"Give me some space": exploring youth to parent aggression and violence

The reliability and validity of Child-to-parent Violence Questionnaire (CPV-Q) among Chinese adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Child-to-parent Violence Questionnaire (CPV-Q) in a group of Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

A total of 1138 adolescents (15.24 ± 1.17 years old) were tested with the Chinese version of CPV-Q, Parent-Adolescent Conflict Scale, and Adolescent Aggressive Behavior Scale of which 201 adolescents were retested 1 month later. The Chinese version of CPV-Q contains psychological, physical, financial, and control/domain factors with 14 items.

RESULTS

The four-factor model has good main fit indicators (father: χ2/df = 3.28, CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.06; mother: χ2/df = 3.30, CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.06); the scale has good criterion-related validity. The Cronbach's α coefficients of the Chinese version of CPV-Q were 0.89 (father) and 0.88 (mother), and the Cronbach's α coefficients of the four subscales were 0.81 ~ 0.84 (father) and 0.76 ~ 0.85 (mother). The test-retest reliability of the Chinese version of CPV-Q was 0.85 (father) and 0.83 (mother), and the test-retest reliability of the four subscales was 0.80 ~ 0.83 (father) and 0.75 ~ 0.84 (mother).

CONCLUSION

Therefore, the CPV-Q has good reliability and validity for Chinese adolescents and can be used as an effective tool to evaluate Chinese adolescents' violence toward their parents.

A Qualitative Exploration of Practitioners' Understanding of and Response to Child-to-Parent Aggression

There has been limited research and policy directed toward defining and understanding child-to-parent aggression (CPA), resulting in inconsistent definitions, understandings, and responses, which has a detrimental impact on families. In particular, there have been limited qualitative studies of those working on the frontline of CPA, hindering the development of effective policy. The present qualitative study therefore aimed to explore practitioner perspectives of CPA. Twenty-five practitioners from diverse fields (e.g., youth justice, police, charities) participated in four focus groups relating to their experiences of working with CPA in the United Kingdom. Thematic analysis of focus groups revealed three key themes: definitions of CPA, understanding of CPA risk factors, and responding to CPA. Practitioners understood CPA to be a broad use of aggression to intimidate and control parents and highlighted a range of individual (e.g., mental health, substance abuse) and social (e.g., parenting, gangs) risk factors for CPA. Further, practitioners felt that current methods of reporting CPA were ineffective and may have a detrimental impact on families. The findings of this study have implications for CPA policy and support the need for a multiagency and coordinated strategy for responding to CPA.

"I Want My Mum to Know That I Am a Good Guy …": A Thematic Analysis of the Accounts of Adolescents Who Exhibit Child-to-Parent Violence in the United Kingdom

This qualitative study explores child-to-parent violence (CPV) in the United Kingdom based on the accounts of adolescents who exhibit this type of family violence. The key areas of interest concern the familial relationships and contexts within which adolescents are embedded, and their perceptions about their emotional states and how these interplay with CPV. Eight participants were recruited in total from a community sample from two different intervention programs aiming to tackle CPV in England. Methods included participant-observation, face-to-face interviews, and handwritten interviews; all data were analyzed thematically. Results suggest that CPV is linked with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), unsatisfactory relationships with parents, perceived emotional rejection from parents, and emotional dysregulation in young people. In this study, violent behavior was directed not only against mothers but in all cases against siblings and stepfathers. The findings address the complexity of the subject and the need for tailored, evidence-based interventions in the field of CPV.

A Systematic Review of Youth-to-Parent Aggression: Conceptualization, Typologies, and Instruments

The goal of this study was to analyze the conceptualization of YPA (youth-to-parent aggression) in relation to terms, definitions, typologies and assessment instruments. To achieve this aim, a systematic review was carried out using the PRISMA protocol. Assessment instruments for YPA were examined in accordance with COSMIN (Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments). After reviewing the literature on conceptualization and measuring instruments, some gaps were found. The use of some particular terms was justified depending on the age of children and severity of case. Taking into account the theoretical background, a full definition of YPA was offered. Moreover, this study revealed that it was possible to discriminate four typologies of YPA (Offensive, Defensive, Affective, and Situational) as a function of the coercion level and nature of the violence. Eleven instruments to measure YPA were analyzed exhaustively, with the most reported and robust psychometric properties being internal consistency and structural validity, while other validity evidence was understudied. The CPV-Q (12–25 years) obtained the highest rating as a promising instrument. The initial psychodiagnosis of a YPA situation would help in the individual or family intervention, as well as prevent more severe situations of YPA through early intervention.

Family Communication and Verbal Child-to-Parent Violence among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Perceived Stress

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of reported incidents of child-to-parent violence (CPV); however, this type of intra-family violence remains vastly understudied compared with other forms of family violence. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between family communication and verbal CPV through the mediation of adolescent perceived stress. The sample consisted of 2399 Spanish students of both genders between the ages of 11 and 20 years. Results show that problematic family communication is a risk factor for the presence of verbally abusive behavior towards parents, with a direct and indirect relationship through perceived stress. Open family communication is presented as a protective factor against verbally abusive behavior due to a negative relationship with perceived stress. Results point to a mediating role of perceived stress, which would explain the mechanism which links the quality of family communication to verbal violence towards parents. Implications of these results are discussed.