Early child hood experiences can affect many life altering choices we have as adults, from the very minute to very large ones, depending drastically on the kind of experiences the individual had as a child. Several researchers have begun to identify the relation to violence and individuals growing up in an abusive household together. N, Markey, P, Markey, Ericksen, and Tinsley agree that behavioral patterns can be linked to childhood experiences. To better understand what cases an individual to be able to comet vicious and violent crimes or attack another individual without remorse, this kind of research is important and very valuable to the future of our nation.
‘’Research examining relations between personality and healthy behaviors identified personality qualities that may render young people vulnerable to participation in risk behaviors’’ (Markey 1504). Markey research suggests that personality traits included in the Five-Factor Model (FFM) are more likely to participate in risky behavior. M.Farouk Radwan sad “Contrary to common beliefs we don 't inherit our personalities but instead we develop certain traits as a result of the experiences we pass through in life”. The Five-Factor Model consist of emotional stability, extraversion, agreeableness, dependability and, openness to experiences. Helping to further promote the idea of what we do as children or view while we are young will drastically affect us in the long run as adults.
Another approach to the theory is the
Social learning theory suggests that the mechanism underlying the continuity of violence is observational learning in which children who were abused learn to repeat abusive or neglectful modeled behavior (Begle, Dumas & Hanson, 2010). Observational learning, in the case of child
Growing up in an abusive household was reality to my siblings and I. Being an adult now, I’ve struggled maintaining control over my anger and have had an issue in doing so since I was a child. It’s a fact that “children who witness violence between one’s parents or caretakers are the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next.”
The five-factor model (FFM) is a contemporary construct describing personality. It incorporates five traits – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism also referred to as OCEAN. Within each dimension, there are specific personality attributes, for example, openness includes subcategories of feelings and actions. The FFM was influenced by Cattell’s 16-factor model (1957) and shares traits with many other personality theories such as Eysenck’s PEN model. There has been an ongoing debate discussing how many factors appropriately represent the brain structure of personality, suggestions have varied from 2-7, recently Almagor et al. (1995) advocated that a 7-factor model unfolds when evaluative traits are involved. Costa & Mcrae (1992) claim that the FFM is the best theory of personality, however, the model has received much criticism. Through examining different aspects of the model its credibility can be explored.
Children react to their environment in different ways, and those reactions can vary, depending on the child 's gender and age. Children exposed to family violence are more likely to develop behavioral, emotional, psychological, and social problems than those who are not. Recent research indicates that children who witness domestic violence show anger and temperament problems, depression, low self-esteem, and more anxiety than children who do not witness violence in the home. The trauma they experience can show up in behavioral, physical, social, and emotional disturbances that affect their development and can continue into adulthood.
The men grew up with or without a history of childhood family violence that includes angry, controlling, and violent behaviors, substance use related behavior, and attitudes towards women. With the findings, men with family violence led to severe attitudinal and behavioral problems. This source is helpful to understand the behavioral relations between the attackers and the victims.
Adolescents in single-parent households that were probably subjected to abuse as a child may go on to exhibit similar behavior toward their children in the future. Eliana Gil, PhD, suggests that “some adults abused as children do become aggressors…By acting out the role of the abuser, they may be unconsciously trying to understand why the earlier abuse occurred” (Gil, 1988). This clarifies the fact that though the adolescents may not at first demonstrate violent behavior, they may expose this role of the abuser when triggered later in life. Abused adolescents become abusers of their children due to frustration caused by how they were raised as a child, what current situation they may be in, or difficulties in accepting behaviors of their spouse or children. Ultimately, the individual abuses the people that are closest to them, such as spouses and children. As this continues, resentment and tension is built up within the family and thus recommencing the abusive cycle throughout generations.
Although this is a significant number, it is also important to note that Oliver 's estimations indicate that a majority of maltreated children do not go on to maltreat their own children. Kwong and colleagues (2003) determined that growing up in abusive family environments can teach children that the use of violence and aggression is a viable means for dealing with interpersonal conflict, which can increase the likelihood that the cycle of violence will continue when they reach adulthood
In their research, Said Pournaghash-Tehrani and Z Feizabadi intend to determine the predictability of physical and psychological violence occurring from early Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), which they describe as either witnessing or being the victim of domestic violence. To determine this, they administer questionnaires to couples seeking divorce due to domestic violence and assess the types of physical and psychological violence and their history of abuse from their parents. They find that witnessing domestic violence as a child can effectively predict various types of physical and psychological violence such as hitting and cursing. The information they learn here is supported by multiple other research results that all show witnessing
Abstract: Childhood abuse has been present throughout many years but it has never been brought into life as it is today. The child’s brain is just as a sponge, absorbing every detail of their daily lives. If the child lives in an environment where there is abuse, that child in the future will do the same because it was what he got used to. Many parents use violence as a form of punishment when they do not realize that by only being violent, they are creating a trauma on the child which can lead in the future to depression, substance abuse, physical abuse and losing touch of reality. Even though children have to learn to have an education, do not resort to abuse.
Children learn by observing those around them, and if they are surrounded by aggression and violence then they are going to attempt to mimic those behaviors. In addition, a family environment filled with, “... coercive interactions between parents and their children and children themselves affect the behavior of all parties and contribute to the development of a hostile family environment - a true breeding ground for aggression” (Shaffer & Kipp, 2014). This clearly demonstrates the impact that an aggressive environment can have on a child’s
This study was done in North Caroline where they found that children that were victims of abuse had higher rates of delinquency than children who were not abused (Zingraff, Leiter, Myers, and Johnsen 1993). A fourth study was done, and was based on abused children from the Northwest region (English, Widom, and Brandford 2002). This study was done in the time range of 1980 to 1985 and found that the abused children were 5 times more likely to be arrested than children who were not abused (English et al. 2002). All four of these studies find proof that child abuse may lead to juvenile delinquency. After the four studies, the cycle of violence hypothesis arose, explaining that if children are being abused, the child will learn to imitate that abusive behavior when he or she grows up (Widom
These exposed children are more likely than non-exposed children to develop internal and external issues. With the interruption of basic capable developments, the child’s ability to handle emotions is affected and leads to internal and external behaviors (Martinez-Torteya et. al., 2012). Preschool aged children, rather than older children, tend to demonstrate more extreme external and internal behaviors in response to parental violence (Ybarra, Wilkens, & Lieberman). The reactions of these young children may arise from lack of mature cognitive capabilities. Due to the lack of cognitive skills, the child is more susceptible to psychological vulnerabilities caused by the conflicts. The child may feel a sense of guilt as to why the violence is occurring and may choose to blame themselves. (Ybarra, Wilkens, & Lieberman). Correlation exists with the external behaviors even after the parents separate, dependent on the harshness of the domestic violence (Johnson & Lieberman). An unfortunate result of any trauma faced, is the insecurity effects, one can no longer distinguish safe from unsafe. Young children hold on to security by demonstrating attachment behaviors for protection and safety. Experiencing domestic violence by witness, creates a world of insecurities for the child involved, modifying their behaviors. (Lieberman). Young children are most vulnerable to this, because they are still in their learning stages of safety, creating both internal and external effects in their
A great societal concern is criminal behavior in adolescence. The risk factors of youth criminality have become a rising interest. One of the most consistent factors associated with adolescent criminal behavior is child abuse. Crime related stress can start from a very young age and may not even affect an individual until much later on in adulthood. Evidence has shown that young people in America witness large amounts of violence at home and in their community. Evidence has also shown that recent exposure to violence in the community as well as a history of receiving traumatic news, recent life events, and to associate
Physical, sexual and emotional abuse can all devastate a person and create difficult life patterns that lead them to abusive situations as adults. The family of origin is usually the center of abuse which creates these circumstances. Edwards et al. (2003) suggested in their research article that, an emotionally abusive family environment interacts with abusive acts to amplify the effects associated with maltreatment. This idea is further supported by Lansford et al. (2002), whose findings suggested that physical maltreatment within the first 5 years of life predicts psychological and behavioral problems at least 12 years later, controlling for other risk factors associated with maltreatment. These correlations support the very important role of family and environment as it relates to prior
According to Samms-Vaughn (2013), “Exposure to violence in childhood has been associated with aggressive and antisocial behaviour in childhood and with offending in adulthood.” For example: If a child has experienced child abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse and domestic violence in their household or community, this exposure leads to aggressive behaviour in the future. It was some years ago there was a documentary on the television show, Dr. Phil, where a father kept his family isolated from society. He had only girls and he sexually abused the mother to her death. After which he started abusing the oldest of the four. She was then trained in his way to take care of her siblings and prepare one of her younger siblings on a weekly basis for his pleasure. Anyone who did not follow through with the rules would be punished. She was aiding and abetting, which is a crime, but to her, she was just obeying her father’s wishes. Years after, this story was highlighted and her younger siblings blamed her for the punishment she handed down in an uncivilized manner. She wept bitterly as she said she knew nothing else to do because that’s how she was raised.