 Why do people abuse others? Statistically, what do we know? We know that abusers statistically will abuse others. So if your mom and dad was abused, and I always ask that in every counseling session, was your mother abused, was your dad abused? What about grandpa? What about grandma? It runs downhill. Water flows downhill. Abuse flows down the family tree. So if your parents were abusers, there's a pretty strong statistical probability they were abused. They were probably, not always, I said probably. Okay, this is the kind of abuse that really causes deep, painful scars on the soul.