPV. Latent classes of adult IPV consisted of a no violence (20.3%), a psychological violence only (46.2%), a psychological and sexual violence (9.2%), a multitype violence and intimidation (6.8%)...

Finding effective ways to prevent crime is important. This project was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of combining data from a 12-year Australian longitudinal study (N=2,885) with prevention strategy investment data to estimate potential returns, including a reduction in intimate partner violence and prison entry. The project investigated...

Finding effective ways to prevent crime is important. This project was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of combining data from a 12-year Australian longitudinal study (N=2,885) with prevention strategy investment data to estimate potential returns, including a reduction in intimate partner violence and prison entry. The project investigated...

The degree to which child maltreatment interacts with other household adversities to exacerbate risk for poor adult socioeconomic outcomes is uncertain. Moreover, the effects of residential, school, and caregiver transitions during childhood on adult outcomes are not well understood. This study examined the relation between household adversity and...

Purpose: This study’s goal was to examine academic and behavioral paths to obtaining a high school diploma. Methods: Data were drawn from a gender-balanced, ethnically diverse longitudinal sample of 808 youth from 18 Seattle public elementary schools serving high crime neighborhoods. Structural equation modeling was used to simultaneously estimate...

There is a great deal of evidence about the mental health implications of physical child abuse and environmental stressors, or hardships that people experience at the household and neighborhood level (e.g., neighborhood violence; economic hardship, substance abuse, or conflict among family members). Yet, studies often focus on either abuse or envir...

The study reported in this article used labeling theory to examine the relationship between multiple labels in adolescence and self-reported criminal behavior in adulthood. This study used childhood, adolescent, and adult interviews (N = 357) from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, which followed a high-risk community sample of individuals recruited fr...

Although research has identified factors that support and hinder proactive bystander behaviors among adolescents, less is known about the more specific bystander responses viewed by youth as feasible, or whether these responses are likely to be ultimately helpful in the context of bullying and teen dating violence (TDV). Goals of this exploratory s...

Bystander intervention programs have been introduced as innovative strategies to empower teens to intervene proactively when they witness bullying and dating violence (TDV) in their social environments. While there is promising research on the individual-level factors that influence students' willingness to intervene, there has been limited investi...

Introduction: The social developmental processes by which child maltreatment increases risk for marijuana use are understudied. This study examined hypothesized parent and peer pathways linking preschool abuse and sexual abuse with adolescent and adult marijuana use. Methods: Analyses used data from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study. Measures includ...

In this special issue, we invited contributors to explore the theoretical, conceptual, and empirical foundations of the public health model, as it applies to child maltreatment prevention, drawing on the most rigorous science and proposing integrated models of practice and policy that have the potential to make a difference at scale. Programs and f...

This study examined cross-national similarities in a developmental model linking early age of alcohol use onset to frequent drinking and heavy drinking and alcohol problems 1 and 2 years later in a binational sample of 13-year-old students from two states: Washington State, USA and Victoria, Australia (N = 1833). A range of individual, family, scho...

Background: Children's exposure to violence increases their risk for later victimisation and perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, the relative influence of child abuse, adolescent violence, peer approval of violence and pro-violence attitudes on later IPV is not well established. Aims: Analyses focus on the prediction of adu...

Adolescent depressed mood is related to the development of subsequent mental health problems, and family problems have been linked to adolescent depression. Longitudinal research on adolescent depressed mood is needed to establish the unique impact of family problems independent of other potential drivers. This study tested the extent to which fami...

Objectives: This study examined three competing mechanisms in the link between educational attainment and health among young adults: (a) a health behaviour mechanism; (b) a psychosocial stressor mechanism; and (c) a health insurance mechanism. The central research question was the pervasiveness and specificity of these mechanisms in the link betwe...

Objective: This study tested a developmental model in which subtypes of childhood maltreatment were hypothesized to have direct and indirect effects on co-occurring depression, anxiety, and substance misuse in adulthood. Indirect effects involved adolescent alcohol use and depression, which were included as mediators in the tested models. Method:...

A number of cross-sectional and a few longitudinal studies have shown a developmental relationship between child abuse and adult physical and mental health. Published findings also suggest that social support can lessen the risk of adverse outcomes for some abused children. However, few studies have investigated whether social support mediates or m...

Purpose: There have been few longitudinal studies of deliberate self-harm (DSH) in adolescents. This cross-national longitudinal study outlines risk and protective factors for DSH incidence and persistence. Methods: Seventh and ninth grade students (average ages 13 and 15 years) were recruited as state-representative cohorts, surveyed, and then...

Analyses tested hypotheses that pertain to direct and indirect effects of parent-reported physical and emotional abuse on later self-reported criminal behavior in a sample of 356 adults of a longitudinal study of more than 30 years. Childhood antisocial behavior was included in analyses as a potential mediator. Physical abuse only predicted adult c...

In an influential 2002 paper, Farrington and colleagues argued that to understand ‘causes’ of delinquency, within-individual analyses of longitudinal data are required (compared to the vast majority of analyses that have focused on between-individual differences). The current paper aimed to complete similar analyses to those conducted by Farrington...

Gender differences in externalizing and internalizing pathways from child abuse to adult crime were examined across four waves of an extended longitudinal study (N = 186 males and 170 females) using multiple-group structural equation modeling. Results show that child abuse was associated with both internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the el...

Research provides increasing evidence of the association of child abuse with adult antisocial behavior. However, less is known about the developmental pathways that underlie this association. Building on the life course model of antisocial behavior, the present study examined possible developmental pathways linking various forms of child abuse (phy...

This study examines gender differences in the pathway from childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to adult binge drinking. Using longitudinal data on 313 males and females (31-41 years old, mean = 36.21) in the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, we test for gender differences in the pathway from CSA to adolescent drinking, norms and pro-alcohol peers, to adult binge...

Primary prevention requires working outside existing systems.

Estimates suggest that between 10% and 25% of adolescents have experienced some form of physical violence within a dating relationship, and one in four college-age women experiences attempted or completed sexual violence on campus. Bystander programs focus on equipping young adults with the skills to safely intervene when they witness behaviors tha...

We examined the longitudinal effect of schools' drug policies on student marijuana use. We used data from the International Youth Development Study, which surveyed state-representative samples of students from Victoria, Australia, and Washington State. In wave 1 (2002), students in grades 7 and 9 (n = 3264) and a school administrator from each part...

While the mental health implications of child abuse and stress are well-established, these risks are usually examined at limited time points and in isolation from each other. Less is known about the role of chronicity related to these types of adversity, as well as how the unique and shared contributions of chronic abuse and stress might unfold ove...

BACKGROUND This article examines the effect of early adolescent alcohol use on mid-adolescent school suspension, truancy, commitment, and academic failure in Washington State, United States, and Victoria, Australia. Also of interest was whether associations remain after statistically controlling for other factors known to predict school outcomes.ME...

Bivariate analyses of adult crime and child maltreatment showed that individuals who had been maltreated as children, according to child welfare reports, subsequently committed more crime than others who had not been maltreated. Analyses of crimes by category-property, person, and society-provided further evidence of a link between child maltreatme...

Background. Research provides increasing evidence of the inverse association of educational attainment with mental and physical health. What warrants further inquiry is how lower level of educational attainment is associated with increased susceptibility to health problems. The present study seeks to examine potential factors that may account for t...

One of the common issues schools face is how best to handle challenging student behaviors such as violent behavior, antisocial behavior, bullying, school rule violations, and interrupting other students' learning. School suspension may be used to remove students engaging in challenging behaviors from the school for a period of time. However, the ac...

The effect of early adolescent alcohol use on antisocial behavior was examined at one- and two-year follow-up in Washington, United States and Victoria, Australia. Each state used the same methods to survey statewide representative samples of students (N = 1,858, 52% female) in 2002 (Grade 7 [G7]), 2003 (Grade 8 [G8]), and 2004 (Grade 9 [G9]). Rate...

Background Bullying and teen dating violence (TDV) are related and serious social problems with long-term mental health and school achievement implications. Prevention interventions increasingly incorporate “bystander” components designed to reduce aggressive behavior by encouraging young people to challenge abusive or disrespectful behavior amon...

BACKGROUND & PURPOSE Youth-centered bystander programs have been introduced as innovative approaches to prevent teen dating violence (TDV). Bystander programs equip youth with the competencies to positively intervene when they witness a range of abusive behaviors among their peers. To date the bystander literature has focused exclusively on the in...

School-based bullying perpetration and victimization is common worldwide and has profound impacts on student behavior and mental health. However, few studies have examined young adult outcomes of bullying perpetration or victimization. Research on factors that protect students who have bullied or been bullied is also lacking. This study examined yo...

School suspension has been not only associated with negative behaviours but also is predictive of future poor outcomes. The current study investigates (1) whether school suspension is a unique predictor of youth non-violent antisocial behaviour (NVAB) relative to other established predictors, and (2) whether the predictors of NVAB are similar in Au...

To examine the rates of young adult alcohol and drug use and alcohol problems, adolescent predictors of young adult alcohol problems and correlations with young adult social, work and recreational environments. Adolescents were followed longitudinally into young adulthood. Predictors were measured in grade 9 (average age 15), and environmental corr...

To examine evidence of the continuity in abusive discipline across two generations (G1 and G2) and the role of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships (SSNRs) as protective factors. Data are from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, a prospective investigation of the causes and consequences child maltreatment that began in the 1970s with a sample of 45...

Analyses used data from an extended longitudinal study to examine the relationship between childhood physical and sexual abuse (CPA and CSA, respectively) and adolescent and adult smoking behavior. Two questions guided the study: (1) Is there an association between childhood abuse and adolescent and adult smoking behavior? (2) Does the relationship...

To examine the relationship between the co-occurrence of mental health and substance use problems and socio-economic status (SES). A prospective longitudinal study of 808 males and females followed to age 30. Survey data were used to derive latent classes (profiles) of mental health (depression, anxiety) and substance use (alcohol, nicotine, and ma...

Although it is common for secondary schools to implement alcohol policies to reduce alcohol misuse, there has been little evaluation of the efficacy of these policies. The purpose of this study was to test the impact of the degree and type of alcohol policy enforcement in state representative samples of secondary students in Washington State, USA,...