Physical and Psychological Victimization, Strained Relationships, and Young Adults’ Depressive Symptoms

Interpersonal violence peaks during the early adult years and may have implications for the wellbeing of female and male victims. Drawing on relational theory and data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS) (n = 984), we examined associations between intimate partner victimization, indicators of strained relationships, and depressive symptoms. In zeroorder models, we found that both physical and psychological victimization increased depressive symptoms. Including strained relationship measures attenuated the effects of physical and psychological victimization on depression. Moreover, the effect of physical victimization is significant at above average levels of respondent control, respondent jealousy, and obsessive love. The associations between both types of victimization and depressive symptoms did not differ by gender, nor were the effects of relationship strain conditional on gender. These findings contribute to our understanding of the links between victimization and well-being.