Complex Trauma and Growth in Men Who Have Been Abused as Children and Perpetrated Domestic Violence as Adults

ABSTRACT Men who have experienced childhood victimisation are at greater risk of perpetrating domestic violence (DV). While trauma and growth theories have focused on victims' and perpetrators' reactions to traumatic events, how these mechanisms interact is unknown. Semistructured interviews explored the lived experience of two men who had been abused as children and perpetrated DV as adults. Data was analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The personal experiential theme: Echoes from the past, a rebound, a new lease of life; overarched five group experiential themes. Within these themes participants' childhood exposure to family violence normalised a blueprint for later perpetuating violence in their own families. Transgenerational repetition brought repercussions for the perpetrating adult and the recognition of the need to seek help. Posttraumatic growth was possible through a reparatory and cognitive struggle to redefine that blueprint. These participants each experienced a complex and cumulative victim/perpetrator cataclysmic adult event. The standard interventions targeting DV perpetration have the potential to ignite such a complex traumatic event yet are not designed to manage it. Childhood abuse screening of men assigned to DV interventions is recommended along with future development of DV interventions dedicated to those with histories of childhood abuse and DV perpetration.