Environments Recreated: The Unique Struggles of Children Born to Abused Mothers

Abstract

In this chapter, we will put forth the premise that those who were abused in childhood do not necessarily become abusers, but fail to protect children, fail to prevent abuse or intervene to stop abuse, and in other ways recreate environments in which abuse by others is allowed to persist. In addition, we will assert that, via psychosocial and developmental sequelae attributable to their own abuse and neglect histories, victims can damage offspring in other equally profound ways. This conceptualization logically culminates in the conclusion that offspring born to parents who themselves endured abuse and neglect are at considerable risk—not only for involvement in protective services, but for a host of developmental and psychosocial maladies brought on by the sequelae of childhood abuse suffered by parents. This is important as we try to disentangle the issue of intergenerational transmission. We must carefully consider the complexities of this issue, and more carefully define the problems, in order to promote solutions that will ultimately curtail the problem and halt the cycle of violence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)