Family Poison: A Phenomenological Study of the Role of Toxic Parental Influence on Romantic Relationships

This phenomenological study sought to describe the lived experiences of adult survivors of toxic parents across the United States. The assumption was that toxic parental influence impacts romantic relationships. The following research questions framed this study: “How do adult survivors of toxic parents describe their experiences growing up with a toxic parent in the United States? How do adult survivors describe the effects of growing up with a toxic parent?” and “How do adult survivors of toxic parents describe the impact of their childhood experiences on their intimate/romantic relationships?”. The two theoretical frameworks guiding this study were Bowlby’s attachment theory, which explains the connection between infant-caregiver interactions and beliefs and behavior in other interpersonal relationships, and Bandura’s social learning theory, focusing on the influence of early experiences on later behavior. Data for this were collected through snowball sampling, yielding 14 participants who identified as adult survivors of toxic parents. Each participant engaged in a semi-structured individual interview and a focus group. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, reviewed, and data were analyzed using horizontalization. A generalized finding of brokenness, defined in this study as the condition of being emotionally damaged, yielded three themes: broken acceptance, broken control, and broken choice.