Some family characteristics are likely to be passed on from one generation to the next. The reasons may be due to genetics, similar ways of living, parenting styles, modeling of behaviors and coping strategies, or a combination of these and other factors. The good news is that positive, secure attachment relationships are often passed on to more than one generation. The bad news is that negative relationships and problems also can be passed on to more than one generation. These problems can include child abuse and neglect, alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, criminal behaviors, and mental illness.
Problems do not have to be passed from one generation to the next. Researchers looked at families where mothers either continued or broke away from family cycles of abuse. They found that abused mothers who did not abuse their own children had one or more of the following things going for them:
- They had a stable, supportive relationship with a husband or partner
- They had participated in therapy.
- They had received emotional support from a non-abusive adult during childhood.
From Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension
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