International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice(CEASE PUBLICATION) Vol. 5(3), pp. 105 - 117
DOI: 10.13189/ijrh.2017.050303
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Nonviolent Adult Sons of Abused Women: Ending the Cycle of Violence

Kim M. Anderson ^1,*, Laura Danforth ², Jennifer First ^3
1 School of Social Work, Health and Public Affairs I, University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA
² School of Social Work, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Ross Hall 401, Little Rock, USA
³ School of Social Work, University of Missouri, 705 Clark, Columbia, USA

ABSTRACT

This grounded theory inquiry aimed to elicit nonviolent adult sons' (N=13) perceptions of what helped them to recover from childhood exposure to domestic violence (CEDV). Analysis of participants' transcripts revealed five important themes related to this transformation process: 1) committing to a life of nonviolence, 2) understanding and accepting the realities of their childhood, 3) choosing to forgive parents, 4) navigating adult child-parental contact and 5) accessing informal and formal support networks. This study's findings may be translated by helping professionals into prevention efforts and intervention strategies for male child witnesses to stop the cycle of violence.

KEYWORDS
Adult Child Witnesses, Stopping Abuse Cycle, Childhood Exposure

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Kim M. Anderson , Laura Danforth , Jennifer First , "Nonviolent Adult Sons of Abused Women: Ending the Cycle of Violence," International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice(CEASE PUBLICATION), Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 105 - 117, 2017. DOI: 10.13189/ijrh.2017.050303.

(b). APA Format:
Kim M. Anderson , Laura Danforth , Jennifer First (2017). Nonviolent Adult Sons of Abused Women: Ending the Cycle of Violence. International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice(CEASE PUBLICATION), 5(3), 105 - 117. DOI: 10.13189/ijrh.2017.050303.