Risk and Protective Factors in Child-to-Parent Violence: A Study of the YLS/CMI in a Spanish Juvenile Court

Abstract

Child to Parent Violence (CPV) is one of the crimes with the highest rates of increase in Spain in recent years, and has had a significant media and social impact. This phenomenon has been analyzed with different methodologies and samples, but very few studies have used a standardized instrument such as the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI). This study examined the heterogeneous profile of youths in a judicial context. The aims of the study were: 1) to evaluate whether there were any differences in sociodemographic and criminogenic factors in a group of youths who committed CPV in comparison to a group who committed other type of crimes. 2) to analyze which risk factors in the YLS/CMI Inventory are the best predictors of CPV. The participants were 341 youths aged between 14 and 17 years old with a record in the Juvenile Court of a Spanish province. The sample covered crimes committed during a follow-up period from 2011 to 2017. The results showed that the CPV group had a higher risk profile than the comparison group. The Family circumstances, Substance abuse and Personality behavior subscales of the YLS/CMI were able to predict CPV among these youths.