Although family violence perpetrated by juveniles has been acknowledged as a potentially serious form of violence for over 30years, scientific studies have been limited to examining the incidence and form of home violence. The present study examined the prevalence of family aggression as perpetrated by youths; we examined groups drawn from clinic-referred and forensic samples. Two audits of case files were conducted to systematically document aggression perpetrated by referred youths toward their family members. The purpose of the first audit was fourfold: i) to identify the incidence of the perpetration of family aggression among clinical and forensic samples; ii) to identify whether there were any reports of weapon use during aggressive episodes; iii) to identify the target of family aggression (parents or siblings); and iv) to identify the form of aggression perpetrated (verbal or physical). The second audit aimed to replicate the findings and to show that the results were not due to differences in multiple deprivation indices, clinical diagnosis of disruptive behavior disorders, and placement into alternative care. A sampling strategy was designed to audit the case notes of 25 recent forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) cases and 25 demographically similar clinic-referred CAMHS cases in the first audit; and 35 forensic cases and 35 demographically similar clinic-referred CAMHS cases in the second audit. Using ordinal chi-square, the forensic sample (audit 1=64%; audit 2=82.9%) had greater instances of family violence than the clinical sample (audit 1=32%; audit 2=28.6%). They were more likely to use a weapon (audit 1=69%; audit 2=65.5%) compared to the clinical sample (audit 1 and 2=0%). Examining only the aggressive groups, there was more perpetration of aggression toward parents (audit 1, forensic=92%, clinical=75%; audit 2, forensic=55.17%, clinical=40%) than toward siblings (audit 1, forensic=43%, clinical=50%; audit 2, forensic=27.58%, clinical=30%). Based on these findings, we would urge professionals who work within the child mental health, particularly the forensic area, to systematically collect reports of aggression perpetrated toward family members.
This study examined the relations between callous-unemotional traits and perpetration of aggression toward parents in two separate studies, while also considering motivation for aggression and parenting styles experienced among young people. Study 1 involved 60 parents of children aged between 11 and 17 years old. The online study found high callous-unemotional traits, as reported by parents, to be associated with aggression toward both parents. Both types of motivation (proactive and reactive, as reported by parents) were associated with aggression toward parents. Study 2 involved 42 youths from an alternative education sample (between 11 and 16 years old). Youths with higher self-reported callous-unemotional traits reported more aggression toward both parents. Both studies, which had different reporters and different samples, showed youths with higher callous-unemotional traits were more aggressive toward their parents. In discussing the results, we note the importance of including callous-unemotional traits in future research on parent-directed aggression and in studies on domestic violence more broadly.