im going to take the negative route on this one

ive thought about this quite a bit from time to time. its different from the actions of a 5 yr old and those of an 20 yr old. as a child, we look up to our own parents and other authority figures to help guide us and make decisions in the best way possible. if a young kid sees his father treat his spouse like crap, there is a strong possibility that he will initially think that this is the way their significant other should be treated by them; because this is what they see as the norm. now, hopefully, as the child becomes older and a teenager, they will start to become their own person, think for themselves and form their own opinions and morals; hopefully these ideas will be close to the social norms of a healthy, functioning society.

by the time they hit adulthood, they should be a free and independent thinker who can take care of themselves - and be responsible for their actions. if an adult commits a serious crime, say...murder, and blames it on the fact that he was around violent people and circumstances during his childhood, i have a hard time believing that they thought that because of this, they could get off the hook for what they did. of course, there are always exceptions to the rule