Quote From: fruittune I would think that if the second generation suffered abuse they would in turn become abusers themselves.you see I studied a little bit of psychology myself.
Abuse runs in Families, the parents abuse the kids then the kids in turn abuse their siblings and eventually it starts itself all over with the next generation.
I have no doubt that some abuse occured 15 to 20 years ago. But if the second generation members are now the "teachers" and no abuses if occuring now, what does that have to say about the group today?
This tells me that abuse was not as widespread as some would claim. Otherwise you'd see more abuse happening now at the hands of the abused second generation.
The testimonials from current young people in the Family indicate that they are for the most part happy and they believe that what they are doing is a for a good cause.
If you look at the evidence you would see that abuse occured over a period spanning the early to mid eighties, what the group practiced in before seems to have changed for whatever reasons and it seems like the family communities are reasonably safe places to raise children.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArtTextonly.aspx?refid=761562624&find=1
IV.
Causes
Many people have difficulty understanding why any person would hurt a child. The public often assumes that people who abuse their children suffer from mental disorders, but fewer than 10 percent of abusers have mental illnesses. Most abusers love their children but tend to have less patience and less mature personalities than other parents. These traits make it difficult to cope with the demands of their children and increase the likelihood of physical or emotional abuse.
However, there is no single explanation for child maltreatment. Child abuse results from a complex combination of personal, social, and cultural factors. These may be grouped into four primary categories: (1) intergenerational transmission of violence, (2) social stress, (3) social isolation and low community involvement, and (4) family structure.
A.
Intergenerational Transmission of Violence
Many people have difficulty understanding why any person would hurt a child. The public often assumes that people who abuse their children suffer from mental disorders, but fewer than 10 percent of abusers have mental illnesses. Most abusers love their children but tend to have less patience and less mature personalities than other parents. These traits make it difficult to cope with the demands of their children and increase the likelihood of physical or emotional abuse.
However, there is no single explanation for child maltreatment. Child abuse results from a complex combination of personal, social, and cultural factors. These may be grouped into four primary categories: (1) intergenerational transmission of violence, (2) social stress, (3) social isolation and low community involvement, and (4) family structure.
Many children learn violent behavior from their parents and then grow up to abuse their own children. Thus, the abusive behavior is transmitted across generations. Studies show that some 30 percent of abused children become abusive parents, whereas only 2 to 3 percent of all individuals become abusive parents. Children who experience abuse and violence may adopt this behavior as a model for their own parenting.
However, the majority of abused children do not become abusive adults. Some experts believe that an important predictor of later abuse is whether the child realizes that the behavior was wrong. Children who believe they behaved badly and deserved the abuse become abusive parents more often than children who believe their parents were wrong to abuse them
Other articles
www.nccafv.org/child.htm
www.penpages.psu.edu/penpages_reference/28507/28507709.HTML
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0AZV/is_1_40/ai_73232572
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/print.asp?ArticleID=53303
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/07/050701062300.htm
This study shows that the intergenerational transmission of abuse is inconclusive
www.cyc-net.org/Newsdesk/newsdesk-000911-k.html
(Original Air Date: 10/03/05) Imagine growing up in a cult where you are forced to have sex with strangers -- when you’re as young as 5. Dr. Phil talks to people who escaped the group known as the Children of God, and need help moving on. Meet a daughter who says she can’t forgive her father for the years of painful abuse she suffered at the hands of this cult. How can she reconnect with her dad and start trusting again? Plus, China and her husband, John, are building a new life after leaving the group, where they were forced to have sex with strangers when they were both underage. They’ve had a difficult time adjusting to the outside world, and China wonders if she should prosecute her parents for abuse. What does Dr. Phil think? Talk about the show here.
