The Appropriateness of the Duluth Model for Intimate Partner Violence and Child-to-Parent Violence: A Conceptual Review

Abstract

Research demonstrates that child-to-parent violence (CPV), an under researched form of family violence, is associated with intimate partner violence (IPV). The aim of this article is to critically explore the influence of the Duluth model of IPV on the overarching conceptual frameworks used to explain CPV. Although gender socialization could indeed be a factor implicated in CPV, the prefixed assumptions of the Duluth model about gender as the ultimate etiological factor, have shaped and dominated the discourses of CPV resulting in devaluation of a range of other factors pertinent for understanding this type of violence. It has been established that violence, and more specifically family violence, is a highly complex phenomenon that has history and continuity; as such contextual, multi-modal explanations are favored (Asen & Fonagy, 2017). This article discusses the tenets of the theory and consequently, its influence on discourses around etiology and maintenance of this narrative. Future recommendations include ecological, lifespan approaches based upon tailored, evidence-based interventions.