Nonviolent Adult Sons of Abused Women: Ending the Cycle of Violence

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.