Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T05:25:29.088Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Researching Parent Abuse: A Critical Review of the Methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2012

Amanda Holt
Amanda Holt*
Affiliation:
Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, University of Portsmouth E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

‘Parent abuse’ is the most under-researched form of family abuse and the research that exists is characterised by diverse and discrete methodological approaches which have produced somewhat inconsistent findings. This critical review examines these different research approaches and discusses the methodological challenges which they present. The review concludes by suggesting how research might develop to produce a more coherent and contextual methodology which does justice to the complexities of the topic.

Keywords

Parent abusemethodologyviolencefamiliesyoung people
Type
Themed Section on Exploring Parent Abuse
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , April 2012 , pp. 289 - 298
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agnew, R. and Huguley, S. (1989) ‘Adolescent violence towards parents’, Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 699–711.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Archer, J. (2006) ‘Cross-cultural differences in physical aggression between partners: a social-role analysis’, Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 2, 133–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boxer, P., Gullan, R. L. and Mahoney, A. (2009) ‘Adolescents’ physical aggression towards parents in a clinically referred sample’, Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 38, 106–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brezina, T. (1999) ‘Teenage violence toward parents as an adaptation to family strain’, Youth and Society, 30, 4, 416–44.Google Scholar
Brezina, T. (2000) ‘Corporal punishment as a cause of teenage violence towards parents: data from a national sample of male adolescents’, in Litton Fox, G. and Benson, M. L. (eds.), Families, Crime and Criminal Justice, New York: Elsevier Science, pp. 25–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Browne, K. D. and Hamilton, C. E. (1998) ‘Physical violence between young adults and their parents: associations with a history of child maltreatment’, Journal of Family Violence, 13, 59–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cochran, D., Brown, M. E., Adams, S. and Doherty, D. (1994) Young Adolescent Batterers, Boston, MA: Trial Court, Office of the Commissioner of Probation.Google Scholar
Cottrell, B. and Monk, P. (2004) ‘Adolescent to parent abuse’, Journal of Family Issues, 25, 1072–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daly, M. and Nancarrow, H. (2009) ‘Restorative justice and youth violence towards parents’, in Ptacek, J. (ed.), Restorative Justice and Violence Against Women, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 150–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeLange, N. and Olivier, M. A. J. (2004) ‘Mothers’ experiences of aggression in their Tourette's syndrome children’, International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 26, 1, 65–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doran, J. E. (2007) ‘Restorative justice and family violence: youth-to-parent abuse’, unpublished MA, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.Google Scholar
Eckstein, N. (2004) ‘Emergent issues in families experiencing adolescent-to-parent abuse’, Western Journal of Communication, 68, 4, 365–89.Google Scholar
Edenborough, M., Jackson, L., Mannix, J. and Wilkes, L. (2008) ‘Living in the red zone: the experience of child-to-mother violence’, Child and Family Social Work, 13, 464–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edenborough, M., Wilkes, L., Jackson, D. and Mannix, J. (2011) ‘Development and validation of the child-to-mother violence scale’, Nurse Researcher, 18, 2, 63–76.Google Scholar
Elliott, G. C., Cunningham, S. M., Colangelo, M. and Gelles, R. J. (2011) ‘Perceived mattering to the family and physical violence within the family by adolescents’, Journal of Family Issues, 32, 8, 1007–29.Google Scholar
Evans, D. and Warren-Sohlberg, L. (1998) ‘A pattern analysis of adolescent abusive behaviour towards parents’, Journal of Adolescent Research, 3, 210–16.Google Scholar
Finkelhor, D. (1983) ‘Common features of family abuse’, in Finkelhor, D., Gelles, R. J., Hotaling, G. T. and Straus, M. A. (eds.), The Dark Side of Families: Current Family Violence Research, London: Sage, pp. 17–28.Google Scholar
Finkelhor, D. (2007) ‘Developmental victimology’, in Davis, R. C., Lurigio, A. J. and Herman, S. (eds.), Victims of Crime (3rd edn), London: Sage, pp. 9–34.Google Scholar
Gallagher, E. (2004a) ‘Parents victimized by their children’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 25, 1–12.Google Scholar
Gallagher, E. (2004b) ‘Youths who victimize their parents’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 25, 94–105.Google Scholar
Gebo, E. (2007) ‘A family affair?’, Journal of Family Violence, 22, 7, 501–9.Google Scholar
Gelles, R. J. (1990), ‘Methodological issues in the study of family violence’, in Patterson, G. R. (ed.), Depression and Aggression in Family Interaction, New Jersey, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 49–74.Google Scholar
Ghanizadeh, A. and Jafari, P. (2010) ‘Risk factors of abuse of parents by their ADHD children’, European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 19, 1, 75–81.Google Scholar
Harbin, H. T. and Madden, D. J. (1979) ‘Battered parents: a new syndrome’, American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 1288–91.Google ScholarPubMed
Heyman, R. E. and Smith Slep, A. M. (2002) ‘Do child abuse and interparental violence lead to adulthood family violence?’, Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 4, 864–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holt, A. (2009) ‘Parent abuse: some reflections on the adequacy of a youth justice response’, Internet Journal of Criminology, November, 1–11, http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Holt_Parent_Abuse_Nov_09.pdf.Google Scholar
Holt, A. (2010) ‘Disciplining “problem parents” in the youth court: between regulation and resistance’, Social Policy and Society, 9, 1, 89–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holt, A. (2011) ‘’The terrorist in my home’ teenagers violence towards parents – constructions of parent experiences in public online message boards’, Child and Family Social Work, 16, 4, 454–63.Google Scholar
Howard, J. and Rottem, N. (2008) ‘It all starts at home: male adolescent violence to mothers’, Research report, Inner Couth Community Health Service Inc. and Child Abuse Research Australia, Monash University.Google Scholar
Hunter, C., Nixon, J. and Parr, S. (2010) ‘Mother abuse: a matter of youth justice, child welfare or domestic violence?’, Journal of Law and Society, 37, 2, 264–84.Google Scholar
Ibabe, I. and Jaureguizar, J. (2010) ‘Child-to-parent violence: profile of abusive adolescents and their families’, Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 4, 616–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, D. (2003) ‘Broadening constructions of family violence: mothers’ perspectives of aggression from their children’, Child and Family Social Work, 8, 4, 321–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, T. D., Edmonds, W. A., Dann, K. T. J. and Burnett, K. F. (2010) ‘The clinical and adaptive features of young offenders with histories of child−parent violence’, Journal of Family Violence, 25, 5, 509–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laporte, L., Depeng, J., Pepler, D. J. and Chamberland, C. (2009) ‘The relationship between adolescents’ experience of family violence and dating violence’, Youth and Society, 43, 1, 3–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennair, N. and Mellor, D. (2007) ‘Parent abuse: a review’, Child Psychiatry Human Development, 38, 203–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kethineni, S. (2004) ‘Youth-on-parent violence in a Central Illinois County’, Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 2, 4, 374–94.Google Scholar
Laurent, A. and Derry, A. (1999) ‘Violence of French adolescents toward their parents: characteristics and contexts’, Journal of Adolescent Health, 25, 1, 21–6.Google Scholar
Micucci, J. A. (1995) ‘Adolescents who assault their parents: a family systems approach to treatment’, Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, and Training, 31, 154–61.Google Scholar
Munday, A. (2009) ‘Break4Change: does a holistic intervention effect change in the level of abuse perpetrated by young people towards their parents/carers?’, unpublished BA (Hons) Professional Studies in Learning and Development dissertation.Google Scholar
McCloskey, L. A. and Lichter, E. L. (2003) ‘The contribution of marital violence to adolescent aggression across different relationships’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 4, 390–412.Google Scholar
Nock, M. K. and Kazdin, A. E. (2002) ‘Parent-directed physical aggression by clinic-referred youths’, Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 31, 193–205.Google Scholar
Pagani, L. S., Tremblay, R. E., Nagin, D., Zoccolillo, M., Vitaro, M. and McDuff, P. (2004) ‘Risk factor models for adolescent verbal and physical aggression toward mothers’, International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 6, 528–37.Google Scholar
Pagani, L., Tremblay, R. E., Nagin, D., Zoccolillo, M., Vitaro, F. and McDuff, P. (2009) ‘Risk factor models for adolescent verbal and physical aggression toward fathers’, Journal of Family Violence, 24, 173–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pagelow, M. D. (1989) ‘The incidence and prevalence of criminal abuse of other family members’, in Ohlin, L. and Tonry, M. (eds.), Family Violence, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, pp. 263–313.Google Scholar
Paterson, R., Luntz, H., Perlesz, A. and Cotton, S. (2002) ‘Adolescent violence towards parents: maintaining family connections when the going gets tough’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 23, 90–100.Google Scholar
Paulson, M. J., Coombs, R. H. and Landsverk, J. (1990) ‘Youth who physically assault their parents’, Journal of Family Violence, 5, 121–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peek, C. W., Fischer, J. L. and Kidwell, J. S. (1985) ‘Teenage violence toward parents: a neglected dimension of family violence’, Journal of Marriage and the Family, 47, 4, 1051–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, P. W., Davidson, L. J. and Drebot, M. E. (2004) ‘Parent abuse on the rise: a historical review’, American Association of Behavioral Social Science [online], 58–67, available from: http://www.familyfirst.org.nz/files/docs/pdf/parent%20abuse%20robinson.pdf [accessed 28/07/2011].Google Scholar
Routt, G. and Anderson, L. (2011) ‘Adolescent violence towards parents’, Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 20, 1, 1–19.Google Scholar
Sheehan, M. (1997) ‘Adolescent violence – strategies, outcomes and dilemmas in working with young people and their families’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 18, 2, 80–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, M., Jackson, D., Mannix, J., Wilkes, L. and Lines, K. (2005) ‘Current state of knowledge on child-to-mother violence: a literature review’, Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 8, 1–2, 199–210.Google Scholar
Stewart, M., Burns, A. and Leonard, R. (2007) ‘Dark side of the mothering role: abuse of mothers by adolescent and adult children’, Sex Roles, 56, 3–4, 183–91.Google Scholar
Straus, M. A. (1979) ‘Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS)’, Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41, 1, 75–88.Google Scholar
Ullman, A. and Straus, M. A. (2003) ‘Violence by children against mothers in relation to violence between parents and corporal punishment by parents’, Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 34, 1, 41–60.Google Scholar
Walsh, J. A. and Krienert, J. L. (2007) ‘Child–parent violence: an empirical analysis of offender, victim, and event characteristics in a national sample of reported incidents’, Journal of Family Violence, 22, 7, 563–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walsh, J. A. and Krienert, J. L. (2009) ‘A decade of child-initiated family violence comparative analysis of child–parent violence and parricide examining offender, victim, and event characteristics in a national sample of reported incidents, 1995–2005’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24, 9, 1450–77.Google Scholar
Weinblatt, U. and Omer, H. (2008) ‘Nonviolent resistance: a treatment for parents of children with acute behaviour problems’, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 34, 1, 75–92.Google Scholar
Wolfe, D. A., Wekerle, C. and Scott, K. (1997) Alternatives to Violence: Empowering Youth to Develop Healthy Relationships, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar