“Un lazo que sigue”: A survivor-informed, resilience-focused study of intergenerational childhood exposure to intimate partner violence among unaccompanied Central American mothers

Child Abuse Negl. 2026 Apr 9:108018. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2026.108018. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (CEIPV) increases risk for later IPV and for intergenerational CEIPV (I-CEIPV), defined as the recurrence of children’s exposure to IPV across generations. Young mothers who were unaccompanied immigrant children and survivors of CEIPV face compounded vulnerabilities for I-CEIPV, making their knowledge critical for understanding risk and resilience pathways.

OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study explored patterns of I-CEIPV among young immigrant mothers, and identified risk and resiliency factors influencing I-CEIPV via mothers’ perspectives and experiences.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Six Central American immigrant mothers (18-24 years) who received services from the federal Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) Program and six URM Program employees participated in semi-structured interviews.

METHODS: Community-based participatory research methods and constructivist grounded theory were used, positioning young survivors as experts throughout the research process. Mothers were interviewed 3 times over 6 months about childhood, relational, and parenting experiences, providing detailed accounts. URM Program employees were interviewed once to triangulate data. Analyses were co-conducted using thematic analysis and the Sort and Shift, Think and Shift method.

RESULTS: Three themes captured survivor-generated I-CEIPV pathways for these participants: Normalization of violence amid multiple adverse childhood experiences; risk via early unwanted motherhood following sexual assault, experiences of trafficking, and structural isolation; and resilience via therapy/program supports, safe partners, positive parenting, and rejection of intergenerational patterns.

CONCLUSIONS: This survivor-informed study offers a nuanced understanding of CEIPV, intergenerational adverse childhood experiences, and resiliency among these vulnerable immigrant parents. Findings support resilience-focused approaches for similar populations across programs, policies, and research.

PMID:41963125 | DOI:10.1016/j.chiabu.2026.108018