Family violence and family identity
LE3 .A278 2001
2001
Tye, Diane
Acadia University
Master of Arts
Masters
Sociology
This thesis explores the relationship between family violence and family identity. Specifically, it looks at the effects that having lived in an abusive relationship have on the intergenerational transmission of family identity through family history, traditions, intergenerational contact and material culture. Participants were ten women who self-identified as having previously lived in an abusive intimate relationship. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews. Generally, the results illustrated the pervasiveness of violence in the families of origin of both the respondents and their abusive ex-partners. Results were organised into six thematic categories: myth and reality of the happy family, the tradition of abuse, silences, isolation, preservation of material culture, and creation and maintenance of a historical record. Results are discussed in the context of relevant concepts from the literatures on both family violence and family identity.
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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3052
