It’s so Beneficial to be Able to Stop the Cycle

Perceptions of Intergenerational Transmission of Violence and Parenting Practices Among Pregnant Women and their Abusive Partners

Bibliographic Data

ID6435529
AuthorsFederica Taccini (0000-0002-5169-3324, King's College London), Jill Domoney (0000-0001-8157-621X, King's College London), Josephine Ocloo (0000-0003-0027-9091, King's College London), Margaret Heslin (0000-0002-3094-9255, King's College London), Sarah Byford (0000-0001-7084-1495, King's College London), Debra Bick (0000-0002-8557-7276, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust), Louise M Howard (0000-0001-9942-744X, King's College London), Harriet L Macmillan (0000-0002-1223-706X, McMaster University), Stefania Mannarini (0000-0002-8446-785X, University of Padua), Paul Ramchandani (0000-0003-3646-2410, University of Cambridge), Nicky Stanley (0000-0002-7644-1625, University of Lancashire), Kylee Trevillion (0000-0001-5865-4726, King's College London)
Year2024
Volume40
Issue6
Pages1091-1107
Publication date2024-02-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Family Violence (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0885-7482 • E-ISSN: 1573-2851
PublisherSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s10896-024-00685-0
OpenAlexW4392730738
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited91

Purpose This study aimed to explore how pregnant women who experience Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) and men who commit DVA understand the impact of their childhood environment on their relationships with their children and co-parents, and how a DVA psychological intervention may shape their parenting. Methods Repeated individual qualitative interviews were conducted with pregnant mothers and fathers who reported DVA and were taking part in a psychological intervention to address DVA. Interviews were carried out at the start (during pregnancy) and end of the intervention (two years post-childbirth). Reflexive Thematic Analysis was used to analyse interviews. Results 56 interviews (26 mothers; 13 fathers) were analysed. Five themes were identified: (1) Acknowledging childhood experiences of DVA; (2) The scars of traumatic experiences; (3) Challenging the silencing of abuse; (4) The transmission of parenting styles and behaviours from one generation to another; (5) Becoming the best parent one can be. The intergenerational transmission of violence was identifiable in most narratives. Despite this, several participants described skills they acquired during the intervention (e.g., emotional regulation strategies) as assisting in interrupting violence and improving their relationships with their children. Conclusions Participants who acknowledged having encountered childhood abuse recognised it as one of several risk factors for DVA in adulthood. They also discussed the potential for trauma-informed interventions to address the intergenerational transmission of violence and poor parenting practices

Cycle of violence · Developmental psychology · Domestic violence · Legal psychology · Medical emergency · Perception · Poison control · Public health · Quality of Life Research · Suicide prevention · Transmission (telecommunications · Child Abuse and Trauma · Engineering · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Social Psychology