The Psychodynamic Theory

369 Words2 Pages
• Psychodynamic Theories
The Psychodynamic theory explains child abuse as a “parental dysfunction.” Followers of this theory such as B.F. Steele (1987) stated that ‘the abusive parents submit their children to traumatic experiences similar to those they had endured during childhood.” Therefore, child abuse is explained as a cycle due to the parent having experienced such behaviours from their parents as a child, hence now displays similar behaviours to their child as a parent.
• The Sociological Theories
There has been much agreement with Steele’s approach, however, it has been criticized to the extent that abuse against children is not necessarily only due to the parents’ experiences as a child but the abuse of children can also be as a