Do children who are abused grow up to be abusers?

Answer 1

Being smothered, doted upon, and spoiled are all forms of child abuse. Many of these children grow up to be abusive adults.

"Can someone who was spoiled and over protected as a child become an abuser?"

No. This is crazy. How in the world did you arrive at this one?

Answer 2

Not necessarily. The sourceless statistic upon which your question is based has had the effect of stigmatizing those who were abused as children. It is a two-fold blow to survivors of childhood terror. Once they reach adulthood, society seems to generally anticipate that these survivors will abuse their own children. It is generally assumed by almost everyone and without critical examination that anyone with a history of suffering abuse at the hands of their parents (or other caretakers) is immediately suspect and cannot be completely trusted. The heaviness of this unfair stigma serves to further stifle and silence the voices of the very people who would know best how to prevent abuse and neglect, i.e., the survivors. Furthermore, while it may be true that some abused children grow up to be abusers themselves, it is worth noting that some people who were never abused as children ultimately become abusers too.

There are certainly plenty of survivors who thought as children, "I would never treat another person the way I am being treated by my parents," and who have carried that vision with them into adult life. How many survivors like this are out there? THAT is the question that social science needs to ask.

Sometimes. depends on how they were abused or how their mind is set up after the abuse.

Answer 3

Some do, but by no means all do.