The commonly used phrase Cycles of Behaviour generally refers to behavioural patterns that are passed down from one generation to the next, presumably through the family. A parent's propensity for a certain kind of behaviour is modeled by a child or children and continues on through the generations.
The close proximity of family causes the entrenched patterns of one generation to become the entrenched patterns of the next. The concept of cycles of behaviour is relevant because of its currency in the often very political debates over the source of criminal behaviour, however, any kind of behaviour can be part of a 'family cycle', whether it is destructive or constructive.