Childhood trauma plagues parenting ability, creating abuse cycles

New research reveals complex pathways by which parents who have experienced trauma may be more likely to abuse their children, which may reveal strategies to undermine this harmful cycle.

A team of Japanese researchers found surprising evidence that mothers who suffered abuse during childhood develop a unique emotional empathy that combined with depression can lead to problems with parenting behavior.

The study, published on March 5, 2025 in a scientific report, examined 13 mothers engaged in child abuse with mothers without 42 mothers to study how childhood trauma affects their emotional processing and parenting approaches.

“Our purpose is to determine not only whether mothers engage in child abuse in a simplified “/or” way, but also to understand abuse from a more nuanced spectrum-based perspective,” explained Yuko Kawaguchi, lead author of the study.

Using path analysis, a statistical method that maps the relationships between variables, the researchers measured childhood trauma, empathy, depression, and parenting styles. Their findings challenge traditional wisdom about the relationship between empathy and parenting.

Mothers with a history of child abuse score significantly higher on measures of personal suffering, a form of self-centered emotional empathy involving being overwhelmed by the negative emotions of others rather than reacting constructively.

Interestingly, these mothers did not show any defects in cognitive empathy (the ability to understand other people’s perspectives) as previously suggested. Instead, their increased emotional responsiveness appears to promote the vulnerability of depression, which can affect parenting.

Studies have shown that depression severity affects parenting in a nonlinear pattern. Mothers with moderate depression symptoms exercise the most excessive discipline strategy, while mothers with severe depression show extreme parenting practices.

Dr. Takashi X. Fujisawa, associate professor and study co-author at Fukushima University, told reporters that the findings have a significant impact on interventions aimed at breaking the abuse cycle.

The previous research of this study showed that children who experience abuse tend to reduce empathy at the age of eight, which could potentially lay the stage for parenting difficulties in adulthood.

“Our research shows that the history of abuse enhances emotional empathy, which in turn affects parenting through the effects on depression,” Kawagic notes. “By addressing emotional empathy and frustration, we can help break this cycle and prevent abuse from being passed on to the next generation.”

The study faced several limitations, including relying on self-reported measures and a small percentage of mothers in the abuse group. However, the researchers noted that despite these limitations, studying this particular population still provides valuable insights.

Psychologists who did not participate in the study showed that these findings could provide more targeted mental health interventions for high-risk parents, focusing on mood regulation skills and depression treatments rather than general empathy training.

The Fukushima University team is now exploring how early intervention programs can incorporate these insights to help parents who have experienced childhood trauma and develop healthier emotional responses and parenting habits.

For child welfare experts, these findings highlight the importance of targeting parents’ mental health, a key component in preventing child abuse, especially for those with a history of childhood trauma.

Funding for the study was from Japanese government agencies, including the Japan Society for the Advancement of Science and the Japan Medical Research and Development Agency.