09/06/2026
New study on childhood adversity and partner violence published in BMJ Open
Associate Professor Dr Azharul Islam of the Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, University of Dhaka has published a new study in BMJ Open with co-authors Professor Dr Mahjabeen Haque, also of the Department, and Dr Mohammad Salim Chowdhury of the National Academy for Autism and Neuro-Developmental Disabilities.
Drawing on a nationally representative sample of 2,016 young adults aged 18 to 35 from all eight divisions of Bangladesh, the study asks how different types of childhood adversity predict who later perpetrates intimate partner violence. Instead of treating adverse childhood experiences as a single cumulative score, the authors separate them into two dimensions: threat, such as exposure to violence, and deprivation, such as neglect, loss, or economic hardship.
Threat-related adversity was associated with about 2.6 times higher odds of perpetrating partner violence, while deprivation-related adversity raised the odds by around 75 percent. Both men and women reported perpetration, and higher education and socioeconomic status were protective. The findings point to prevention that is trauma-informed, gender-sensitive, and adapted to regional conditions.
The study was conducted in collaboration with BRAC and the Department of Educational and Counselling.
The paper is available at https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/6/e106731.
A new study from the MIndWell Lab is out in BMJ Open.
We wanted to understand why some young adults end up hurting their partners. We surveyed just over 2,000 married or partnered Bangladeshi adults aged 18 to 35, from all eight divisions of the country.
What we found is that the kind of hardship someone faced in childhood matters, not only how much of it. Growing up around violence and an unsafe home was linked to much higher odds of partner abuse later on. Growing up with neglect, loss, or poverty raised the odds too, but through a different route. Both men (60%) and women (42%) reported committing partner violence, though the rates were higher among men. Education and a more secure financial footing offered some protection.
The point isn't to blame individuals. It's that preventing partner violence means taking childhood trauma seriously, helping people build emotional and relationship skills, and dealing with poverty in ways that fit each community.
This study was carried out in collaboration with BRAC and the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at the University of Dhaka.
We congratulate the research team: Associate Professor Dr Azharul Islam, Professor Dr Mahjabeen Haque, and Associate Professor Dr M Salim Choudhury
Read the full paper here: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/6/e106731
