Washington, Oct 6 (Inditop.com) Early exposure to a violent environment is likely to lead to domestic violence later in life, new research suggests. Furthermore, people who experience violence at an early age may have trouble adjusting to healthy, adult romantic relationships, including married life.
Feelings of insecurity, abandonment anxiety, and intimacy issues are also likely to plague these romantic connections.
Additionally, the dynamics of the way couples react and communicate with each other is also related to the likelihood of domestic violence within a relationship.
For example, men tend to use violence towards their partner as a means to exert a desire for personal space or avoidance of emotional issues in response to the “clingy” or intrusive behaviour of his female partner.
This research highlights the importance of domestic violence prevention efforts starting at the childhood level, within family environments as well as school and community based settings.
Moreover, prevention efforts allow the victim to relate long-harboured painful childhood violent experiences and rectify internal representations of self that cause long-term damage to valuable inter-personal relationships and families.
The research was conducted by Natacha Godbout, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California, Donald G. Dutton, Yvan Lussier and Stephane Sabourin, all professors of psychology at the Universities of British Columbia, Vancouver, Quebec-Rivi�res and Laval, respectively.
These findings were published in the latest issue of Personal Relationships.
