TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Breaking the cycle: association of attending therapy following childhood abuse and subsequent perpetration of violence
JO  - Journal of family violence
A1  - Maxwell, Kendal
A1  - Callahan, Jennifer L.
A1  - Ruggero, Camilo J.
A1  - Janis, Beth
SP  - 251
EP  - 258
VL  - 31
IS  - 2
N2  - Despite "cycle of violence" (Widom Psychological Bulletin, 106, 3-28, 1989, p. 4) theories prevailing for the past 30 years, few studies have looked at the empirical relationship between experiencing childhood physical abuse and becoming perpetrators of violence in adulthood. Those studies that do exist omit consideration of intervening therapeutic experiences. In the present study, archival data from an outpatient mental health clinic was used to examine whether therapeutic experiences mediate the relationship between experiencing childhood physical abuse by a parental figure and subsequent involvement as a perpetrator of physical violence. Treatment-seeking individuals (N = 816) responded to three items about whether they had experiences of childhood physical abuse, whether they acted violently in adulthood, and whether they had ever before received counseling or therapy. Past counseling/psychotherapy treatment was a significant mediator between experiencing childhood physical abuse and perpetrating physical violence in adulthood, even after controlling for the effect of the victims' gender. <br><br>FINDINGS suggest that psychotherapeutic experiences after experiencing childhood physical abuse may decrease the likelihood of perpetrating violence in adulthood. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research are discussed.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0885-7482
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9765-z
ID  - ref1
ER  -