Intergenerational Transmission of Violence

Child Abuse Cause Intergenerational Transmission of Violence

Many children learn violent behavior from their parents and then grow up to abuse their own children. Thus, the abusive behavior is transmitted across generations. Studies show that some 30 percent of abused children become abusive parents, whereas only 2 to 3 percent of all individuals become abusive parents. Children who experience abuse and violence may adopt this behavior as a model for their own parenting.

However, the majority of abused children do not become abusive adults. Some experts believe that an important predictor of later abuse is whether the child realizes that the behavior was wrong. Children who believe they behaved badly and deserved the abuse become abusive parents more often than children who believe their parents were wrong to abuse them. (1)

In this Section: Child Abuse, Child Abuse Types, Child Abuse Prevalence, Child Abuse Causes (including Intergenerational Transmission of Violence, Social Stress, Social Isolation and Family Structure), Child Abuse Effects, Child Abuse Reporting (including Abused Children Care and Children Prevention and Treatment Programs) and Child Support.

Resources

Notes and References

1. Encarta Online Encyclopedia

See Also