Longitudinal Trajectories of Child-to-Parent Violence through Adolescence

This study examines the level and shape of the trajectory of child-to-mother violence (CMV) and child-to-father violence (CFV) throughout adolescence and associations with exposure to family violence and substance use. An accelerated longitudinal design was used to assess the trajectories of CMV and CFV from age 13 to 17 in 1415 adolescents (712 boys). Measures were collected at four periods that were a year apart. Adolescents completed measures of CMV and CFV at each wave and measures of exposure to family violence and drug abuse at the beginning of the study. The results indicate a negative linear trend, which consists of a general decrease in violence, accompanied by a quadratic component with a peak at the age around 15. The level of CMV was higher than the level of CFV throughout adolescence. Exposure to family violence and drug abuse presented a different profile of association with the longitudinal components of CMV and CFV. The results suggest the importance of initiating interventions early, before age 13, to prevent the rapid peak of violence that occurs between ages 13 and 15.