THE INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF AGGRESSION ACROSS 3 GENERATIONS

This study examined the intergenerational transmission of aggression a cross three generations in 181 community families. Regression analyses were conducted to assess the extent to which child abuse and marital abuse in the family-of-origin (G1) are predictive of child abuse poten tial and marital aggression in the second generation (G2), abuse in th e family-of-origin is predictive of aggression in the third generation (G3), and child abuse potential and marital aggression in the second generation are predictive of aggression in the third generation. For m ales, exposure to aggression was predictive of aggressive behavior acr oss all three generations. For females, the only significant predictio n was from marital aggression in G1 to husband-to-wife marital aggress ion in G2. This study points to the importance of examining the transm ission of both child abuse and marital aggression in order to assess t heir relative importance. It is also recommended that the transmission of aggression be assessed separately for males and females, as the da ta point to the family system as a factor related to aggression in mal es, yet do not provide the same explanation for females.