Abstract for:Rural Intimate Partner Violence and Adverse Childhood Experiences

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that approximately 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men in the United States have experienced severe intimate partner physical violence at some point in their lifetime. Through a public health and social capital framework, this model seeks to to better understand the dynamic relationships that increase the risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) within a hypothetical rural community. The public health measure of Adverse Child Experiences (ACEs) is used to quantify the generational transmission of community trauma. I developed a simple, generic model that relates adverse childhood experiences, social capital, and intimate partner violence within a hypothetical rural community. Initial tests of the community suggest that loss of an industrial base within a community can trigger positive feedbacks that can result in higher levels of intimate partner violence (IPV), even when the industrial base returns. This suggests that other forms of social capital are necessary stimulus to decrease IPV within a community.