Sociological studies have significantly delved into the issue of domestic violence that has become a mainstay in many societies for years. Domestic violence has shown a particular trend in families where it occurs. Parents practicing this unwarranted form of aggression tend to pass it to their children and close associates thereby establishing an intergenerational cycle of violence ( Robboy & Anderson, 2011). Corvo (2010) asserted that when children are exposed to domestic violence, they tend to develop certain behaviors including regression, aggression, and the imitation of violence. As children are exposed to violence, they begin accepting violence as a normal part of human relationships. As such, this increases their chances of becoming either the abuser or the abused. It is in this regard that child maltreatment is regarded as a risk factor in the development of the intergenerational cycle of domestic abuse. Research has also shown that many parents who abuse their children were also abused in their childhood. Domestic violence is a term primarily used in describing the violence between men and women in an intimate relationship. Although studies attempting to explain the effect of children's exposure to domestic violence have primarily been inefficient, the impact that parental abuse has on their offspring remains a significant concern. Domestic violence is arguably one of the most significant risk factors in an intergenerational cycle of abuse due to its long-lasting impact on the child's psychology that in turn normalizes acts of aggression. Based on a review of research on the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence, the following themes will be discussed: Domestic abuse, intergenerational transmission of violent traits, and breaking the cycle of intergenerational domestic abuse.Limitations of the existing research, along with suggestions for future research will also be discussed.
Domestic Abuse
According to the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), abuse can be defined into five different categories. They include the physical, emotional, sexual, child, and elder abuse ( Schulman & Hohler, 2012). With regards to domestic violence, it is a pattern of incidents that involve abusive, violent, or intimidating actions directed to a person in an intimate relationship. Traditionally, scholars assessing the impact of domestic violence have employed a unidirectional approach where the men are viewed as the perpetrators, and the women are seen as the victims. However, research has proven otherwise. Nearly, one in every four women today experiences domestic abuse in the form of physical, sexual, or psychological aggression . On the other hand, one in every nine men encounters a similar problem ( Milaniak & Widom, 2015). It remains fundamental to note that the intimate partner violence (IPV) has significant social and public health impacts that affect a population regardless of religion, culture, and other demographic factors. Various sociological and psychological frameworks have been studied in a bid to explain the position of domestic violence in society ( Ali & Naylor, 2013). One of the theories that best explains domestic abuse through the lens of the intergenerational cycle is the social learning theory.
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According to these theorists, "human aggression is learned conduct that, like other forms of social behavior, is under the stimulus, reinforcement, and cognitive control" ( Ali & Naylor, 2013,p. 612). The theory further explains that the violence in a family setting occurs as a result of the interrelationship between the situational and contextual factors. Contextual factors include aggressive personality, stress, and agility among other individual attributes. Situational factors include aspects such as financial difficulties and substance abuse. As children grow in families where such external factors exist, they end up getting influenced and picking up these behaviors as part of their normal human behavior. The theory further confirms that the main risk factor for males who develop into perpetrators is the constant witnessing of violence in their parents or caretakers. Ali and Naylor (2013) asserted that “boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults” (p. 615). Therefore, researchers conclude that witnessing IPV provides the young individuals with an impetus to validate the fact that physical aggression is one of the legitimate ways of instilling their dominance over their partners. The only problem with the application of this theoretical model is that entirely focuses on how the boys develop into abusers despite evidence that women can also be perpetrators. The theory assumes that masculinity and the traditional gender roles have created a vulnerable woman susceptible to this form of aggression from the men.
Intergenerational Transmission of the Violent Traits
Various studies have been conducted in an effort to ascertain t hat there is a strong cause and effect relationship between domestic violence and the intergenerational cycle of abuse. It is important to note that the family is the primary model of socialization and interaction. As such, it acts as a template for childhood learning as they develop throughout to adulthood. Therefore, any form of aggression between the parents serves as a cascade or a script for the violent tendencies ( Widom & Wilson, 2015). Scholars such as Widom and Wilson have used the reward-punishment model to explain how children are likely to incorporate such undesirable behavior as a normal part of their human interaction. They assert that violent behavior will likely be adopted if it proves to lead to more positive than the negative consequences. When experiencing inter-parental violence, depending on their particular point of view, children can learn a host of positive outcomes. For instance, upon viewing domestic violence, they can perceive domestic violence as an effective means of conflict resolution when settling issues with an intimate partner. As such, this denies them an opportunity to learn a host of conflict resolution approaches such as verbal reasoning, negotiation, active listening, and self-claiming tactics.
Research has provided evidence that two main types of modeling explain how violent attributes are transmitted from the parents to their children ( Widom & Wilson, 2015). The first one involves a situation where the IPV communicates that aggression between members of the family is an acceptable tenet that should be acceptable in the society. The other type of modeling asserts that children are likely to reproduce violent attributes that they are exposed to during their childhood. Therefore, research continues to indicate that children brought up in abusive homes are likely to view violence as an essential part of human interaction. However, the correlation between spouse violence and the resultant child abuse is not straightforward as many people would tend to perceive. Several confounding factors play an essential role in determining the success of the relationship. Researchers have broadly classified these factors into two; including the parental and family considerations. Examples of parental factors include their personal attributes including depression, anxiety, emotional problems, poor self-esteem, and mental illness ( Widom & Wilson, 2015). The family factors, on the other hand, include poverty, isolation, and perceived lack of social support.
Out of the factors affecting the relationship between the IPV and the development of child violence, the most studied aspect is mental health. The deterioration of mental health is one of the factors that could be used to study intergenerational child abuse. For instance, "reports have shown that parents with a childhood abuse history (CAH) were likely to exhibit dissociation symptoms than those without CAH" ( Fujiwara, Okuyama, & Izumi, 2010p. 213). The CAH predisposes an individual to a host of mental health problems including traumatic and depression symptoms. In a study conducted among the Japanese population, it was evident that domestic violence played a significant role in the development of the physical and psychological problems among the children. Therefore, these children grow up with a host of mental health conditions that increase their propensity towards engaging in aggressive behavior once they become adults. Consequently, it shows that children that grow in such families end up enduring lifelong burdens that impact not only their mental health but also emotional regulation and development. Studies have also shown that these children, once they grow up, develop risks of living in violent relationships either as perpetrators or victims ( Robboy & Anderson, 2011). A lack of awareness and solutions means that the cycle of domestic abuse may be passed from one generation to the other ( Fujiwara et al., 2010).
Milaniak and Widom (2015) asserted that statistics continue to show that 15 million children in the United States are exposed to domestic violence annually. Further research also indicates that children exposed to domestic violence will begin to show aggressive tendencies as early as the adolescent period (Milaniak & Widom, 2015).Moreover, scholars such as Milaniak and Widom have emphasized the greatest risk in establishing the cycle occurs when the children are exposed to the violence in their first years of life. In a study conducted by the University of Minnesota involving 168 children born to mothers regarded as high-risk for domestic violence, the aim was to assess the particular age in childhood that was the most risk in transmitting the violent attributes from the parent (Holt, Buckley, & Whelan, 2008). The study found out that the first five years of life were crucial in the transmission process. Upon exposure, the children are likely to begin showing their acquired violent tendencies as early as the age of 23 years. On the other hand, children exposed to IPV between the ages of six and eight show more resilience and were at a much lower risk compared to their counterparts below the age of five years ( Holt et al., 2008).
The question that many have always asked is why the children seem to acquire such undesired traits in their early stages of life. The salient effect witnessed in infancy is as a result of a host of factors including the fact that childhood is a critical period for the formation of salient relationships between the children and their caregivers ( Fujiwara et al., 2010). The children at such a young age require the much-needed assurance that their needs will be satisfied in the most consistent manner. However, violence in the home environment has a counterproductive impact as it undermines security. Also, in the case where the mother is the victim, she becomes unable to attend to the needs of the child. As children navigate throughout their various social relationships, they develop the much-needed impetus to control their emotions and behaviors. Therefore, when they see violence being used as a way of relieving emotions and establishing relationships, they incorporate it as a normal part of their life. When children are exposed to violence at early stages in their lives, they do not have enough time to build positive expectations that might assist them to view domestic abuse as an unhealthy and more importantly, an unusual human trait.
Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Domestic Abuse
Researchers have attempted to find out the most effective ways of breaking the cycle and preventing the transmission of domestic violence from the parents to the children. In one of the studies, the researchers concluded that "safe, stable, nurturing relationships between intimate partners and between mothers and children are associated with breaking the cycle of abuse in families" ( Jaffee et al., 2013p. 54). It all begins with the creation of a peaceful environment horizontally and vertically. In this case, horizontal relationships involve the father and the mother. In an effort to solve the differences and problems, better ways of conflict resolutions should be employed that do not necessarily involve violence or acts of aggression. For instance, mediation with the help of a third party can result in valuable outcomes. The stable relationship should also be vertical between the parents and their children. Research has shown that one of the factors that enhance the continuous cycle of violence from the parent to the children includes the psychological or mental toll that children suffer due to the IPV ( Corvo, 2010). Therefore, building trust and cooperation between children and parents ensures that children remain mentally healthy and acquire only the desirable characters helpful for their growth and development into responsible citizens.
Another meaningful way of dealing with the cycle of domestic abuse involves the creation of effective intervention and prevention programs aimed at mitigating the violence not only among the parents but also their children. Such programs can be taken to schools where the education should emphasize conflict resolution and the creation of healthy resolution. Most fundamentally, the programs must also aim at reaching out to the at-risk couple and providing them with appropriate training on conflict management and additional strategies that could be used to manage family conflicts ( Thornberry, Knight, & Lovegrove, 2012). Important to note is the fact that several children have survived the development into perpetrators of domestic abuse despite having come from families where this was a significant problem. Therefore, such children are considered to have broken the intergenerational pattern, a factor that provides valuable lessons to researchers ( Jaffee et al., 2013). Supportive parenting is at the helm of creating more resilient children with the much-required impetus to deal avoid acquiring the undesirable effects. Therefore, it remains significantly important for parents living in abusive relationships to take the necessary steps to prevent the reoccurrence of the problem.
First, they should provide safer homes for the children and further receive counseling on how positive parent has implications on the welfare of the children. The focus should also be based on treatment especially children or adolescents that have begun demonstrating signs of the signs of domestic abuse. Researchers have postulated an evidence-based model which aims at treating children that have been exposed to a particular type of trauma ( Jaffee et al., 2013). Children should be taken to a therapist who will evaluate the child's behavior and talk them through the trauma. A lack of intervention exposes the children to undesirable actions that enhance the continuity of the cynical violence.
Limitations of Existing Research
The existing research has failed to provide proper documentation of domestic violence involving the women as perpetrators. Also, it is not clear why the reporting rates of such cases are limited compared to those involving women as the victims. Although research has shown that children learn violent and aggression tendencies from their parents, little emphasis has been put on assessing why other children are able to acquire better coping skills than the others thus escaping the cycle of intergenerational violence. Consequently, with evidence showing that children from non-abusive parents can also demonstrate aggressive behavior, the cause-effect relationship between exposure and transmission of violent traits remains questionable.
Directions for Future Research
Future research should focus on domestic violence involving the men as the victims in a bid to eliminate the disparity that has surrounded the problem. It is in this regard that people will understand the increasing rates of violence involving the women as the perpetrators. As more light will be shed on the coping skills that children develop, individuals will understand the possibilities in breaking the intergenerational cycle of violence. Knowledge of specific coping skills will provide researchers with better strategies in creating policies that prevent the generational transmission of violence ( Robboy & Anderson, 2011). Lastly, more studies should also be directed towards children that show aggressive behavior but have come from non-violent families.
Conclusion
In conclusion, domestic violence is arguably one of the most significant risk factors in an intergenerational cycle of abuse due to its long-lasting impact on the child's psychology that in turn normalizes acts of aggression. First, it is vital to understand domestic violence or abuse as intimate partner aggression meted by one of the parents directed to the other. The violence can exist in various forms including physical, emotional, and psychological. The best theoretical model to explain the intergeneration cycle of violence is the social learning theory. The sociological model explains that when children are exposed to the IPV, they learn and incorporate it as a normal part of human life. It, therefore, sets a center-stage for understanding how violence is transmitted from the parents to the children. Childhood is a vulnerable age where individuals are establishing relationships and finding balance with their emotions. It is also a period of intense learning. Therefore, when children are exposed to such behavior, they will replicate it in the future due to the perception that it is a normal part of human behavior. However, there remains hope that the undesirable cycle can be broken when an emphasis is put on alternative programs of conflict resolution, therapy, and effective programs for children.
References
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