Does It Run in the Family? Intergenerational Transmission of Household Dysfunctions

Abstract

One of the most evident negative outcomes of adverse childhood experiences at vulnerable ages in childhood and adolescence seems to be intergenerational transmission or continuity in later periods of life. Most studies analyze this phenomenon in terms of direct victimizations, but what about the intergenerational transmission of more indirect victimizations, such as household dysfunctions (substance abuse, mental illness, or incarceration in the family)? The objective of this study is to examine if young adults present similar dysfunctions to those they experienced in their family as a child. This study included 420 Spanish young adults aged between 18 and 20 (M = 18.92), 63.3% of whom were females. All of them answered self-report questionnaires about household dysfunctions during their childhood and adolescence, and a general questionnaire about current similar behavior (drug and alcohol use, mental health problems and psychological distress, coping strategies, detentions/arrests, and deviant behavior), at the same data collection period. Both regression models and fuzzy qualitative analyses support the intergenerational transmission or continuity of household dysfunctions in this Spanish population. Some household dysfunctions presented a more univocal and specific intergenerational transmission process and others were mainly present in combination to yield negative results.