Parental reactions to parent- and sibling-directed aggression within a domestic violence context

Abstract

Parent- and sibling-directed aggression by minor children are two forms of family violence that often co-occur and have strong relations to prior exposure to domestic violence, yet are often overlooked in intervention efforts. In addition, current research does not examine these forms of family violence in tandem, and there is very limited research with samples exposed to domestic violence. To better understand how these forms of aggression operate within a domestic violence context, we interviewed 44 women residing in a domestic violence shelter with at least one child over 3.5 years of age who was aggressive toward them and/or siblings. Caregivers reported on their emotional reactions to children's parent-directed aggression and the types of and effectiveness of help they sought for parent- and/or sibling-directed aggression. In line with previous literature, caregivers endorsed a complex mix of emotional reactions to their children's parent-directed aggression, including anger, sadness, guilt, forgiveness, and worthlessness. In contrast to other studies, most caregivers (89%) had sought help for children's parent- and/or sibling-directed aggression and found it effective. Findings contribute to the literature on parent- and sibling-directed aggression and provide implications for how to effectively intervene.

Sibling Experiences of Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Scoping Review

“…Several of these papers have identified abuse from a sibling as one of the most common forms of violence in the home (Finkelhor, Ormrod & Turner, 2009; Kim & Kim, 2019; McDonald & Martinez, 2016; Meyers, 2014; San Kuay et al , 2016; Soler et al , 2015). Multiple papers however highlight a significant difference in the perception and understanding of this form of abuse; despite its prevalence and documented detrimental impact, sibling violence and abuse is often dismissed as normal or expected (Button & Gealt, 2010; Desir & Karatekin, 2018; Kim & Kim, 2019; Phillips et al , 2018; Sporer, 2019; Tippett & Wolke, 2015; Van Berkel, Tucker & Finkelhor, 2018). Parents in particular have been highlighted as holding these views, being found to often minimise the frequency, severity and impact (Tucker et al , 2013).…”

“I’m meant to be his comfort blanket, not a punching bag” – Ethnomimesis as an exploration of maternal child to parent violence in pre-adolescents

“…The mothers in this research may not have considered the behaviour of their child as intentional due to the age of their children; as how the parent understands childhood is contradicted by the behaviour of their own child (Smith, 2009). Nevertheless, the experience of walking on eggshells appears to correlate with experiences of adolescent-initiated CPV and intimate-partner violence (Clarke et al., 2017; Desir and Karatekin, 2018). This may be because adolescent-to-parent violence does not occur overnight, but is often the result of incremental behavioural changes, with many adolescents and adults reporting they began using violent strategies aged 2–11 (Desir and Karatekin, 2018; Nock and Kazdin, 2002; Ulman and Straus, 2003).…”

“…Nevertheless, the experience of walking on eggshells appears to correlate with experiences of adolescent-initiated CPV and intimate-partner violence (Clarke et al., 2017; Desir and Karatekin, 2018). This may be because adolescent-to-parent violence does not occur overnight, but is often the result of incremental behavioural changes, with many adolescents and adults reporting they began using violent strategies aged 2–11 (Desir and Karatekin, 2018; Nock and Kazdin, 2002; Ulman and Straus, 2003). Nevertheless, most research into CPV exists to target adolescent violent and aggressive behaviours during periods of family crisis (Condry and Miles, 2014; Coogan, 2011) and this is also true of policy (Home Office, 2015).…”

Domestic Abuse Sibling studY (DASY): a multimethod study protocol

“…Future romantic relationships or relationships between young people and their mothers are the most frequent relationships considered in DVA literature around children and young people 15. A small number of studies have started to explore sibling relationships in the context of DVA 10 16–18. Piotrowski and Cameranesi,16 for example, have recently explored sibling aggression in children who have experienced DVA, finding that earlier exposure contributed to later emergence of aggressive behaviour.…”