Breaking the Cycle of Abuse

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify variables that distinguish mothers who broke the cycle of abuse from mothers who were abused as children and who also abused their own children. Based on maternal interviews and questionnaires completed over a 64-month period, measures of mothers' past and current relationship experiences, stressful life events, and personality characteristics were obtained. Abused mothers who were able to break the abusive cycle were significantly more likely to have received emotional support from a nonabusive adult during childhood, participated in therapy during any period of their lives, and to have had a nonabusive and more stable, emotionally supportive, and satisfying relationship with a mate. Abused mothers who reenacted their maltreatment with their own children experienced significantly more life stress and were more anxious, dependent, immature, and depressed.

Continuidade dos estilos parentais através das gerações: transmissão intergeracional de estilos parentais

“…Clarissa, 25 anos, 3ª Geração - Um dos fatores que ajuda as mães a romperem com padrões tradicionais da família é o suporte de seu companheiro, de acordo com pesquisas realizadas (Egeland, Jacobvitz & Sroufe, 1988) e a procura por conhecimentos científicos e orientações de pro-fissionais como pediatras e psicólogos (Biasoli-Alves, Caldana & Silva, 1997).…”

“…Pesquisadores identificaram que o suporte do companheiro é um dos fatores que ajudam as mães a quebrarem os padrões disfuncionais aprendidos com sua própria família (Egeland, Jacobvitz & Sroufe, 1988). Portanto, entender o relacionamento com os próprios pais pode ajudar a identificar e quebrar padrões disfuncionais (como negligência, indulgência, agressividade, abuso).…”

Containing and Resisting Masculinity: Narratives of Renegotiation Among Resilient Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse.

“…In a longitudinal study of mothers from lower SES families who had been victims of abuse, Egeland, Jacobvitz, and Sroufe (1988) found that the women who were able to avoid passing on abuse to their children were those who had "an awareness of their own past history of abuse that was integrated into each mother's view of herself" (p. 1087). Little and Hamby (1999) had a sample of 38 abused men and 93 abused women rate a list of possible healing experiences.…”

Intergenerational continuity in parenting quality: The mediating role of social competence.

“…This body of work has yielded evidence for intergenerational continuity that is mediated by externalizing or aggressive behavior toward others. At the same time, however, some investigators have observed intergenerational discontinuity (i.e., disrupting the cycle of abusive or harsh parenting), suggesting that positive, supportive interpersonal relationships may function in protective ways for parents (Caliso & Milner, 1992;Egeland et al, 1988). To date, much less research has focused on the continuity of good or constructive parenting to determine whether receiving warm and supportive parenting predicts one's own parenting competence (Serbin & Karp, 2004).…”

“…Many of the studies on the continuity of parenting quality have focused on the transmission of poor or harsh parenting and specifically on the cross-generational prediction of maltreatment (e.g., Egeland, Jacobvitz, & Sroufe, 1988;Herrenkohl, Herrenkohl, & Toedter, 1983;Pears & Capaldi, 2001) and harsh parenting (e.g., Conger, Neppl, Kim, & Scaramella, 2003;Huesmann, Eron, Lefkowitz, & Walder, 1984;Rodriguez & Sutherland, 1999). This body of work has yielded evidence for intergenerational continuity that is mediated by externalizing or aggressive behavior toward others.…”