Page 28 - Disrupting the Transmission of Violence

inadvertently reinforce children’s difficult behaviours, which in turn elicits caregiver
negativity, and so on, until the interaction is discontinued when one of the participants

“wins.” It is believed that these cycles begin when the child reacts with anger or resistance
to a caregiver’s directive or request, evoking anger and hostility from the caregiver, which

is often intensified as the coercive cycle escalates (Snyder, Edwards, McGraw, Kilgore, &
Holten, 1993). Thus, children learn a pattern of relating within the family that then carries

over into interactions with others, such as peers, teachers and individuals in the community.
When coercive interactions dominate within the family, problems with the children’s

conduct emerge and then stabilize throughout development (Granic & Patterson, 2006).
The effects of the coercive practices, if not addressed, will transcend the earlier years of a

child’s life into the adolescent years.

In their study on Familial Influences on Adolescent Delinquent Behavior, Cashwell & Vacc
(1996) citing Patterson’s (1986) Coercion Theory, which is supported by empirical testing,

suggests that disrupted family management skills lead to adolescent development of a
coercive and antisocial interpersonal style. This, in turn, leads to rejection by non-delinquent

peers and subsequent involvement with a group of deviant peers (Patterson & Bank, 1989).
The family influences an adolescent’s interpersonal behavior, with the adolescent tending

to replicate family patterns in peer relationships (Bell, Cornwell, & Bell, 1988; Olweus, 1980;
Patterson, 1982, 1986; Patterson & Bank, 1989).

Antisocial characteristics in the home are often generalized into the school setting (Ramsey,

Patterson, & Walker, 1990) and from one peer setting to another (Coie & Kupersmidt,1983).
Thus, an adolescent’s problems within the family may increase the likelihood of association

with deviant peers (Patterson & Dishion, 1985). Rejection by conventional peers and
subsequent involvement with deviant peers is a central component of Coercion Theory.

Higher levels of aggression in friendships were reported by adolescents who self-reported
higher levels of delinquent behaviour (Giordano, Cernkovich, & Pugh, 1986; Patterson,

Capaldi, & Bank, 1991). Patterson (1982, 1986) found that children who were raised in a
coercive environment brought this coercive interpersonal style to relationships with peers.

Bronfenbrenner (1994), based on his ecological approach and Bandura, Ross & Ross (1961)
in their study on Transmission of Aggression through Imitation of Aggressive Models agreed

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