title: Adolescents' physical aggression toward parents in a clinic-referred sample.
abstract: Physical aggression directed toward parents by their adolescents is a serious issue both practically and scientifically. In contrast to the extensive literature on other forms of aggression within families (e.g., marital violence, child physical abuse) as well as youth aggression construed broadly, a major gap exists in our knowledge of youth-to-parent physical aggression (YPA). In this study, we analyzed data on three forms of physical aggression (YPA, interparental, and parent-to-youth) from 232 mother-adolescent dyads drawn from a database of families referred for the clinical treatment of emotional and behavioral problems in their adolescent children. Analyses indicated that YPA is prevalent (57% by sons and 49% by daughters in 1 year) and significantly likely to co-occur with interparental and parent-to-youth aggression in the family. Follow-up analyses suggested important sex differences in these relations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. pboxer@psychology.rutgers.edu
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boxer
authors.forename: Rebecca Lakin
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Gullan
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahoney
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012951:Socialization; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology