The purpose of this report is to review the literature that explores
the short- and long-term effects of witnessing and/or experiencing physical abuse in
childhood. It has been postulated that individuals who have witnessed and/or experienced
abuse are more likely to become perpetrators of abuse. This notion is referred to as the
"cycle of violence" hypothesis. In an examination of the empirical support for
this hypothesis, Widom (1989) concluded that violence in the family of origin did
increase an individual's risk for becoming violent in adulthood. Nevertheless, violent
behaviour by victims and/or witnesses was not inevitable. Furthermore, there were numerous
methodological shortcomings characterising research in the area. The goal of this report
is to provide an update on the "cycle of violence" research published in the
years since Widom's summary, with an eye toward determining whether the problems described
in the earlier review have been addressed in subsequent investigations. The sequelae
associated with viewing and experiencing abuse are described for children, adolescents and
adult victims.
Much of the research addressing the impact of family violence on
children has been conducted with agency-identified samples. Parents' current level of
violence is assessed and related to children's concurrent adjustment. Although this type
of research does not directly address the question of whether abused children will
themselves become abusers, these studies are valuable given the evidence that aggressive
children can remain aggressive into adulthood. The studies reviewed indicated that being
abused seems to lead to more severe behavioural outcomes than does witnessing violence,
while the experience of both forms of violence represents the most potent predictor of
childhood aggression. However, many of the research design flaws pointed out in Widom's
(1989) review are present in investigations currently being conducted.
Methodological problems also plague the research conducted with
adolescent and adult samples. One notable problem is the reliance on retrospective
designs. In addition, most adolescent research deals with the question of delinquency
among former abuse victims/witnesses, despite the evidence that a phenomenon analogous to
spousal abuse exists among adolescent dating couples. Methodological shortcomings
prevented definitive interpretation of the research related to dating violence but there
was a relationship between having a history of abuse and violent delinquent behaviour.
Among adults, there was evidence that both witnessing and
experiencing family violence in childhood were associated with violence in the adult
family. Research with offenders indicated that a very high proportion of this population
had a history of witnessing violence or being directly victimized. Although the studies
reviewed had limitations that prevent firm conclusions regarding the strength of
the relationship between childhood victimization and later perpetration of abuse, an abuse
history was found to be related to both family-directed and stranger-directed violence
that came to the attention of the justice system. This finding reinforces the importance
of making violence treatment programs available to offenders, something that the
Correctional Service of Canada has already taken the initiative to do. Specifically, those
with a history of victimization must be identified as "at risk" for perpetrating
abuse and encouraged to participate in family-related programs that teach skills which
provide alternatives to violence.
In an effort to clarify the relationship between
childhood abuse received and abuse perpetrated in adulthood, future research on the
"cycle of violence" should involve the increased use of prospective designs as
well as studies exploring the effect of the amount of violence witnessed. In addition, it
would be valuable to conduct investigations of factors that may prevent individuals
from repeating the abuse that they have experienced and/or witnessed.
