2 Researchers postulate that abused children learn to be abusive through modeling and instrumental learning and may continue their abusive behavior into adulthood.
Some researchers question the direct and inevitable pattern outlined by social learning theorists.
4 Azar states that the focus of social learning theory is too narrow and does not include multiple factors that influence family functioning. For example, a mother may observe a practitioner in a daycare setting interacting with her child. The practitioner may then observe and participate by providing both verbal and physical cues to the parent, which indicate and encourage appropriate behaviors. Programs Based on this Model Initially, interventions based on social learning theory focused exclusively on the perpetrator. More recent interventions also focus on the family, with some inclusion of community members when relevant and possible.