The cyclical pattern of child physical abuse from a psychoanalytic self-psychology perspective

Child physical abuse is a problem that moves from generation to generation. As yet, there has been no adequate theoretical conceptualization for this phenomenon. This article examines the multigenerational dimension of child abuse from the developmental perspective of psychoanalytic self-psychology. The research data available on the role of empathy in child abuse is integrated into the discussion and applied to the empirical basis of the self-psychology paradigm. Finally, the use of empathy in this theoretical model is applied to a discussion of intervention strategies in a number of treatment modalities.