Good day, dear readers of Take in Mind. I think that it goes without saying that the Family, especially in the difficult period of incessant waves of pandemic and isolation, is probably the most important thing that helps us keep it together (and, especially, the family’s foundation: Love, Sincerity, and Respect). Numerous examples in the history of mankind, and the personal experience of each, proves this axiom.
The Family is our root (parents and grandparents) and our future (our children); in other words, this is a real eternal life to which we seek regardless of race, social status, or religion. Therefore, rejection of the idea of the Family itself is a real and much greater danger that threatens our civilization much more than viruses or techno disasters. And it’s not just about the physical transfer of genetic material. First of all, we are talking about ethical, social, and spiritual ruptures, which may finally destroy our civilization.
I will surprise no one claiming that the family relationships are primarily characterized by mutual love and mutual respect of spouses, and, most importantly, by supporting each other. When we are surrounded by love, dedication, and care, we are calm and confident in our abilities. In a stressful situation, due to having this “back”, we find an additional reserve of strength, which helps us make the right decision and spurs us to action. Moreover, we widespread this attitude around us too. And, by the way, it doesn’t depend on how strong and charismatic a person is – we are just people, with our weaknesses… So, complementing each other, as a whole, together, in love and mutual assistance (and not in mutual substitution (!)), the family can move forward.
Let’s get back to the topic of “eternal life”. I think that one doesn’t have to be a psychologist or sociologist to admit that the Family (I emphasize, in the correct sense) provides the very necessary, “solid” basis for the next generation. I want to confirm this statement with a little shocking data by providing “by the contrary” examples. I want to present the influences a “family” has on the child’s future, when it involves known cases of violence and neglect. Clearly, we barely may call this a “family”, and would prefer to avoid it, but…
Family violence, including parental partner violence and child abuse and neglect, have deleterious effects on the cognitive, psychological, and emotional domains of the individual [1]. Research has shown that these phenomena often co-occur; in families in which one form of violence is present, there is an increased risk of the other [2, 3]. Negative emotions experienced between parents have been suggested to extend to parent-child relationships and ultimately cause child abuse and/or neglect [Engfer 1988]. Unfortunately, it is also an established fact that domestic violence (both in relation to the parent and the child) has long-term harmful effects on human mental health in adulthood. For example, domestic violence can lead to impaired emotional regulation in children, such as the impaired abilities to exhibit self-control, to tolerate distress, and the ability to self-monitor and integrate awareness of emotions [Shorey et al 2011; Calkins 1994; Burns et al 2012]. In addition, victims already in adulthood have an increased predisposition to a posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, violent and antisocial behaviors; substance abuse and suicidal behaviors [Edwards et al 2003; Widom 2000; Chesney-Lind et al 2004; Neller et al 2006; Chen and Gueta 2015; Davies 2006; Chen 2020].
These facts are confirmed by the relevant research data collected among the population of prisoners. Thus, the percentage of prisoners exposed to various forms of violence and neglect in childhood is much higher than the average for the general population. In a study that examined the childhood traumas experienced by fifty female inmates, 62% of the participants reported physical abuse, 72% emotional abuse, 54% sexual abuse, and 60% experienced emotional neglect [Chen and Gueta 2015]. In a similar study of 1,261 adult male prisoners, the majority of participants reported having experienced emotional abuse (61.7%) and physical abuse (54.3%); 39.6% reported an experience of neglect [Debowska and Boduszek 2017]. American scientists have found that abused girls were arrested for violent crimes more often than boys with a similar background [Herrera and McCloskey 2001; Chen, 2020]. And a study in Canada found that female inmates who experienced childhood trauma were involved in more violent incidents in prison, even compared to male prisoners [Martin et al 2015].
These are very scary facts, aren’t they? I hope that no one would check these statistics with their own experience or of their loved ones.
While ending the post, I want to wish all of us that we would always be surrounded by those with whom we are happy, and who are happy when we are near them. So that in good, in bad, in parts or in whole, we could come and stay together, in spite of everything… Probably, this is a definition of family!
References
Bidarra ZS, Lessard G, Dumont A. Co-occurrence of intimate partner violence and child sexual abuse: prevalence, risk factors and related issues. Child Abuse Negl. 2016;55:10–21.
Burns EE, Fischer S, Jackson JL, Harding HG. Deficits in emotion regulation mediate the relationship between childhood abuse and later eating disorder symptoms. Child Abuse Negl. 2012;36:32–9.
Calkins SD. Origins and outcomes of individual differences in emotional regulation. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev 59 (2–3, Serial No. 240), 1994.
Cummings JG, Pepler DJ, Moore TE. Behavior problems in children exposed to wife abuse: gender differences. J Fam Violence. 1999;14(2):133–56Shorey RC, Brasfield H, Febres J, Stuart GL. An examination of the association between difficulties with emotion regulation and dating violence perpetration. J Aggress Maltreat Trauma. 2011;20(8):870–85.
Chen, G, & Gueta, K. Lifetime history of suicidal ideation and attempts among incarcerated women in Israel. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2017;9(5):96–604.
Chen G. Exposure to Family Violence of Israeli Inmates: Does Sex Make a Difference? Psychiatric Quarterly volume 91, pages389–401 (2020)
Chen, G, & Gueta K. Child abuse, drug addiction and mental health problems of incarcerated women in Israel. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 2015;39:36–45.
Chesney-Lind M, Shelden RG. Girls, delinquency and juvenile justice. 3rd ed. Belmont: Thompson: Wadsworth; 2004.
Davies PT, Cummings EM. Interparental discord, family process, and developmental psychopathology. In: Cicchetti D, Cohen DJ, editors. Developmental psychopathology. Vol. 3: Risk, Disorder, and Adaptation. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley; 2006. p. 86–128.
Debowska A, Boduszek D. Child abuse and neglect profiles and their psychosocial consequences in a large sample of incarcerated males. Child Abuse Negl. 2017;65:266–77.
Dong M, Anda RF, Felitti VJ, Dube SR, Williamson DF, Thompson TJ, et al. The interrelatedness of multiple forms of childhood abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. Child Abuse Negl. 2004;28:771–84.
Edwards V, Holden GW, Felitti VJ, Anda RF. Relationship between multiple forms of childhood maltreatment and adult mental health in community respondents: results from the adverse childhood experiences study. Am J Psychiatr. 2003;160(8):1453–61.
Engfer A. The interrelatedness of marriage and the mother-child relationship. In: Hinde RA, Hinde JS, editors. Relationships within families: mutual influences. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 104. p. 118–1988.
Gewirtz AH, Edleson JL. Young children’s exposure to intimate partner violence: towards a developmental risk and resilience framework for research and intervention. J Fam Violence. 2007;22:151–63.
Herrera VM, McCloskey LA. Gender differences in the risk of delinquency among youth exposed to family violence. Child Abuse Negl. 2001;25:1037–51.
Mandelli L, Carli V, Roy A, Serretti A, Sarchiapone M. The influence of childhood trauma on the onset and repetition of suicidal behavior: an investigation in a high risk sample of male prisoners. J Psychiatr Res. 2011;45:742–7.
Martin MS, Eljdupovic G, McKenzie K, Colman I. Risk of violence by inmates with childhood trauma and mental health needs. Law Hum Behav. 2015;39:614–23.
Neller DJ, Denney RL, Pietz CA, Thomlinson RP. The relationship between trauma and violence in a jail inmate sample. J Interpers Violence. 2006;21(9):1234–41
Widom CS. Childhood victimization: early adversity, later psychopathology. Natl Inst Justice J. 2000;242:2–9
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