Question: What makes children in an abusive home break the cycle of their abuse with their own children? Kind of like the opposite of the internal working model?

Rose Turner answered on 16 Jun 2017:

This is a very interesting question. There is some evidence that the early years of a child’s life are very important, and that abused children may develop aggressive traits and that can sometimes lead to criminal behaviours. It seems as though interventions, like therapy, can help to explore the underlying issues and to find ways to address and change unproductive patterns of behaviour. People can be highly influenced by social experiences and support, and so having experienced abuse as a child may make people more likely to go on to be aggressive, but it isn’t the case for everyone. A positive support system and the appropriate psychological interventions can help to alter these modes of thinking and behaviour. Cognitive behavioural therapy, for example, can help people to change how they think and behave – by helping them to identify and disrupt negative thought patterns. It is widely used within and outside of the NHS.