Are All Child-to-Parent Violence Profiles Associated with Exposure to Family Violence? Findings from a Sample of Spanish Adolescents

Abstract

Exposure to family violence (EFV) is proposed as a relevant antecedent of child-to-parent violence (CPV). However, both previous research and practitioner experience suggest that not all cases of CPV involve EFV. This study aimed to identify profiles of adolescents according to their degree of involvement in CPV and their EFV. A sample of 1647 adolescents (mean age = 14.30, SD = 1.21; 50.5% boys) completed measures of CPV, witnessing family violence, victimization by parents, permissive parenting, parental warmth, and several measures of cognitive and emotional characteristics. Latent profile analyses based on measures of CPV and family characteristics supported a four-profile solution. Profile 1 (82.2%) consisted of adolescents with very low scores on both CPV and exposure to family violence. Profile 2 (6.2%) was characterized by medium scores on psychological CPV and high EFV. Profile 3 (9.7%) was characterized by severe psychological CPV and very low EFV. Profile 4 (1.9%) included adolescents with the highest scores on CPV, including physical violence, and high EFV. These profiles were found to differ from each other according to several cognitive and emotional variables of the adolescents. Therefore, not all CPV profiles were associated with a history of EFV. The obtained profiles have implications for interventions.