Relationship Behavior Networks of Young Adults: A Test of the Intergenerational Transmission of Violence Hypothesis

• NCJ Number: 206884
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2004 Pages: 139-151
• Author(s): Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling; Mark Hankla; Colleen Dostal Stormberg
• Date Published: June 2004
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined how negative behaviors in relationships are structured in the semantic networks of young adults from violent families compared with nonviolent families.

Abstract

Study participants were 110 students (72 females and 38 males) enrolled in an introductory psychology class in a large Midwestern university. Seventy words or short phrases that depicted relationship behaviors were printed on index cards. These behaviors were chosen to be representative of seven categories of behavior. Each category was represented by 10 behavior cards. Participants were seated at a large table and given the 70 cards in the Card Sort One deck. They were instructed to sort the cards into groups based on some aspect of their meaning, with no limit on how many groups could be developed. They were required, however, to have a minimum of five cards in each pile. Each pile was then to be labeled according to perceived common behavioral characteristics in the pile. Each participant was administered the Conflict Tactics Scale to determine the level of family violence experienced or witnessed as well as the level of violence that had been perpetrated in a romantic relationship. The study identified negative relationship behaviors for three groups of individuals: those from nonviolent families, those reporting at least one act of physical victimization from a parent, and those reporting both witnessing and experiencing parental violence. For all three groups, violent behaviors were clustered on one end of the primary dimension; whereas, withdrawal behaviors represented the other pole. The results suggest that different family-of-origin experiences in familial interactions are associated with individuals' relationship cognition processes. At the theoretical level, these findings provide some preliminary support for the hypothesis that automatic and less conscious cognitive processes may underlie the transmission of violence across generations. Suggestions are offered for future research. 1 table, 5 figures, 38 references, and appended table of stimuli used in the card-sorting task