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[52]
Theorists have recognised that patterns of child rearing, be they good or bad, are
passed on from one generation to the next. One would suppose that parents who had
been subjected to abuse as children would be more sympathetic and adopt more
emphatic means in rearing their children. It seems that this is not so, and that parents
tend to use the same disciplinary measures as did their parents. Caffo et al.(1982 :
457) state that abused children tend to become abusing parents, and that many abusing
parents were themselves abused as children. Such parents integrate into their psyche
the mode of behaviour of their parents which emerges during moments of crisis, even
when they have been rationally denied.
Smith (1975 : 45) after reviewing numerous studies, maintains that abusing parents
received the same treatment from their parents during childhood. The stresses and
strains of day to day living, coupled with their own early abuse, creates a climate
favourable for abuse. We can conclude from the foregoing that abusing parents were
themselves abused as children and abusing parents tend to unconsciously adopt the
child-rearing practices of their own parents.
There is general agreement among researchers that abusing parents were themselves
physically and emotionally abused. According to Main & Goldwyn (1984 : 204) case
histories reveal "a consistent picture of aggressive, physically punitive childhood
experiences." Caffo et al. (1982) however, state that not all abused children become
abusing parents. Parents tend to suppress unhappy childhood memories, and if they
are helped to recall these experiences, work through their distress and anger, then they
are able to come to terms with it, and "stop" the generational cycle of abuse (Fraiberg
1984 : 214).
(b) Studies pertaining to lack of bonding or attachment
Related to what was said above, Vesterdal (1977 : 240) sees child abuse as a
disruption of the parent-child relationship which may exist together with any other
psychological state. In a normal relationship, the bond between a mother and a child
is very strong. The child depends on the mother initially to provide its basic needs, i.e.