Teachers’ Explanations of Adolescent to Parent Violence in Relation to Sexism and Belief in the Just World

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescent-to-Parent Violence (APV) is a social problem with serious family and social repercussions. Research on the subject has so far focused mainly on parents and children, ignoring the socializing role played by teachers in the development of children and adolescents. The aim of the study is to analyze the explanations given by teachers at different levels of education about VFP and its relationship with sexist attitudes and belief in a just world. Method: A total of 127 kindergarden, primary and secondary school teachers, aged between 20 and 61 years, participated in this study. 77.8% were women. They answered a questionnaire that included the Spanish versions of the Marlowe and Crowne Scale (1960), the Glick and Fiske Ambivalent Sexism Scale (1996), and the Lipkus Belief in the Just World Scale (1991), as well as the Causal Explanations Scale of Cortina and Martín (2021). Results: The results indicate that, regardless of age, level of education and gender, the participants considered the emotional reaction of the son or daughter as the main cause of the VFP, followed by inadequate parenting, defensive behavior of the son or daughter, an inadequate environment, being an adolescent and, finally, due to traits of evil or madness of the perpetrator of the violence. As expected, there were differences in the explanations chosen by the teachers who scored higher in the two forms of sexism and in the belief in a just world, with those chosen by the teachers who scored lower. Discussion: Results are discussed in the context of the culture of parental blaming and the role of the teacher as a link between families and family intervention professionals in APV cases.