Refining the Intergenerational Transmission Hypothesis

The theory that aggression within the family of origin predicts the later enactment of family aggression is refined by suggesting that several features of family of origin aggression should be considered when trying to understand the intergenerational transmission of family aggression. These include the frequency and severity of family of origin aggression, the impact of the aggression, identification with parents, model and observer gender, and whether the aggression was witnessed or experienced. A total of 73 dating men and women participated. A multiplicative index explained a significant proportion of the variance in current relationship aggression over and above each of the individual components. It is concluded that the intergenerational transmission of family aggression depends on certain features of the original learning situation.