Understanding the initiation of child abuse and the mechanism of intergenerational transmission of child abuse.

• Main Author: Leny, Silvia.
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology::Behaviorism
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48840
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Cases of child abuse are still widespread in today’s world. Although the number is declining due to measures that have been taken by the government and the society, more can be done to minimize the prevalence of child abuse and its transmission to the next generation. Family and children are inevitably affected when the impacts of past traumas are not being addressed. The ones affected the most are the children of abuse survivors, through the means of intergenerational transmission of child abuse (ITCA). The purpose of this literature review is to provide a critical assessment of recent research on the initiation of child abuse and the mechanism of ITCA, especially for the past 10 years. Although the mechanism of ITCA and its related issues have been studied extensively as early as in the 1970s, there are a lot of inconsistencies and mixed findings because of the complexity of the subject matter. The progress in recent research would help to enhance our understanding of ITCA and other intergenerational processes such as antisocial behaviour and parenting practices which can be used to improve the current system we have on the prevention, identification, intervention and treatment of child abuse. This literature has been organized into several sections: prevalence of child abuse; types of child abuse; theoretical frameworks; risk and protective factors; developmental outcomes; limitations and implications.