NCJ Number
112445
Date Published
1987
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews research into adolescents as victims and perpetrators of abuse in the family.
Abstract
The National Incidence Study found that 47 percent of victims of all forms of child abuse were between the ages of 12 and 17. Severity of abuse increases with age. Sex differences in abuse patterns increase with age, with girls being more likely than boys to be physically, sexually, and emotionally abused and physically neglected. Further, while the incidence of physical abuse of males decreases with age, the opposite is true for females. A self-report study of 473 college students indicates that fathers were more likely to abuse adolescents and to engage in severer forms of abuse than were mothers. In addition, 26 percent reported having experienced some form of sexual encounter with a family member during adolescence. While the incidence of abuse against family members by adolescents is difficult to estimate, one study found that 47,000 of 1.2 million violent incidents between relatives involved violence against a parent by a child. Students' self-reports indicated that 13 percent had used violence against an adult family member (most often the mother), although less severe forms of violence usually were involved. Violence between siblings is commonplace, particularly among males. Studies of sibling violence have yielded rates of 63 to 82 percent. ll footnotes and 98 references.