The overall rate of having been a victim was 35% for perpetrators and 11% for non-perpetrators. ... Having been a victim was a strong predictor of becoming a perpetrator, as was an index of parental loss in childhood.

Can a victim become an abuser?

The numbers back them up: If around one-third of victims go on to become abusers, that means that the vast majority are able to break the cycle of abuse. “That's a really important finding,” Cathy Spatz Widom, who researches the link between victimhood and abuse, told the National Institutes of Health.

What percentage of abuse victims become abusers?

Studies also now indicate that about one-third of people who are abused in childhood will become abusers themselves. This is a lower percentage than many experts had expected, but obviously poses a major social challenge.