Intergenerational transmission of violence - The Intergenerational Transmission of Child Maltreatment: Results of a Series of Meta-Analyses

One of the factors that seem to play an important role in perpetrating maltreatment is the experience of maltreatment in the parents’ childhood. However, results regarding the extent of this intergenerational transmission... [ view full abstract ]

One of the factors that seem to play an important role in perpetrating maltreatment is the experience of maltreatment in the parents’ childhood. However, results regarding the extent of this intergenerational transmission are not unequivocal. In addition, some studies find specific type-to-type transmission, whereas others do not. To clarify these issues, we performed a series of meta-analyses, synthesizing all findings on intergenerational transmission to date.  

Studies were included if they met the following criteria: (1) a measure of childhood maltreatment history (emotional, physical, sexual abuse, or neglect) experienced by parent/guardian (2) an outcome of child maltreatment (same as previous) experienced by those in the offspring generation; (3) a statistic that could be transformed into an effect size; and (4) if the study was available in English, French or Spanish. Inclusion criteria were met for 164 studies (200 samples). Data were analyzed in Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.0 (Borenstein et al., 2014).

Results supported the cycle of maltreatment hypothesis, although effect sizes were small to moderate. Overall, parents who had been maltreated were more likely to maltreat their own children (N = 88; d = .40). Analyses by maltreatment type also revealed significant effect sizes for intergenerational transmission. Effect sizes for the transmission to different types of maltreatment were generally not different from the type-to-type transmission for physical abuse and neglect. However, some were smaller for emotional abuse and sexual abuse, suggesting a stronger type-to-type transmission for these types of maltreatment. The discussion will focus on possible underlying processes that may account for the intergenerational cycle of abuse, as well as the implications of the meta-analysis for theory, research, and practice.