Adult abusers of children are following predictable patterns of parent-child interactions which have been basically determined by the way they themselves were treated as infants. Beginning with poor attachment in the perinatal period, followed in ensuing months and years by unempathic care, unrealistic demands, excessive criticism, and punishment for failure, they developed poor self-esteem, poor basic trust, and fragmented identities. Deeply embedded identifications with their parents and their behaviors, which surface most overtly under stress, lead to repetitions of the ways in which they themselves were treated as children. Thus, the potential for child abuse is created in the parent's childhood before exposure to the wider culture. 64 references. (Author summary modified)