Parental Psychological Violence and Adolescent Behavioral Adjustment

Abstract

The role of coping strategies (approach and avoidance) as a mediating factor between parental psychological violence and adolescent behavior problems, both internalized and externalized, as well as the protective role of social support were examined separately for boys and girls. A group of 278 adolescents (mean age: 14.2) were recruited in three high schools located in low, moderate, and high socioeconomic areas. Participants were in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, and each completed a self-administered questionnaire. The use of avoidant coping strategies partially mediated the link between parental psychological violence and behavior problems among girls. The use of approach coping strategies partially mediated the link between parental psychological violence and behavior problems among boys. In all cases, coping enhanced this link. No protective role of social support was found. On the contrary, this variable was found to increase the relationship between parental psychological violence and externalized behavior problems among boys. These findings suggest that interventions aimed at strengthening coping skills and social support in adolescents may not be effective in alleviating various behavioral symptoms associated with parental psychological violence. They highlight the importance of prevention of psychologically violent parental practices, instead of only reacting to the problem after it has occurred.

Keywords

psychological violence emotional abuse parenting practices family relationship adolescence behavior problems coping social support

Each year, between 10% and 86% of North American children, especially school-age children and adolescents, are the target of parental psychological violence (Clément, Chamberland, Côté, Dubeau, & Beauvais, 2005; Finkelhor, Ormrod, Turner, & Hamby, 2005; Straus & Field, 2003). Surveys focusing on a few psychologically aggressive parental behaviors such as occasional and/or minor yelling, cursing, threatening, or name calling (Straus, Hamby, Finkelhor, Moore, & Runyan, 1998) display the largest prevalence rates. Lower prevalence is observed for more abusive behaviors such as repeated and/or severe spurning, terrorizing, isolating, exploiting/corrupting, and denying emotional responsiveness (Hart, Binggeli, & Brassard, 1998), especially when measurement focuses on the impact of such parental behaviors on the child (Finkelhor et al., 2005). In the present study, the expression “parental psychological violence” encompasses this entire continuum of severity, since even minor psychological violence has been associated with, or predictive of, developmental and adjustment problems (Claussen & Crittenden, 1991; Johnson et al., 2001). The fact that parental psychological violence is related to internalized and externalized behavior problems in youths is well established (Arata, Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Bowers, & O’Brien, 2007; Gagné, 2001; Johnson et al., 2001; Locke & Newcomb, 2005; Melançon & Gagné, 2010; Moran, Vuchinich, & Hall, 2004; Sneddon, 2003). Therefore, it is worth studying which variables might explain, enhance, or reduce these behavior problems in young victims. This study focuses on the status of coping strategies and social support, in a sample of adolescents from the general population.

Conceptual Framework

Coping Strategies

Coping strategies refer to individual activities and efforts directed at managing problems and emotions and influencing physical and psychological outcomes (Somerfield & McCrae, 2000). They are typically conceptualized as mediating variables, elicited when experiencing a stressor, and partially or completely explaining the relationship between the stressor and the outcome (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988a). Approach, that is, facing the stressor, and avoidance, that is, staying away from the stressor (Roth & Cohen, 1986), are two well-established coping styles. Avoidant coping has been linked to poor adjustment, and approach has been associated with positive outcomes among adolescents (e.g., Seiffge-Krenke, 2000; Seiffge-Krenke & Klessinger, 2000).

Some strategies have been identified as potentially effective in coping with family violence. Among adolescents, these strategies include staying away from the abuser (Henry, 1999) and investing in close friendships (Browne, 2002). Moreover, some authors have suggested that problem-solving skills (Gipple, Lee, & Puig, 2006; Morimoto & Sharma, 2004), as well as cognitive restructuring (Leitenberg, Gibson, & Novy, 2004; Runtz & Schallow, 1997), might be efficient coping strategies in adults who experienced childhood abuse. Unfortunately, many of these potentially helpful strategies seem less common among people who were abused when compared to those who were not. In addition, many coping strategies identified as potentially ineffective seem more common among people who were abused in childhood. These strategies include avoidance, such as wishful thinking or social withdrawal (Browne, 2002; Caples & Barrera, 2006; Futa, Nash, Hansen, & Garbin, 2003), as well as emotion-focused or internal-focused strategies, such as blaming oneself (Gibb, Alloy, Abramson, & Marx, 2003; Sachs-Ericsson, Verona, Joiner, & Preacher, 2006).

Very few studies focusing on coping strategies specific to parental psychological violence have been reviewed; these studies essentially use qualitative or retrospective designs (Doyle, 2001; Gagné, Melançon, Pouliot-Lapointe, Roy, & Lavoie, 2010). They suggest that even though youths struggling with parental psychological violence use a variety of coping strategies, these are typically not sufficient to bring relief and foster adjustment. The present study investigates the role of approach and avoidant coping strategies in explaining the link between parental psychological violence and behavioral adjustment in adolescents.

Social Support

The stress-buffering model proposed by Cohen and Wills (1985) asserts that social support is a protective factor against difficulties of life. Perceived social support is a “cognitive appraisal of being reliably connected to others” (Barrera, 1986, p. 416), which may be more strongly related to personal adjustment than to objective or enacted support. Protective factors identified in family violence studies consist primarily of support systems (Kashani & Allan, 1998; Sagy & Dotan, 2001). Close and extended family members, as well as extra-familial support, are thought to foster resilience in children who experience psychological violence or other forms of maltreatment (Doyle, 2001, 2003; Esposito & Clum, 2002; Heller Larrieu, D’Imperio, & Boris, 1999; Kinard, 1995; Muller, Goebel-Fabbri, Diamond, & Dinklage, 2000). According to McGee and Wolfe (1991), social support buffers the negative effects associated with parental psychological violence, alleviating or nullifying detrimental outcomes. People providing support may enhance a sense of self-worth in children (Doyle, 2003; Gurley, 1991; Muller et al., 2000). They can inspire confidence, show empathy, and provide encouragement (Zimrin, 1986). They can validate these children’s feelings, help them make sense of what has happened, and help them realize that other youths experience similar situations (Gurley, 1991; Smith, 2007). Abuse-related stress may be experienced as less extreme and pervasive under such conditions of support (Esposito & Clum, 2002).

As for coping, no reviewed study has investigated the role of youths’ social support in moderating the link between parental psychological violence and behavioral adjustment in adolescents. The present study contributes to filling this gap.

Gender Differences

Among the studies cited earlier, few considered gender differences in coping. Yet it is well established that girls report more efforts to seek help than boys (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993; Hampel, 2007; Patterson & McCubbin, 1987; Recklitis & Noam, 1999; Seiffge-Krenke, 1998), whereas gender differences in the use of avoidant coping are inconsistent (Seiffge-Krenke, 2000). Regarding the effectiveness of coping, Morimoto and Sharma (2004) found that coping skills in general were negatively correlated with depression and aggression for men, but not for women, whereas other studies found no gender effect (Caples & Barrera, 2006; Runtz & Schallow; 1997).

Furthermore, none of the studies mentioned above verified whether the buffering effect of social support against child abuse outcomes varies across genders. Evidence regarding this issue is contradictory. Compared to boys, girls tend to report a lesser or equal amount of family support, yet more support from friends (Bao, Whitbeck, & Hoyt, 2000; Cheng & Chan, 2004; Colarossi & Eccles, 2000, 2003; Malecki & Demaray, 2003; Rosenthal, Feiring, & Taska, 2003). Moreover, some studies suggest that girls benefit from social support to a greater extent than boys (Landman-Peeters et al., 2005; Lauterbach, Koch, & Porter, 2007), whereas others report the opposite (Colarossi & Eccles, 2000) or mixed results (Kerr, Preuss, & King, 2006). Further studies report no gender difference regarding the buffering effect of social support (Colarossi & Eccles, 2003).

Objective and Hypotheses

The present study investigates coping strategies as partial mediators between parental psychological violence and internalized and externalized adolescent behavior problems of boys and girls separately. Parental violence is expected to elicit both approach and avoidant coping strategies. Approach strategies are expected to be negatively associated with behavior problems, whereas avoidance strategies should show a positive association. In addition, this research aims at studying the moderating effect of social support on the link between psychological violence and behavior problems, while controlling for gender. Social support is expected to play a protective role in buffering the potential detrimental effects of psychological violence on behavioral adjustment. No specific hypothesis is made regarding gender, given the prevailing contradictions in the literature.

Method

Participants

A sample of 278 adolescents were recruited on a voluntary basis in 2006 and 2007 in 3 francophone public schools located in urban and suburban districts of Quebec City. According to the 2006 Statistics Canada Census, the province of Quebec is 80.1% francophone. Schools were selected on the basis of socioeconomic indices to ensure socioeconomic diversity in the sample (low, moderate, and high). Participants were in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades and aged between 12 and 17 years (M = 14.2, SD = 1.1). Among them, 98.1% were born in Canada and 45.3% were female. With regard to family structure, 57.2% lived with both parents and 39.6% lived with one parent because of divorce or separation. In comparison, 66% of adolescents within the province of Quebec live with both parents (Traoré, 2006).

Material

Independent variable

Parental psychological violence was measured with the Psychologically Violent Parental Practices Inventory (PVPPI; Gagné, Lavoie, & Fortin, 2003; Gagné, Pouliot-Lapointe, & St-Louis, 2007). This instrument contains 321 behavioral items referring to day-to-day psychological violence: lack of attention, interest, or respect, constant blaming, excessive punishment, and excessive control over social contacts and activities, as well as more severe terrorizing, rejection, and corruption. The PVPPI possesses good content validity, internal consistency, and emerging evidence of construct validity in terms of factorial structure, convergence with other scales measuring similar constructs, and significant correlations with adjustment and relational problems (Gagné et al., 2003, 2007). Items were presented as “a list of things parents might do when they are angry, tired or for any other reason”; the term parents denotes “all the adults who live with you and who are responsible for you in your everyday life.” Respondents indicated the frequency of each behavior on a 4-point scale, during the previous year (0 = never happened; 1 = happened once or twice; 2 = happened more than twice, but not regularly; 3 = happened regularly, many times a month). The construct was addressed separately for maternal and paternal parental figures, and the internal consistency coefficients were .93 for both maternal and paternal psychological violence. Given the high correlation between maternal and paternal psychological violence (r = .58), a composite score was used (mean).

Intermediate variables

Youths’ coping strategies were measured with the Way of Coping Questionnaire (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988b) translated into French and adapted for adolescents by Marcotte (1996). This instrument contains 21 items that form 3 scales: Seeking Social Support, for example, talked to someone who could do something for me; Distancing/Avoidance, for example, went on as if nothing had happened; Positive Reappraisal/Problem Solving, for example, stood my ground and fought for what I wanted. In order to measure coping strategies that are specific to the context of psychological violence, items were presented as a list of strategies youths might use when things go wrong with their parents, referring explicitly to parental behaviors such as those listed in the previous questionnaire (PVPPI). All three scales possess good internal consistency and construct validity in terms of factorial structure. Given the high correlation between Seeking Social Support and Positive Reappraisal/Problem Solving (r = .62), these scales were merged into one score of Approach strategies (mean). In the present study sample, internal consistency coefficients were .87 for Approach and .79 for Avoidance.

Perceived social support was measured with a French adaptation of the Social Support Questionnaire (Rascle et al., 1997; Sarason, Levine, Basham, & Sarason, 1983). This instrument measures availability (the number of people in one’s social support network) and satisfaction regarding six domains of social support, on a 6-point scale. Both Availability and Satisfaction scales possess good internal consistency and construct validity in terms of factorial structure and convergence with other scales measuring similar constructs. This questionnaire has also good divergent validity, since it is negatively related to depressive ideas, anxiety, helplessness, pessimism, and coping strategies centered on emotions. In the present study sample, internal consistency coefficients were .92 for Satisfaction and .90 for Availability.

Dependent variables

Participants’ internalized and externalized behavior problems were measured with the French version of the Youth Self-Report (YSR; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2002). The YSR includes 112 items referring to maladapted behaviors that may be displayed by youths aged between 11 and 18 years (e.g., cries a lot, uses drugs). Referring to the previous 6 months, respondents must indicate whether each item is false, more or less true, or always/often true. The YSR is one of the most widely used instruments to measure behavior problems in adolescents, including internalized problems such as withdrawal, somatic symptoms, and anxiety/depression, as well as externalized problems such as delinquency and aggression. It has been validated through its use in numerous studies. It possesses excellent internal consistency: .90 for each of the two subscales. Standardized t scores were used, since they take gender into account.

Procedure

Questionnaires were administered at school. Parental written consent was solicited first by mail and then through the youths, as required by the university’s Internal Review Board. Twenty percent of solicited parents returned the signed consent form. This low acceptance rate should not be interpreted as a refusal by 80% of parents to allow their children to participate in the research. Many parents may have forgotten to return the consent form, and many adolescents may have forgotten to give the consent form to their parents, or to bring it back to school. Moreover, the strict rules of the Review Board may have contributed to this low acceptance rate. Indeed, researchers were not allowed to present the study to adolescents prior to obtaining parental consent, in order to avoid any kind of pressure. Furthermore, both parents had to sign the form; divorced or separated parents had to certify that the other parent had been informed about the research, which may have been impossible or too complicated in some cases. However, some parents may have refused to let their child participate in the research for personal reasons.

The participation rate was 90.8% among youths who obtained written parental consent. As an incentive, participants had a chance to win a US$100 voucher for use at a shopping mall. Participants were grouped together in a room, outside their classroom. An information sheet regarding the research and available resources was given to them. Survey goals and instructions were explained by two trained research assistants who remained in the room while the participants completed the questionnaire, which took between 60 to 75 min. The remaining time in class was used for a debriefing session that included a discussion on resources aimed at the participants who might require them.

Data Analyses

Apart from a few unanswered questionnaires, the amount of missing data varied from 0% to 7.3% throughout the items. Scores were computed by calculating a mean, allowing for one to three missing data, depending on the number of items in each questionnaire. A different procedure was followed for the YSR, given its particular scoring method, based on norms: At least 100 questions had to be answered for a score to be computed (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2002).

Distributions, descriptive statistics, and Mahalanobis distances were examined. A between-subjects multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to investigate differences between boys and girls on all variables. Subsequently, the correlation matrix was calculated to estimate the strength of interrelations between variables and to avoid multicollinearity in further analyses. A structural equation model using the CALIS 9.3 procedure (SAS Institute Inc., 2011) was conducted (a) to investigate the mediating role of coping in the relationship between psychological violence and behavior problems and (b) to test whether these relationships were moderated by gender. Moderation was tested using a multigroup analysis and applying various linear constraints to test for significant differences in relationships between groups (boys vs. girls subsamples). Since 30 participants (10.8% of the sample) had at least one missing data on model variables, estimation of the structural equations model was performed using full information maximum likelihood (FIML), a method robust to missing data (SAS Institute Inc, 2011). Thus, no missing data imputation was performed. Various indices were checked to determine model fit: χ² tests, Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and Standardized Root Mean Square Residuals (SRMSR).

Finally, multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the interaction between social support and psychological violence in predicting externalized and internalized behavior problems, separately for girls and boys. An evaluation of assumptions was conducted, leading to the withdrawal of two multivariate outliers, which improved the normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity of residuals. Regression analyses were performed with SPSS 15.0, using the standard method and the pairwise option.

Results

Descriptive and Correlational Analyses

Descriptive data were first computed separately for female and male participants. In order to detect potential gender differences, a between-subjects MANOVA was performed on seven dependent variables: internalized and externalized behavior problems, parental psychological violence, approach and avoidance coping strategies, as well as satisfaction and availability of social support. With the use of Wilks’ criterion, this combination of dependent variables was significantly affected by gender, F(7, 206) = 5.59, p < .001. Post hoc univariate analyses showed that all dependent variables contributed to predicting gender differences, with girls scoring higher than boys on every variable, except for externalized behavior problems. However, the effect sizes were small. Table 1 summarizes these findings. Significant gender differences justified the decision to analyze boys and girls separately in confirmatory analyses.

Table 1.

Summary of Post Hoc Analyses of Variance for Gender

	Girls		Boys
	M	SD	M	SD	F	η²	p
Internalized problems	55.18	9.77	52.01	10.45	5.22	.02	.02
Externalized problems	53.31	9.79	53.97	10.37	0.23	.00	.64
Psychological violence	10.54	12.02	7.33	8.14	5.33	.03	.02
Approach	14.03	8.16	10.19	8.40	11.44	.05	.00
Avoidance	6.42	4.59	4.32	4.07	12.53	.06	.00
Satisfaction with social support	30.46	6.45	28.46	7.11	4.62	.02	.03
Availability of social support	21.24	10.20	16.97	10.73	8.86	.04	.00

Note: The maximum theoretical values are 100 for behavior problems, 93 for psychological violence, 45 for approach, 18 for avoidance, 36 for satisfaction, and 54 for availability.

Pearson correlations among independent variables and hypothesized mediators and moderators are presented in Table 2. Correlations are generally low, except between Avoidance and Approach coping strategies, and between Avoidance and psychological violence. All correlations are leading in the expected directions.

Table 2.

Pearson Correlations Between Variables (N = 278)

	1	2	3	4
1. Psychological violence
2. Approach	.32**
3. Avoidance	.53**	.60**
4. Satisfaction	−.29**	−.01	−11.
5. Availability	−.20*	.08	−.08	.27**

p < .01. ** p < .001.

Mediating Role of Coping Strategies

The hypothesized model is displayed in Figure 1. Before undertaking the structural modeling of the hypothesized model, the moderating role of gender was first investigated. Multigroup analysis using a full constrained model (fixing strict equality for all parameters in the model between groups) revealed a highly significant deterioration of the fit, χ²(13) = 33.68, p = .001. This result identified gender as a moderating variable and supported the decision to estimate independent structural equation models for girls and boys subsamples.

Figure 1.

Hypothesized model of the mediating role of coping between psychological violence and behavior problems

Model for girls (n = 126)

The initial model revealed unsatisfactory fit indices, χ²(3) = 28.25, p < .001, CFI = 0.853, SRMSR = 0.084, and AGFI = 0.952. Examination of standardized residuals revealed an unaccounted covariance between coping strategies. Thus, a revised model was estimated, adding a bidirectional relationship between errors of the coping strategies. Figure 2 (a) illustrates the final modified model. This model showed a perfect fit, χ²(2) = 0.73, ns; CFI = 1.00; SRMSR = 0.011; AGFI = 0.998. Examination of standard coefficients revealed that parental psychological violence directly predicted behavior problems (β = .51), as well as avoidance (β = .51) and approach coping strategies (β = .30), whereas approach and avoidance were interrelated (r = .36). Moreover, avoidance predicted an increase in behavior problems (β = .28) but not approach.

Figure 2.

Structural equation model predicting behavior problems for boys and for girls

Model for boys (n = 151)

The initial model revealed unsatisfactory fit indices, χ²(3) = 61.69, p < .001, CFI = 0.715, SRMSR = 0.104, AGFI = 0.903. Examination of standardized residuals revealed an unaccounted covariance between coping strategies. Thus, a revised model was estimated, adding a bidirectional relationship between errors of the coping strategies. Figure 2 (b) illustrates the final modified model. This model showed a perfect fit, χ²(2) = 1.08, ns; CFI = 1.00; SRMSR = 0.014; AGFI = 0.997. Examination of standard coefficients revealed that, similar to the model for girls, parental psychological violence directly predicted behavior problems (β = .64), as well as avoidance (β = .56) and approach (β = .32) coping strategies, whereas approach and avoidance were interrelated (r = .45). However, it was approach (β = .26), instead of avoidance (β = –.07), that predicted such behavior problems.

Differences between girls and boys

As previously reported, the general invariance test for the full constraint model was significant. Consequently, each parameter related to the structural model, that is, the relationships between violence, coping strategies, and behavior problems, was individually constrained for equality in order to test invariance between boys and girls for each relationship. Results revealed two significant differences: (a) the relationship between psychological violence and avoidance was stronger for boys (β = .56, vs. β = .51), χ²(1) = 5.24, p = .02, and (b) the relationship between avoidance and behavior problems was stronger for girls (β = .28, p < .01, vs. β = –.07, ns), χ²(1) = 3.68, p = .05. However, a marginally significant difference was also observed for the direct relationship between psychological violence and behavior problems, further suggesting a stronger relationship for boys (β = .64, vs. β = .51), χ²(1) = 2.67, p = .10.

Moderating Role of Social Support

Hierarchical standard regressions were computed, alternating between internalized and externalized behavior problems as the dependant variable, separately for boys and girls. Psychological violence was first entered in the prediction model (Step 1), followed by social support (Step 2), and the interaction between these two variables (Step 3). Independent variables were centered as suggested by Aiken and West (1991) in order to facilitate the interpretation of findings and to minimize multicollinearity.

Results of the four regressions performed with girls are summarized in Table 3. R for regressions was significantly different from zero. As expected, psychological violence contributed significantly and positively to behavior problems. In addition, social support availability, but not satisfaction, contributed significantly and negatively to behavior problems. No interaction effect was found between violence and social support in predicting behavior problems. All models explained between 22% and 26% of behavior problems variance.

Table 3.

Summary of Hierarchical Regression Analyses for Variables Predicting Behavior Problems in Girls (n = 126)

	Internalized behavior	Externalized behavior
Variable	ß	ß
Psychological violence	.43**	.47**
Satisfaction	−.14	−.02
Satisfaction × Psychological Violence	.07	.01
Psychological violence	.43**	.44**
Availability	−.18*	−.19*
Availability × Psychological Violence	−.07	.02

Notes: F(3, 96) = 9.14, p < .001, R² = .22, and F(3, 96) = 9.40, p < .001, R² = .23, for the prediction of internalized and externalized behavior problems, respectively, when using social support satisfaction. F(3, 99) = 10.88, p < .001, R² = .25, and F(3, 99) = 11.69, p < .001, R² = .26, for the prediction of internalized and externalized behavior problems, respectively, when using social support availability.

p < .05. **p < .001.

Results of the four regressions performed with boys are summarized in Table 4; r for regressions was significantly different from zero. As expected, psychological violence contributed significantly and positively to behavior problems. No main effect of social support was found, but a significant interaction effect between social support satisfaction and psychological violence explained externalized behavior problems. All models explained between 20% and 28% of behavior problems variance.

Table 4.

Summary of Hierarchical Regression Analyses for Variables Predicting Behavior Problems in Boys (n = 151)

	Internalized behavior	Externalized behavior
Variable	ß	ß
Psychological violence	.45**	.66**
Satisfaction	−.10	.10
Satisfaction × Psychological Violence	.01	.24*
Psychological violence	.43**	.55**
Availability	−.07	−.05
Availability × Psychological Violence	.02	.15

Notes: F(3, 109) = 10.34, p < .001, R² = .22, and F(3, 109) = 13.98, p < .001, R² = .28, for the prediction of internalized and externalized behavior problems, respectively, when using social support satisfaction. F(3, 114) = 9.56, p < .001, R² = .20, and F(3, 114) = 13.77, p < .001, R² = .27, for the prediction of externalized and internalized behavior problems, respectively, when using social support availability.

p < .05. **p < .001.

The interaction effect is illustrated in Figure 3. The relationship between psychological violence and externalized problems is represented in relation to three levels of social support satisfaction, following the procedure recommended by Aiken and West (1991). The lowest curve represents the relationship between externalized problems and psychological violence when social support is less satisfactory, the middle curve represents this relationship when social support is moderately satisfactory, and the highest curve represents this relationship when social support is highly satisfactory. Hence, the more youth were satisfied with the social support they received, the stronger the link between parental psychological violence and externalized problems.

Figure 3.

Interaction effect of psychological violence and social support satisfaction on externalized behavior problems among boys

Discussion

All findings should be interpreted by keeping in mind that young respondents were drawn from the general population. Since interpersonal violence is not normally distributed in the population, nonclinical samples typically report low levels of violence, and the present sample is no exception (see Table 1). However, the use of a sensitive measure of parental psychological violence (PVPPI), specifically designed for the general population, provided appreciable variance in the score of parental psychological violence, reflecting the continuum of psychological violence severity (Gagné et al., 2003).

Anchored in a stress-coping conceptual framework, the present study investigated coping strategies as mediators between current psychological violence perpetrated by parents and adolescent behavior problems. First, it was expected that parental psychological violence would be positively associated with both approach and avoidance strategies. This hypothesis was supported with moderate strength relation coefficients, at bivariate and multivariate levels. It revealed that both boys and girls use a variety of coping strategies to face relational difficulties with their parents. For both genders, avoidance strategies were more strongly associated with violence than with approach strategies. This finding is coherent with Roth’s and Cohen’s (1986) theory asserting that avoidance could be the best option when the situation is perceived as uncontrollable. While adolescents depend on their parents for the necessities of life, they have little power over their parents’ psychologically violent behavior. They may prefer avoiding a situation in which they feel helpless. This result is worrisome, given the poor outcomes that have been associated with avoidance in general (see Introduction).

Second, it was hypothesized that both approach and avoidant coping strategies would play a mediating role in the link between parental psychological violence and adolescent behavioral adjustment. Avoidance was expected to show a positive association with behavior problems, whereas approach was expected to be negatively associated with such problems. These hypotheses were partially supported by the findings, and gender differences appeared. As expected, avoidant coping was related to an increase of behavior problems among girls. Avoidance may prevent girls from reaching out for support when experiencing negative parenting behaviors, which can be particularly harmful to them given their tendency, and maybe their need, to rely more often on social support than boys do (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993; Patterson & McCubbin, 1987; Recklitis & Noam, 1999; Seiffge-Krenke, 1998).

No relationship was found between avoidance and behavior problems among boys. However, approach strategies were related to an increase in behavior problems. While interpreting this unexpected finding, it should be mentioned that children who are the target of psychological violence often feel that they exercise no control over their lives (Spasojevic & Alloy, 2002; Stuewig & McCloskey, 2005), since they cannot be held responsible for parental behavior and are often repeatedly unable to make the violence stop. In situations where perceived control is low, approach strategies have been called a “poor match” (Compas, Banez, Malcarne, & Worsham, 1991; Folkman, 1984), leading to worrying that is both time consuming and nonproductive (Roth & Cohen, 1986). More generally, boys may be less comfortable than girls with using a social support–seeking strategy, which is a type of approach strategy (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993; Patterson & McCubbin, 1987; Recklitis & Noam, 1999; Seiffge-Krenke, 1998). They might use it less effectively or against their will (e.g., when forced to see a counselor). No relationship was found between approach and behavior problems among girls. It could be that approach strategies have both negative and positive effects on girls, nullifying their impact on behavioral adjustment. For example, through help-seeking, girls could improve their self-esteem or temporarily alleviate distress related to psychological violence. But without being able to make the violence stop, they could still end up feeling helpless and angry.

On the whole, the present findings suggest that no particular coping style enhances behavioral adjustment in adolescents struggling with parental psychological violence. Under the stress generated by a violent relationship with parents, these youth may lack the ability to choose the best coping strategy for a particular situation; they might also be inflexible in their application of a certain coping style, which could decrease the efficacy of their coping strategy (Seiffge-Krenke, 1998). Of course, other mediators that were not included in our model may contribute to the explanation of the link between parental psychological violence and behavior problems, such as cognitive appraisal of violence (McGee & Wolfe, 1991).

Anchored in a stress-buffering conceptual framework, the present study also aimed at documenting the moderating effect of social support on the link between parental psychological violence and adolescent behavioral adjustment. Social support was expected to play a protective role, by buffering the detrimental effect of psychological violence. This hypothesis was not supported in the present study. First, availability of social support had no moderating effect in this context. Second, even if satisfaction toward social support had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between psychological violence and boys’ externalized problems, this effect was the opposite of what was expected. Greater satisfaction brought an increase in the relationship between psychological violence and externalized problems. This finding questions the quality of social support available to adolescents, especially boys. Support provided may have been satisfying for adolescents, but not good enough to enhance their behavioral adjustment (Perkins, Luster, & Jank, 2002), and possibly encouraging unhealthy or risky behaviors instead. Abused youths, especially boys, tend to have more deviant peers (Esposito & Clum, 2002), leading to an increase in depression symptoms (Bao et al., 2000), substance abuse (Patterson & McCubbin, 1987), externalized behaviors (Recklitis & Noam, 1999), and antisocial behavior (Kruttschnitt, Ward, & Sheble, 1987). This iatrogenic effect of social support has also been found in relation to support provided by adults (Perkins et al., 2002).

In sum, perceived social support did not act as a protective factor for adolescents facing parental psychological violence. Other studies found no protective role of social support regarding childhood maltreatment (Sagy & Dotan, 2001). According to Gurley (1991), people who experience violence and abuse are unlikely to build, maintain, and benefit from social support because they have come to believe they are not worthy of support and acceptance by others. Given the potential consequences of psychological violence, adolescents may lack abilities and/or an interest in building supportive relationships and may not be able to benefit from them (Doyle, 1997; Seiffge-Krenke, 1998). Furthermore, the present findings (see Table 2) show that availability of social support is not correlated with the use of approach strategies in facing relational difficulties with parents (r = .08), and the use of such strategies does not imply more satisfaction from social support (r = –.01).

Limitations and Strengths

Since this study uses a cross-sectional, correlational design, the scope of the findings is limited by the absence of information on the timing of the participants’ experiences. Indeed, it is impossible to reconstruct the temporal sequence of psychological violence occurrences, coping strategies, social support, and behavior problems. Also, the nonrepresentativeness of the sample limits generalization of the findings. Finally, since youths were the only respondents, shared method variance may have artificially increased relationships between variables included in the study. However, the fact that adolescents were questioned directly about their experiences is an important original feature, since their perception is important to consider when evaluating the relationship between psychological violence and psychological adaptation (McGee, Wolfe, Yuen, Wilson, & Carnochan, 1995). The limits of the present study are also compensated by the sensitive measure of psychological violence and the relatively large sample of adolescents who participated in the study.

Practical Implications

In a qualitative study of adolescents reporting parental psychological violence to a hot-line service (Gagné et al., 2010), youths reported that some coping strategies make them feel better, such as avoiding contact with the aggressor or disclosing violence to a confidant for instance, as well as compassion, comprehension, and validation they receive from their informal support network (adults and peers). However, the present findings suggest that “feeling better” may not be equivalent to behavioral adjustment. Social support and coping strategies might help relieve psychological distress to a certain extent but do not seem sufficient to sustain a significant enhancement of behavioral adjustment. This acknowledgment underscores the importance of preventing parental psychological violence (Gagné, Melançon, & Malo, 2009).

Nevertheless, for youth who are the target of such violence, intervention strategies must be put in place. What is effective for one adolescent in dealing with a specific pattern of psychologically violent parental behavior may not be as effective for another adolescent in a different context. Fully assessing family dynamics and adolescent functioning before intervening with youth is crucial when dealing with psychological violence. It is also important to consider the adolescents’ vulnerability: They still depend on their parents and most of them have little power or control over their parents’ behavior. Moreover, they do not always possess the resources or ability to improve their relationship with their parents. Interventions directed at parents, such as helping them to improve their parental practices and sensitivity (Wolfe, 1991), are central (Marneffe, 1997; Steele, 1997). Respite measures for adolescents might also be helpful, since adolescents typically ask for them (Gagné et al., 2010). This kind of setting could provide counseling to help adolescents alleviate some negative effects of psychological violence in working on cognition, self-esteem, and social skills, for example.

Simply having social support may not be helpful to all people (McLewin & Muller, 2006). Peer relationships among youth in difficulty should be closely supervised by adults and school professionals. Intervention regarding a youth’s ability to benefit from social support should also be established. Group therapy may also prove useful and motivating for adolescents (Ranney & Cottone, 1991).

Further research should examine different forms of psychological violence and their relationship with coping and psychological adjustment in more detail, including the adolescent’s appraisal of his or her situation. Regarding social support, it is important to study adult and peer contributions separately, since they can be quite different. Longitudinal studies are crucial to understand directionality of the links between parental psychological violence, adolescents’ behavior problems, and various potential mediators and moderators of this relationship. The body of literature on psychological violence is growing; efforts should also be directed at building and evaluating prevention and intervention programs pertaining to this issue.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Sylvie Drapeau, Francine Lavoie, Andrée Fortin, and Stéphane Sabourin for their comments on this manuscript, Hans Ivers for statistical support, as well as Hugh Glasco, for linguistic revision.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the “Centre de recherche sur l’adaptation des jeunes et des familles à risque - JEFAR” (Research centre on at-risk youths’ and families’ adjustment) as well as the « Centre jeunesse de Québec – Institut universitaire » (Quebec Youth Protection Centre–University institute), both granted by the “Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture” (Quebec Fund for Research on Society and Culture). It was also supported by doctoral fellowships provided by the “Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture” (Quebec Fund for Research on Society and Culture), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Notes

Bios

Marie-Hélène Gagné, PhD, is professor at the School of Psychology, Laval University. She is part of the Research Center on at-risk youths’ and families’ adjustment (JEFAR: Centre de recherche sur l’adaptation des jeunes et des familles à risque).

Claudiane Melançon, PhD, is a clinical psychologist.

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