Not all child-to-parent violence is the same: A person-based analysis using the function of aggression

Abstract

Objective: To explore a typology of dyads experiencing child-to-parent violence (CPV) using the function of CPV (i.e., its motivation). Background: CPV may be motivated by reactive (i.e., retaliatory), proactive (i.e., instrumental), or affective (i.e., primarily emotional) functions, which may co-occur intraindividually; however, their co-occurrence pattern is not fully understood. Method: This study included 252 participants aged 27 to 78 years (M = 45.92, SD = 8.33; 96% female) who were caregivers of a young person aged 5 to 24 years (M = 13.18, SD = 4.86) and completed an online survey measuring the form and function of CPV and a range of child, parent, and dyadic factors. The majority of dyads were mother–child. Results: Latent profile analysis revealed two distinct types of dyads: High-proactive dyads reported severe, highly reactive and proactive CPV compared with low-proactive dyads in which proactive CPV was rare and reactive CPV was uncommon. Rates of affective CPV were similar across types. Analysis of variance demonstrated that high- and low-proactive dyads significantly differed across intervention-relevant parent, child, and dyadic factors. Conclusion: High-proactive dyads exhibited role reversal and spousification (i.e., parental conflict spill-over) in which caregivers were helpless, frightened, and frightening, and the young person possessed domineering traits. Low-proactive dyads were characterized by a comparatively in-control caregiver who exhibited intrusiveness and higher supervision and a young person who was comparatively less domineering. Implications: Different types of dyads experiencing CPV may have unique intervention needs.