Teens at risk of behaviour problems if parents are violent towards them
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Family
According to a recent study, teenagers whose parents threaten or shout at them are more likely to develop depression and disruptive behaviour.
When the mother is both verbally and physically abusive and the father displays either of the forms of aggression, there is an increased risk of depression and poor behaviour in adolescents.
Dr. Annette Mahoney, professor of psychology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, says: “The take home point is that the verbal behaviours matter. It can be easy to overlook that, but our study shows that the verbal hostility is really relevant, particularly for mothers who scream and hit, and for fathers who do either one.”
The study, which was published in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect, analysed 239 troubled adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18. The respondents had to fill out surveys that asked if they were hit, called names, or subjected to other forms of physical or verbal violence. Their parents also took part in the survey.
The findings also discovered that 51% of the adolescents surveyed admitted to experiencing serious physical or verbal aggression from one or both parents.
Experts fear that parents will become trapped in a vicious cycle. Dr. Mahoney explains how teens are harder to handle if they have behavioural problems meaning their parents are more likely to resort to threats.
While having a mother who shouts and uses aggression increases the risk of mental problems in teens, Dr. Mahoney says that mums who only shouted does not increase the risk of behavioural problems.
