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Journal Article

Citation

Paulson MJ, Coombs RH, Landsverk J. J. Fam. Violence 1990; 5(2): 121-133.

Affiliation

UCLA School of Medicine, 90024 Los Angeles, California

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF00978515

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The relationship between physical assault upon parents by their offspring and social and psychological variables is analyzed in this study of 445 California families, half of whom are Hispanic and half Anglo. Results indicate that the assaulting of parents reflects a generalized pattern of negative parent-child relationships and diminished sense of well-being by youngsters.

VioLit summary:

OBJECTIVE:
This paper by Paulson et al. examined parent abuse by dependent children in order to establish information about the frequency of parent abuse, its range of violence, and its multiple causality.

METHODOLOGY:
A quasi-experimental longitudinal projected design was employed, interviewing 445 youths and an equal number of parents three times each at eighteen month intervals over a five year period in California. The non-probability sample was chosen so that 47% were Anglo-American youth, and 53% were Hispanic-American. Each ethnic group was stratified by gender (56% males, 44% females) and age (9-17), with no significant difference between the two on socio-economic status. The youth were recruited at Community Boys Clubs, resulting in a purposive, non-random population. All of the parents and 70% of the youths were interviewed in their homes, with the remainder taking place at community centers. Assault on parents was measured by asking youth whether they had ever hit their father and/or their mother. A structured interview was administered in face-to-face situations, with measures of internal consistency included to assess validity. Statistical analyses compared two groups--those who hit one or both parents at least once in the five year period, and those who did not. Bivariate relationships were summarized with frequencies and percentages, and with Pearson product-moment correlations. A stepwise discriminate function analysis modelled a multivariate classification of offspring who hit their parents as compared to those who did not.

FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
It was found that 13.7% of the study population admitted hitting one or both parentsó47.5% of these hitting only the mother, 31.1% only the father, and 21.3% both. Anglo youth made up 72% of the hitters, and while not statistically significant, the trend for SES showed that hitters were more likely to come from the middle and upper-middle classes than from the lower classes. No gender difference was found, but the older groups were more likely to be physically assaultive. Hitters had worse school behavior and lower education values, and reported being less happy and having lower self-esteem than non-hitters. Hitters also felt less emotionally close to their parents, and described their parents' marriages less favorably than non-hitters. Hitters came from less religious homes, with more permissive discipline practices and less discussion of personal problems between parent and child. Hitters also felt better understood and more respected by their peers than by their parents. The model examined consisted of five predictorsówhether friends were perceived as more understanding than parents, a feeling that one is not doing what is expected, having parents who do not discuss their children's personal problems with them, a lack of religion in the home and feelings of unhappiness. This model could correctly classify 65.5% of hitters and 75.9% of non-hitters, with an overall rate of 74.4%.

AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors suggest that family rules enforced with consistent authority, combined with universally rewarding interactions between parents and children, could foster a family environment that would be less conducive to abusive relationships. According to the authors, when parents establish within the home an atmosphere of firm support and affectionate interaction, children are less likely to be assaultive. Implications of this line of thought include parent training to help parents learn to be more involved.

EVALUATION:
Caution must be used in generalizing the results of this study, as data are derived from a purposive, non-probability sample, with only one self-reported measure of offspring assault being used. No information is available about the frequency or severity of hitting, leaving open the issue of definition of the key variable. Also, collaborative information was not sought from the parents regarding other forms of domestic violence occurring in the home, raising the possibility of spurious relationships between the variables under investigation. The authors examine the possibility that powerlessness may explain their findings, but conclude that it is a relatively constant variable in the study population that cannot add to the equation. Overall, this is a useful study, although caution must be maintained as its measures are rather simple and one-dimensional. (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-09, AB-09
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Domestic Violence Offender
KW - Parent Abuse Offender
KW - Parent Abuse Causes
KW - Domestic Violence Causes
KW - Parent Child Relations
KW - Family Environment
KW - Family Relations
KW - California
KW - Hispanic Juvenile
KW - Hispanic Offender
KW - Caucasian Offender
KW - Caucasian Juvenile
KW - Caucasian-Hispanic Comparison
KW - Racial Comparison
KW - Demographic Characteristics
KW - Offender Characteristics
KW - Offender Self-Esteem
KW - Juvenile Self-Esteem
KW - Child Self-Esteem
KW - Caucasian Child
KW - Hispanic Child
KW - Child Offender
KW - Child Violence
KW - Late Childhood
KW - Late Adolescence
KW - Early Adolescence
KW - Male Offender
KW - Male Violence
KW - Child Male
KW - Juvenile Male
KW - Hispanic Male
KW - Caucasian Male
KW - Child Female
KW - Juvenile Female
KW - Hispanic Female
KW - Caucasian Female
KW - Gender Comparison

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