NCJ Number
220193
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 22 Issue: 7 Dated: October 2007 Pages: 563-574
Date Published
October 2007
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study of a large cross-national sample of reported child perpetrators (n=17,957) of violence against their parents examined victim and offender demographics and incident characteristics.
Abstract
The findings indicate that biological mothers who are White and are over 40 years of age are most likely to be victimized by their male children 14-17 years old. A majority of the assaults involved the use of personal weapons and tended to result in minor injuries or no injuries. Very few offenders were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The findings support much of the existing literature in suggesting that males are the predominant offenders in child attacks on their parents. The sizable number of cases of child-to-parent violence reported in participating counties in 23 States in 2002 call attention to the need for primary research in this area. Targeted intervention programs cannot be offered without sufficient baseline knowledge of the existing problems. Current research suggests that intervention programs for boys between the ages of 14 and 17, with emphasis on abusive interactions with mothers, would target the largest number of child-parent cases of violence. In 2002, 17,957 children ages 21 or younger were reported to law enforcement agencies in 23 States for assaulting a parent or stepparent. Data on these incidents were collected as part of the 2002 National Incident Based Reporting System. Victim and offender demographics and incident characteristics were analyzed by using chi-square tests and logistic regression in order to establish baseline findings. 6 tables and 35 references