Intergenerational violence and abuse blights 'troubled families', says report

The research, which documents the experiences of 16 households involved in family intervention projects, is based on in-depth interviews conducted by Louise Casey, head of the government’s troubled families unit.

The report found that all of the “troubled families” questioned by Casey were suffering from multiple intergenerational problems.

“We did not meet many families whose problems did not start in their own childhood, or whose children, or some of their children, were not now repeating the same patterns as their parents,” it said.

“Intergenerational transmission of problems such as being in care, poor parenting, violence, abuse, low aspirations, non-attendance in school and few or no qualifications was rife.”

“Unexpectedly, arson was cited in a significant proportion of families, as either evidence of the children having problems or with regard to their homes being destroyed.”

Mothers in almost three quarters of the families interviewed were found to have suffered domestic abuse, while Casey described “the prevalence of child sexual and physical abuse” as “striking and shocking”. 

“In many of these families the abuse of children by parents, siblings, half siblings and extended family and friends was often a factor in their dysfunction,” the report said.

“Some discussed it as if as it was almost expected and just a part of what they had experienced in life. Others were all too aware of how tragic and damaging its consequences could be, and talked extensively about the injustice of their sufferings as children.”

Half of the families interviewed had four or more children, compared to only four per cent of the general population.

“Many of the parents were little more than children themselves when they started having children, and came from troubled backgrounds where their experience of being parented was, in many cases, extremely poor,” the report said.

“When asked about why they had had so many children, there was also a strong sense of pregnancies ‘just happening’ as if it was not in their control to prevent them occurring.

“There was also a sense of people hoping that the next child might cancel out the problems of the previous one, or that it would be ‘alright this time’.”

Casey argued that a whole-family approach, led by “one assertive family worker” is necessary to tackle complex problems that span generations of families.

“Conducting these interviews has been an eye-opening experience – to hear first hand about the lives these families lead and the legacy of trouble that’s often been passed down to them,” Casey said.

“It is clearer than ever to me now that we cannot go on allowing families to fail their children; none of the parents I spoke to wanted their children to repeat a life of chaos and trouble, but often they couldn’t see how to put things right by themselves – they needed practical and persistent help to do so.”

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles argued that the report provided an insight into families’ dysfunctional lives. “The troubled families team in my department is not just sitting in an office in Whitehall telling local authorities what to do but seeking to gain a true understanding of the challenges they face,” he said.

But Enver Solomon, policy director at The Children’s Society, urged government to consider how its own actions are making life harder for children and families. 

“While we welcome any additional support to help disadvantaged families, the troubled families unit has a narrow focus,” he said. “The impact of austerity measures, recession and some other major issues hitting children and their families hard have largely been overlooked.

“Vast numbers of the country’s vulnerable families are being left without any help, trapped in desperate conditions, struggling with unemployment, disability, poor quality housing and in urgent need of support.

"Failure to address the impact of the recession and the government’s austerity measures on children will lead to a marked rise in the numbers forced to live in families blighted by deprivation and hardship."