The Child Maltreatment Survivor's Description of the Process of Becoming a Parent: A Grounded Theory Study

This research study was conducted to investigate the processes experienced by survivors of child maltreatment as they became parents. The study utilized a grounded theory approach to answer the research question, “How do survivors of child maltreatment experience the process of becoming a parent?” The goal of the study was to generate a theory about the actions, interactions, and emotions experienced by survivors of child maltreatment as they became parents. It was the intention of this study to enhance the knowledge base of the psychological profession. The research problem, the methodology chosen to answer the research question, and the findings of the data analysis are discussed in detail, as well as how the results of the research study relate to past research findings on the topic and the field of psychology. The results of this research study indicate that child maltreatment survivors desire to achieve an evolved parental identity, more specifically a parental identity that was a more developed form of the parental identity that had been achieved by the abusive parent(s) that served as their role model in childhood. The context and processes, as well as the factors identified as influential during the transition to parenthood, that influenced child maltreatment survivor’s ability to meet their goal of acquiring an evolved parental identity are also discussed. Keywords: Child Maltreatment, Transition to Parenthood, Grounded Theory Child maltreatment occurs in every society and has stimulated a lot of public attention and research, not to mention support in the form of funding for research, but incidence rates continue to rise (Devaney & Spratt, 2009). Using 2007 value, it is estimated that child maltreatment costs $103.8 billion each year in the United States, and this estimate only reflects costs specific to the victim (Wang & Holton, 2007). Costs, related to the perpetrator or the victim’s family, and intangible costs, including quality of life or pain and suffering, are not included in the estimated costs. According to the National Institute of Justice Research Report (Miller, Cohen, & Wiersema, 1996), if both tangible and intangible costs were included, personal crime would cost victims approximately $450 billion each year, and even though violence committed against children “is one of the least well-documented areas of personal crime” (p. 1), it “accounts for a significant portion of our nationwide victim costs” (p. 2). Due to the challenges associated with estimating the costs of child maltreatment, the estimates are reported to be conservative, meaning that the total costs associated with child maltreatment may be even higher. Reports of incidence rates may also reflect conservative estimates. The results from three congressionally mandated national incidence studies have been reported and compared in an effort to evaluate the incidence rate, severity, and demographic distribution of child maltreatment (Sedlak & Broadhurst, 1996a). The data collected from these national incidence studies was also compared to data collected in previous studies in order to identify trends. These studies utilized nationally representative samples, two standardized definitions of child maltreatment, and identical definitions for child