Developing a Trauma-Informed Intervention for Child-to-Parent Violence: A Qualitative Participatory Focus Group Study

Background and Purpose: Many forces interact to produce violence between family members and much research has been dedicated to understanding how children are impacted by violence in the home, yet child-to-parent violence (CPV) is one group of youth who find themselves in a juvenile justice setting after an arrest for domestic battery.  Currently, youth arrested for domestic battery and offered diversion services are mandated into a one size fits all treatment program that includes anger management and counseling. Some researchers have indicated that untreated childhood adversity is the driving force behind a youth’s violent behavior in the home. Research has established that youth who perpetrate violence against a parent have a history of childhood adversity, especially one that involves family conflict (Contreras & Carmen-Cano, 2016).  The impact of violence can be viewed within a traumatization framework, in that family violence victimization, including child maltreatment and witness to parental violence, can lead to both externalizing behaviors, such as aggression and delinquency and internalizing behaviors, such as depression and anxiety.  Thus, interventions need to establish a new conceptualization of treating CPV within a trauma-informed framework.   The primary aims of the study were (1) to examine the experiences associated with CPV diversion programming and (2) to develop trauma-informed intervention strategies for families impacted by CPV. 

 

Methods: Participants (both youth and parent victims of CPV) were recruited from a family violence diversion program through a mailing inviting them to participate in 1 of 4 focus groups.  Forty (40) focus group participants included families that successfully completed the program (70%) and families that did not complete the program (30%).  The sample was predominantly white (47%) with more female (60%) than male (40%) perpetrators of CPV.  Parents and children separately provided in-depth feedback about their thoughts and feelings about the effectiveness of anger management and family counseling intervention strategies, as well as thoughts and feelings about including trauma-informed intervention strategies.  Participant responses informed the development of a trauma-informed treatment manual. 

 

Results: Utilizing Charmaz’s grounded theory strategies, the researchers conducted line-by-line coding and thematic analysis and found that youth had experienced childhood adversity and household dysfunction, and these early life experiences contributed towards family conflict.  Although most were satisfied with diversion programming, a core theme that emerged was that participants felt the current intervention strategies focused more on “fixing” the youth rather than understanding how a youth’s aggressive behaviors were connected to childhood adversity and household dysfunction.   Participants recommended treatment activities that included building the parent-child bond, building self-confidence, reducing family stress, and regulating strong emotions. 

 

Conclusions and Implications: Findings highlight the connection between childhood adversity, household dysfunction, and family conflict.  Viewing CPV from a traumatization framework requires the legal and justice systems to shift from using a punitive model to a rehabilitative model. Clinicians working with these youth should incorporate trauma informed intervention strategies to prevent youth impacted by family violence from repeating the cycle of violence and ensuring they grow up to become healthy and productive adults.