Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Violence

Exposure to violence in childhood can have severe physical, emotional, and mental health consequences and is intimately linked with the likelihood of perpetrating or experiencing intimate partner violence in adulthood. This process whereby violence in childhood is linked to violence in adulthood can be disrupted if children and adolescents are provided with quality, targeted interventions that meet their psychological and social support needs. In this new literature review commissioned by Promundo, the authors discuss psychosocial interventions that show promise in disrupting cycles of violence across many settings in high- and low-income countries, in individual and group/community settings, and by formally-trained professionals as well as community-trained facilitators.