What she found was that while most women, upon being hit, would decide "that's it, I'm leaving" and go. Others would keep going back to the men who battered them. What Pizzey discovered was that, among this latter group, there were women who were addicted to the adrenaline rush they got from being around violent situations. While some men might satisfy their need for an adrenaline rush by sky-diving or other dangerous activities, these women would get it by seeing how close to the edge they could provoke men.
I have been on our local Child Abuse prevention council for years. Children under five who are abused or neglected have brains that do not physically develop normally. Many are hyper-vigilant. Also, when Mom is addicted (particularly meth) and not bonding (attachement disorder) with or attending to their physical needs, they cry and act out more to get the same attention a normal child would get with much less demand.
Yeh, it really messes them up for the rest of their lives.
Look at page 8 of this presentation and you can see the physical impact of abuse on a child’s brain: http://childtrauma.org/images/stories/docs/nmt_core_slides_2011.pdf
http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/index.htm