Child‐to‐Parent Violence: Examining the Frequency and Reasons in Spanish Youth

Abstract

ObjectiveThe structure, reliability, and validity of the Child‐to‐Parent Violence Questionnaire (CPV‐Q) for youth is analyzed. Additionally, the frequency of child‐to‐parent violence and the reasons for carrying it out are analyzed.BackgroundChild violence toward parents is a type of violence that has recently garnered great social and scientific interest. The frequency rates found vary considerably (psychological violence between 8.5% and 27% and physical violence between 1.8% and 6.1%), in part due to the type of assessment instruments used.MethodA total of 1,543 young Spanish people between 18 and 25 years of age (50.2% male; Mage = 19.2 years; SD = 1.9) participated in this study and reported on the frequency of violent behavior toward parents when they were 12 and 17 years old.ResultsThe results confirm a factorial structure of the CPV‐Q, with four factors: psychological, physical, financial, and control/domain. The reasons for child‐to‐parent violence were grouped into instrumental and reactive.ConclusionsThe CPV‐Q for young people presents adequate psychometric properties. The high frequency rates of child‐to‐parent violence justify the need to continue advancing the study of this phenomenon.ImplicationsThe CPV‐Q is a useful instrument for assessing child‐to‐parent violence for both research and professional practice. It allows evaluating the frequency of a wide range of violent behaviors and the underlying reasons motivating this type of violence, which is of great help for interventions.