Adult Children of Domestic Abuse (ACODA): A Contemporary Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Domestic Violence Exposure

This white paper introduces the Adult Children of Domestic Abuse (ACODA) framework, a proposed population descriptor and developmental conceptual framework for understanding the possible long-term pathways associated with growing up within a domestic-abuse environment. Developed by Carol Denise Bunch, PhD, as an extension of her 1999 doctoral research on the long-term effects of witnessing domestic violence in childhood among African-American adults, ACODA expands the focus from witnessing discrete incidents to development within an environment characterized by domestic abuse, coercion, fear, instability, and relational disruption. The framework proposes a developmental pathway of Exposure → Adaptation → Persistence or Modification → Adult Functioning → Recovery and/or Transformation, with protective and resilience processes operating throughout and cultural and contextual factors surrounding the developmental pathway. Seven areas of adult functioning are examined: psychological; safety and regulatory; relational; self-functioning; behavioral; physical and somatic; and intergenerational functioning. Particular attention is given to resilience, spirituality, extended-family support, cultural context, and intentional cycle-breaking. ACODA is presented as a framework for scholarly inquiry, professional education, and future empirical research. It is not a diagnosis, syndrome, validated assessment instrument, or independently validated clinical model. Version 1.0 (2026).