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Journal Article

Citation

Carlson BE. J. Fam. Violence 1990; 5(4): 285-299.

Affiliation

School of Social Welfare, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, State University of New York, 135 Western Avenue, 12222 Albany, New York

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF00979065

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The relationship between observation of marital violence and adolescent behavior and adjustment was studied. One hundred and one predominantly white 13- to 18-year-olds from four residential treatment agencies and one youth shelter were interviewed. Approximately half reported witnessing marital violence and were compared with those not exposed to interparental violence with respect to depression, running away, use of violence toward parents, and approval and use of violence toward dating partners. Substantial numbers reported being depressed, running away, hitting their parents, and hitting and being hit by dating partners. However, the findings indicated only a modest effect of witnessing interparental violence, which was mediated by gender. Males exposed to spousal abuse were significantly more likely to have run away, report suicidal thoughts, and somewhat more likely to hit their mothers as compared to nonobservers. Witnessing marital violence was unrelated to females'' behavior or well-being.

VioLit summary:

OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this paper by Carlson was to study the relationship between observation of marital violence and adolescent behavior and adjustment. Seven hypotheses were advanced. 1) Adolescent girls who have witnessed marital violence are more likely to be depressed than girls who have not. 2) Adolescents who have witnessed marital violence are more likely to run away than those who have not. 3) Adolescent boys are more likely to use violence against their mothers than adolescent girls. 4) Adolescent boys who have witnessed marital violence are more likely to use violence toward their mothers than boys who have not. 5) Adolescents who have witnessed marital violence are less likely to use violence toward their fathers than those who have not. 6) Adolescents who have witnessed marital violence are more likely to approve of using violence toward a boyfriend or girlfriend than those who have not. 7) Adolescents who have witnessed marital violence are more likely to use violence toward a boyfriend or girlfriend than those who have not. General rationale for these hypotheses was social learning theory and stress theory, although the hypotheses were not specifically identified with a theoretical position or argument.

METHODOLOGY:
A non-experimental, cross-sectional design was used. The sample included 101 adolescents: 59 from four residential treatment agencies and 42 from one runaway youth shelter. Subjects ranged in age from 13-18, with a mean age of 15. 41 (75% between 14 and 16). 55% male, 45% female. Ethnic composition was 76% white, 15% Black, 9% other (usually Hispanic) or combination. Most came from low-income backgrounds and have experienced serious difficulties in life. Although this was a clinical population, it is different from the domestic violence shelter populations. 55% reported witnessing marital violence. "To establish the equivalence of the witnessing group with those who did not witness interparental violence, the groups were compared with regard to age, gender, ethnicity, previous placement, suspected child maltreatment, and family living situation. A t-test was used to compare the mean ages for each group, and all other comparison were made using chi-square analysis. It was concluded that the groups were comparable for testing the study hypotheses" (p. 289). This study used the perceptions of adolescents, previous studies (especially those that utilized CT Scales) and mothers' reports of victimization. One to three item measures were developed for most of the independent and dependent variables. Variables included: Punishment history; Physical/sexual abuse history; Parental substance abuse; History of running away (1 item--Have you run away?); Observations of interparental violence, including injuries received and weapon use; Have they had a boy/girlfriend; Have they been sexually active; Acceptability of using aggression against a date (1 item--Give an example of when it would be "OK" for a boy or girl to hit his or her girlfriend or boyfriend); Actual use of physical violence toward peers or parents (1 item--Have you ever hit your mother or father?); Depression (1 item--How often feel sad/unhappy?); Potential for self-destructive or suicidal behavior (1 item--Have you ever felt so upset about something that you thought about hurting yourself?) The article notes that copies of the full instrument are available from the author. Chi-square analyses were performed, separately by sex, for five variables: depression, suicidal thoughts, running away, violence against parents, violence toward dating partners.

FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The following findings are highlighted by the author: 1) Depression: Witnessing violence between parents was unrelated to the frequency of being sad for either sex. However, among males who witnessed spouse abuse, frequency of reported depression was associated with frequency of marital violence [r(23)=0.43, p<0.02] (sic). Hypothesis 1 was not supported. 2) Suicidal thoughts: For males only, having self-injurious thoughts was highly and significantly related to having witnessed violence between their parents [X2(1,n=36)=9. 05, p<0.003]. Two-thirds of males who had observed marital violence reported suicidal thoughts compared to one-quarter of those not exposed. 3) Running away: 83% report having run away at least once. Subjects who were exposed to marital violence are more likely to run away [X2(1,n=98)=3. 26, p<0.07]. Examined by sex, this relationship is significant for boys only [X2(1,n=53)=4. 82, p<0.028], thus hypothesis 2 is supported for boys only. 4) Violence against parents: 20% of males and 52% of females report having hit their mothers. This is a statistically significant difference: X2(1,n=101)=11. 45, p<0.0007. Boys who witnessed violence were more than twice as likely to hit their mothers or fathers as those who had not, but the difference is nonsignificant. Hypothesis 3 is rejected; a nonsignificant trend supports hypothesis 4; hypothesis 5 was not supported--the trend was in the opposite direction. 5) Violence toward dating partners: No relationship was shown between observing parental violence and approving of or committing violence toward dates. Hypotheses 6 and 7 were not supported.

AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS:
The author reports several possible validity problems. 1) The study showed girls are at least as likely to use violence in dating relationships as boys. However, males could be underreporting their true violence due to forgetting, minimization, or denial, as reported by adult batterers. 2) "The dependent measures used differ from those used in other studies and are limited to fairly simple self-report measures with good face validity but lacking strong psychometric properties" which restricts confidence in the interpretation of the findings (p. 297). 3) The subjects have experienced physical child abuse, sexual abuse, divorce, and/or substance abuse of one or both parents. "One or more of these other stressors could easily eclipse or overwhelm the potential effect of witnessing parental violence, especially if such violence is infrequent. In that sense, observation of marital violence is perhaps viewed as amarker variable, of value primarily for the extent to which it signifies the existence of other serious difficulties, rather than because of its direct effect on youth behavior or well-being" (p. 298). 4) The fact that the respondents came from a nonrepresentative, clinical sample could also explain the lack of expected findings. There is an inability to generalize beyond similar, clinical samples. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
N1 - Call Number: F-13, AB-13
KW - Spouse Abuse Effects
KW - Domestic Violence Effects
KW - Witnessing Violence Effects
KW - Witnessing Spouse Abuse
KW - Juvenile Development
KW - Juvenile Witness
KW - Exposure to Violence
KW - Juvenile Female
KW - Juvenile Male
KW - Dating Violence Causes
KW - Depression Causes
KW - Parent Abuse Causes
KW - Psychological Victimization Effects
KW - Children of Battered Women
KW - Violence Against Women
KW - Partner Violence

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