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Abstract
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Recent research indicates that the incidence rate for adolescent abuse equals or exceeds that of all other age groups. Because adolescent abuse is underreported to protective service agencies, it is less likely to be identified and served. Identifying adolescent abuse and understanding the dynamics of family interaction are important problems for researchers and service providers. Analysis of a sample of 62 two-parent families containing an adolescent highlights factors on the Adolescent Abuse Inventory (Sebes, 1983) and other characteristics of the family system and individuals which discriminated high-risk from low-risk family systems. The second part of the paper describes the procedures of an intervention project based on this classification system.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this paper by Schellenbach and Guerney was to examine issues surrounding the identification of adolescent abuse and to discuss future intervention prospects.
METHODOLOGY:
The authors employed a non-experimental exploratory study with a non-probability sample of 62 two-parent families containing an adolescent. Families participating in the research were interviewed to determine high-risk and low-risk families, and subjects were then offered to join a class for parenting education or a children's group. Nineteen parents from eleven families attended, including eight couples, and the final attendance rate was 85%. At the end of the program, participants completed a self-report questionnaire about the value of the program.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
With an estimated annual incidence of adolescent abuse of over 650,000 cases, the authors developed an intervention program based upon a number of previous empirical findings about trends that were present in destructive parent-adolescent relationships, including: family communication involved excessive authority or permissiveness, reinforced by abusive punishment; high levels of conflict existed within the family; adolescents presented behavioral challenges to parents; adolescents experienced high levels of stressful events, often relating to alcohol and drug use; and parents responded with much discipline and little support to high-risk adolescents. Based upon these findings, the Family Interaction Project intervention pilot program included the Parenting course, which was designed to address the major needs that related to parent-child functioning, including providing parents with training in skills for improving communication during adolescence and suggesting discipline alternatives to physical punishment. Also addressed were the affective dimension of the relationship, by teaching the importance of empathy for and understanding of the adolescent, and the control or conflict resolution dimension, by training parents in conflict resolution skills. Both high- and low-risk families were included in the same parenting classes. Evaluation of the pilot program by self-report questionnaire indicated that everyone would recommend the course to a friend, that most subjects thought the course should have been longer than seven sessions to give more time to hear about the experiences of other parents, that all were in favor of the choice of skills and of the personalization of these skills to their own situations, and that most would have liked to have spent more time on the issue of discipline. The authors concluded that their program was appropriate for a mix of high- and low-risk parents, and that it was also appropriate to the needs of its participants.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors suggested that empirical pre-post, control group studies would be need of future program offerings in order to determine the full potential and shortcomings of the intervention plan.
EVALUATION:
The authors provide an interesting examination of the issue of adolescent abuse. However, information and discussion of the intervention program is presented in an unclear, incomplete and undetailed fashion. No explanation is provided about how and why the subjects were selected, and no mention is given about the nature, purpose and contents of the interviews of the subjects. Of the 62 families initially involved, only 19 parents attended the classes - a participation rate of less than one-third. Evaluation of the classes was conducted in a non-empirical fashion, making it extremely difficult to even begin to consider if the program was at all effective. Without the possibility of such an evaluation, the presentation of the program intentions and purpose is incomplete and not terribly useful. (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)
KW - Domestic Violence Victim
KW - Domestic Violence Assessment
KW - Victim Assessment
KW - Juvenile Victim
KW - Child Abuse Victim
KW - Child Abuse Assessment
KW - Child Physical Abuse Victim
KW - Abuse Detection
KW - Domestic Violence Incidence and Prevalence
KW - Domestic Violence Intervention
KW - Domestic Violence Causes
KW - Domestic Violence Risk Factors
KW - Child Abuse Intervention
KW - Child Abuse Incidence and Prevalence
KW - Child Abuse Causes
KW - Child Abuse Risk Factors
KW - Child Physical Abuse Causes
KW - Child Physical Abuse Incidence and Prevalence
KW - Child Physical Abuse Risk Factors
KW - Child Physical Abuse Intervention
KW - Intervention Recommendations
KW - Family Relations
KW - Family Risk Factors
KW - Parent Child Relations
KW - Individual Risk Factors
Language: en |