Overcoming Childhood Exposure to Violence in the Home: The Role of Parental Equanimity in Interrupting Intergenerational Trauma

Abstract Purpose Childhood exposure to violence in the home has lasting consequences and may even impact future generations through intergenerational trauma transmission. However, many parents provide effective parenting despite their own trauma history, which may be aided by a posture of equanimity towards their own well-being and the challenges of parenting. This study seeks to understand the dynamics of intergenerational trauma among parents exposed to in-home violence as children, with particular emphasis on parental equanimity as a protective factor. Methods This study employs a convergent mixed methods design integrating quantitative and qualitative responses from an online survey of 98 parents in the United States. The quantitative component uses path analysis to evaluate a hypothesized model of intergenerational trauma and parental equanimity. The qualitative component uses thematic analysis to synthesize parents’ perspectives on parenting after childhood exposure to violence in the home, with mixed methods analysis yielding meta-inferences regarding the role of parental equanimity in interrupting intergenerational trauma. Results The quantitative results supported the hypothesized model and found a positive association between parents’ equanimity and their sense of parenting efficacy, which in turn was associated with lower child trauma symptoms. Major qualitative themes included acknowledging the impact of trauma, learning from the past, and mindful parenting, with meta-inferences suggesting that parental equanimity contributed to parents’ sense that they had “broken the cycle” of intergenerational trauma. Conclusions The study meta-inferences support the value of parental equanimity in interrupting intergenerational trauma transmission, with future research warranted to validate these findings with a larger sample.