NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters Health) - Teenage boys who were abused as children are more than three times as likely as other boys to use physical violence against someone they are dating, study findings show. 

These boys are also nearly three times as likely to threaten to harm their dating partner, report researchers in the March issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 

The findings underscore the need for services that can help children with histories of maltreatment, explain Dr. David A. Wolfe from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and colleagues. 

"Education and early intervention concerning healthy, non-abusive relationships through the school system may significantly reduce the incidence of domestic violence and, in future generations, child abuse and neglect," Wolfe told Reuters Health. 

Children who have been physically, sexually or emotionally abused or neglected learn to adapt by avoiding close relationships, learning to distrust others and developing coping mechanisms such as fear and anxiety. 

"Such behaviors are indeed adaptive in childhood (because children) get hurt less often but as they grow older these same behaviors lead to peer problems, learning difficulties and relationship violence as a victim, offender or both," Wolfe explained. 

In the study, the researchers interviewed more than 1,400 boys and girls from 10 high schools in Canada. 

One-third of the surveyed teens, who ranged in age from 14 to 19 years old, reported that they were abused as children. Girls with a history of abuse were more likely to be angry, depressed and anxious. They were also about ten times more likely to report post-traumatic stress-related problems compared with girls who had not been abused, and to engage in violent and non-violent delinquency. Boys with a history of abuse also had higher levels of depression and post-traumatic stress but they were less likely than girls exhibit delinquent behavior. 

Their findings point to important gender differences that can result from abuse, the authors conclude. They also note that it is not clear how often teens who are violent or threatening in relationships continue that behavior into adulthood. 

"Although abusive behavior toward dating partners in adolescence may not yet fully reflect adult-like patterns of violence, the transition from adolescent dating violence to adult abusive behavior warrants further investigation," the researchers conclude.  

SOURCE: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2001;40:282-289.