Parental reactions to parent- and sibling-directed aggression within a domestic violence context

Abstract

Parent- and sibling-directed aggression by minor children are two forms of family violence that often co-occur and have strong relations to prior exposure to domestic violence, yet are often overlooked in intervention efforts. In addition, current research does not examine these forms of family violence in tandem, and there is very limited research with samples exposed to domestic violence. To better understand how these forms of aggression operate within a domestic violence context, we interviewed 44 women residing in a domestic violence shelter with at least one child over 3.5 years of age who was aggressive toward them and/or siblings. Caregivers reported on their emotional reactions to children’s parent-directed aggression and the types of and effectiveness of help they sought for parent- and/or sibling-directed aggression. In line with previous literature, caregivers endorsed a complex mix of emotional reactions to their children’s parent-directed aggression, including anger, sadness, guilt, forgiveness, and worthlessness. In contrast to other studies, most caregivers (89%) had sought help for children’s parent- and/or sibling-directed aggression and found it effective. Findings contribute to the literature on parent- and sibling-directed aggression and provide implications for how to effectively intervene.

Keywords

Parent-directed aggression parent abuse sibling aggression domestic violence interventions

In recent years, our awareness and knowledge of family violence and how to intervene, particularly in cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) and child maltreatment, have increased tremendously (Coogan, 2011; Edenborough, Wilkes, Jackson, & Mannix, 2011; Kennair & Mellor, 2007; Relva, Fernandes, & Mota, 2013). However, parent- and sibling-directed aggression are two forms of family violence that are often overlooked in intervention efforts (Calvete, Orue, Gámez-Guadix, & Bushman, 2015; Condry & Miles, 2014; Coogan, 2011; Hoetger, Hazen, & Brank, 2015; Tippett & Wolke, 2015). This study examines parental reactions to these forms of aggression perpetrated by children against family members within the context of domestic violence (DV) and addresses implications for intervention.

Family violence perpetrated by children against their parents or “parent abuse” is defined as “any act of a child that is intended to cause physical, psychological or financial damage to gain power and control over a parent” (Cottrell & Canada Family Violence Prevention Unit, 2001, p. 3). As recently as 2016, an entry on Family Violence in the Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment noted how the definition of family violence has expanded to include same-sex adult couples, parent to child, adult child to parent, and sibling to sibling violence. However, missing from this description were acts committed by minor children toward parents (Hayden, 2016). In addition, a PsycINFO keyword search of relevant terms conducted on 26 June 2017 returns 27,415 results for “child maltreatment” or “child abuse” and 15,449 results for ‘“intimate partner violence’’ or ‘‘domestic violence’’ but only 59 results for ‘‘parent abuse’’ or ‘‘parent-directed aggression.’’ Of these, there are 11 peer-reviewed publications that address intervention for perpetrators of parent abuse; however, these include single case studies (Ingamells & Epston, 2014; Micucci, 1995; Robinson, Wright, & Watson, 1994) or studies with a sample size of less than 10 (Holt & Retford, 2013; Messiah & Johnson, 2017) and many manuscripts that solely focus on adolescents (Correll, Walker, & Edwards, 2017; Holt, 2016; Messiah & Johnson, 2017; Micucci, 1995; Miles & Condry, 2015; Price, 1999).

Another less investigated form of family violence is aggression between siblings, which includes physical aggression, psychological abuse, and sexual abuse or incest (Relva et al., 2013). A PsycINFO keyword search of “sibling aggression” or “sibling abuse” returns 138 results, 12 of which directly address intervention. However, much of this literature is based on case studies (Allison & Allison, 1971; Caffaro, 2011; Caspi, 2008, 2012; Gnaulati, 2002; Haskins, 2003), focuses only on sexual abuse or incest (Caffaro, 2011; Caffaro & Conn-Caffaro, 2005; Haskins, 2003), or restricts the ages of the children studied (Linares et al., 2015; Nakaha, Grimes, Nadler, & Roberts, 2016; Olson & Roberts, 1987). Furthermore, despite studies suggesting these two forms of family violence co-occur (Cottrell & Canada Family Violence Prevention Unit, 2001; Harbin & Madden, 1979; Hunter, Nixon, & Parr, 2010), none of the studies addressing intervention for parent- or sibling-directed aggression considers both in tandem.

It is clear that parent- and sibling-directed aggression are not as widely studied as other forms of family violence such as IPV and child maltreatment and that the research addressing intervention for these forms of family violence is in its beginning stages (Holt, 2016). However, it is imperative that we factor them into our definitions of family violence and put intervention efforts behind them. According to a review of studies that have examined the prevalence of child-to-parent aggression, Calvete, Gámez-Guadix, and Garcia-Salvador (2014) note that the prevalence of violence against parents is reported to range from 5% to 21% for physical aggression and 45% to 65% for psychological aggression. The latest administration of The National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, a comprehensive questionnaire administered to different cohorts of a large national sample of children (aged 0–17 years) over time, estimated the lifetime prevalence of physical assault by a juvenile sibling to be 29% (Finkelhor, Turner, Shattuck, & Hamby, 2015). When it comes to psychological and physical aggression between siblings (not necessarily physical assault), studies in the United States, Canada, and Spain have reported prevalence rates to be anywhere from around 30–80% (Button & Gealt, 2010), making sibling aggression the most common form of family violence (Hoetger et al., 2015).

Not only is the prevalence of parent- and sibling-directed aggression relatively high, but both can also have serious negative consequences on the victims of such aggression. Health problems may worsen or develop for parents as a result of coping with their children’s violent behavior toward them (Coogan, 2011; Holt & Retford, 2013), and being a victim of sibling aggression is associated with negative emotional and behavioral outcomes (Eriksen & Jensen, 2009), including anxiety, low self-esteem (Graham-Bermann, Cutler, Litzenberger, & Schwartz, 1994), depression, and self-harm (Bowes, Wolke, Joinson, Lereya, & Lewis, 2014). In addition, although there are a number of well-established interventions for addressing children’s aggression, children who exhibit aggression toward parents and siblings pose a unique challenge. Children engaging in aggression directed toward parents involves a complicated power dynamic in which the parent is legally responsible for the child and cannot simply remove the aggressor or ignore him or her. In the case of children exhibiting aggression against a sibling, removal or avoidance of the aggressor is often not an option and the victim must continue to reside in the same home because of the non-voluntary and enduring nature of sibling relationships (Hoffman & Edwards, 2004). Therefore, efforts to intervene must take these specific challenges into consideration.

Parent- and sibling-directed aggression within the context of DV

Considering the negative outcomes that can result, it is key that practitioners are knowledgeable about how best to treat these families, and to implement effective interventions, clinicians need a better understanding of the context in which these forms of family violence occur. Both of these forms of aggression are strongly related to prior exposure to DV (Bowes et al., 2014; Button & Gealt, 2010; Coogan, 2011; Hoffman, Kiecolt, & Edwards, 2005; Hong, Kral, Espelage, & Allen-Meares, 2012). Gallagher (2004) describes that in his experience working with over 60 families where children were violent to parents, one of the most common patterns is single mothers being victimized by children after having experienced IPV. Despite this well-established link, to our knowledge, only one study has examined aggression directed against mothers in a sample of children exposed to IPV (Izaguirre & Calvete, 2015), and two studies have examined sibling-directed aggression in children with a history of exposure to IPV versus a comparison sample of children who were not exposed to DV (Piotrowski & Cameranesi, 2017; Waddell, Pepler, & Moore, 2001). These forms of aggression can be re-traumatizing for parents and other children in the home who have already been witnesses to IPV, and thus, it is important to better understand how they operate in such an environment.

Parental reactions to parent- and sibling-directed aggression

Although these forms of family violence have rarely been examined in a sample exposed to IPV, previous research provides insight into how parents experience their children’s aggression directed toward them and their other children. In considering how to intervene, one of the most important factors is that many parents do not seek help for their children’s aggression (Eckstein, 2004) and are reluctant to talk about it (Edenborough et al., 2011). In the case of parent-directed aggression, some parents fear their children will get in trouble if they report their children’s abusive behaviors, so they choose to hide the problem instead in order to protect them (Paterson, Luntz, Perlesz, & Cotton, 2002; Walsh & Krienert, 2009). Other parents have felt they could have benefited from professional help but just did not know where to turn (Jackson, 2003). Sibling-directed aggression is often viewed as normal behavior (Eriksen & Jensen, 2009; Hoffman et al., 2005; Skinner & Kowalski, 2013), which may be the main reason parents do not seek help.

Although there are parents who have sought help for such behaviors, their experiences may explain their reluctance to seek help thereafter. Specifically, some parents who have sought help have been disappointed (Holt & Retford, 2013) or felt the problem was not understood (Paterson et al., 2002) because they perceived that providers viewed the problem as a failure of parenting and were thus given ineffective parenting advice. Perhaps more important is the societal tendency to blame parents for their children’s bad behavior (Gallagher, 2004; Tew & Nixon, 2010), which results in parents being blamed or judged even when their children are the ones abusing them (Coogan, 2011; Cottrell & Canada Family Violence Prevention Unit, 2001; Holt & Retford, 2013; Hunter et al., 2010). In fact, many parents have experienced overt blame, judgment, minimization or dismissal of the problem, and even criminalization (e.g. threats of or actual charges of child abuse) from law enforcement, counselors, pediatricians, psychiatrists, and school professionals (Cottrell & Monk, 2004; Eckstein, 2004; Edenborough, Jackson, Mannix, & Wilkes, 2008; Gallagher, 2004; Stewart, Burns, & Leonard, 2007), leading parents to fear their own criminalization or feel that practitioners may side with other family members (Holt, 2011).

Beyond facing blame and judgment from society and service providers, research suggests many parents feel shame about their children’s parent-directed aggression and believe they are at fault for not being able to control it or stop it, with some parents even minimizing or denying the problem altogether (Cottrell & Canada Family Violence Prevention Unit, 2001; Cottrell & Monk, 2004; Eckstein, 2004; Edenborough et al., 2008; Gallagher, 2004; Harbin & Madden, 1979; Holt & Retford, 2013; Kennair & Mellor, 2007; Stewart et al., 2007). Aside from shame and guilt, some parents feel helpless or powerless to stop or prevent the abuse (Hong et al., 2012; Micucci, 1995; Tew & Nixon, 2010), as well as intimidated, threatened, and distressed (Jackson, 2003). Based on the varied experiences of parents dealing with these forms of family violence and how it may influence whether they seek help, an understanding of how parents who have experienced IPV react to their children’s parent- and sibling-directed aggression is needed.

Current study

To address the limitations of the current literature, we chose to interview women who were residing in a DV shelter to add to the very limited literature studying parent- and sibling-directed aggression in a DV shelter context and better understand how these forms of children’s aggression operate in children exposed to IPV. In addition, we combined the separate yet related literatures of parent- and sibling-directed aggression by asking these mothers about their experience with both, and to our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the implications of parent- and sibling-directed aggression together. Thus, compared to other work on these forms of family violence, our research involves a more comprehensive view of the types of aggression occurring in the home among a more disadvantaged population under highly stressful conditions. Based on our review of the literature, we formulated the following research questions relevant to addressing interventions with families experiencing parent- and sibling-directed aggression within the context of IPV:

When children’s aggression is directed toward caregivers, what are the caregivers’ emotional reactions and feelings regarding this aggression?

What types of help have these caregivers sought to address their children’s parent- and/or sibling-directed aggression and did they find this help effective?

Method

Participants

Participants were 44 caregivers (M_age = 29.9 years; standard deviation (SD) = 7.8; range = 19.2–52.8) recruited from a large metropolitan area in Minnesota through a multi-service agency, which is the largest provider of DV services in the state. Through their services—which include safe shelter, housing, legal services, mental and chemical health counseling, violence prevention, intervention, and support—they provide direct services to nearly 40,000 men, women, and children annually. Participants can access shelter or housing services for safety needs due to experiences with domestic or relationship violence, sexual assault by someone who is not a partner, or sexual exploitation.

Participants had to have at least one child between the age of 3.5 and 21 years who had engaged in aggressive behaviors toward caregivers and/or siblings and who had lived with them in the past year. However, participants were asked to report on the aggressive behaviors of all children in the home. A lower age limit of 3.5 years was chosen for several reasons. First, it is difficult to identify intentional aggression in children below this age. In addition, we wanted to address the limitation of the parent-directed aggression literature that often only examines this form of family violence perpetrated by adolescent children despite evidence that it begins at younger ages (Ulman & Straus, 2003), with one study examining children as young as 2.6 years old and finding 5.0 years to be the average age of onset (Nock & Kazdin, 2002). In addition, preschool- and toddler-aged children are often considered in studies of sibling-directed aggression. Furthermore, because there is such a limited literature that examines these forms of aggression in women who have experienced IPV and this population is more difficult to reach than those used in others studies, we wanted to maximize the sample size and decided to include a large age range. However, this is not to suggest that such aggression and the intent behind it or implications of it are the same across the entire age range.

We recruited participants using flyers hung up by staff in their three locations and sign-up sheets that were kept at the front desk of the two locations that have a shelter. Participation was voluntary and shelter staff provided potential participants with information about the study and informed them how they could participate. Due to privacy concerns and the level of confidentiality required to conduct research with this population, we could not obtain the number of all women in the shelter who met our eligibility criteria, and shelter staff did not actively recruit participants. Thus, we were unable to obtain a true response rate. However, we spent 9 months collecting data, and out of the nearly 40,000 people the agency reaches per year, about 540 adults and 744 children reside in the shelter locations annually. Participants had to be fluent enough in English by their own report to do the interview. Caregivers were provided with a US$20 gift card for participation.

Three other participants were excluded from analyses. One participant withdrew from the study after being interviewed, one was excluded due to concerns of ongoing child maltreatment which resulted in reporting to Child Protective Services (CPS), and the third was excluded due to concerns with the validity of her responses.

Procedure

Participants were provided with information about the purpose of the study, procedures involved, and the potential risks and benefits of participating, and were ensured that they have the option to decline answering any questions or to withdraw from the study at any point. If they agreed to participate in the study based on this information, they then provided written consent to proceed. Interviews were conducted by a PhD level academic clinical psychologist, a graduate student in Child Psychology, and three undergraduate students. Undergraduate student interviewers were trained by attending the DV shelter’s six-session orientation for new volunteers. After completing the orientation, they observed at least two interviews conducted by the graduate student and/or psychologist and then were observed conducting at least two interviews by the graduate student and/or psychologist. The interviews lasted approximately 1 hour, and the caregivers were usually interviewed alone without their children present in the room to increase the validity of their responses. However, children were present in the room in five cases due to the parents not being able to arrange child care.

Interview form

At the onset of the study, we were not aware of any well-established questionnaires or interview forms that had good psychometric properties and that included detailed information on both parent- and sibling-directed aggression. Therefore, we created our own interview form based on issues raised in previous studies of parent- and sibling-directed aggression. Most of the items about the children’s aggressive behaviors and caregivers’ emotional reactions to their children’s aggression were taken from a study of parent-directed aggression by Cottrell and Canada Family Violence Prevention Unit (2001). We also used information about caregivers’ emotional reactions and help-seeking behaviors that were identified in other studies (Eckstein, 2004; Kennair & Mellor, 2007; Pagani, Lacroque, Vitaro, & Tremblay, 2003)

The interview form included questions about, but was not limited to,

Demographic information for the caregiver;

Familial relationships between caregivers and children living in the home;

Any other adults who lived in the home during the past year;

The caregivers’ emotional reactions to their children’s parent-directed aggression only;

The types of help that the caregivers sought for their children’s parent- and/or sibling-directed aggression (professional and non-professional) and for each type of help, ratings of (1) to what extent they felt respected/listened to and (2) to what extent they felt the help contributed to a solution to the problem.

The complete interview form and participant data are available from the first author upon request.

All questions were answered by caregiver self-report and inter-rater reliability was not assessed, as most questions were close-ended and did not require further interpretation; however, interviewers gave caregivers an opportunity to elaborate on their responses as necessary.

All research activities were approved by the University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board (Assurance of Compliance Number FWA00000312).

Data analyses

Data were checked for missing values, and continuous data were checked for outliers and normality. Descriptive statistics are presented where appropriate. Bootstrapped confidence intervals are presented for most of these statistics. Most of the continuous variables were distributed non-normally, and we used heteroscedastic analyses of variance (ANOVAs) for trimmed means to analyze ratings of help (Mair, Schoenbrodt, & Wilcox, 2015). All data analyses were conducted in R (version 0.98.1091).

Results

Demographic characteristics of the caregivers

Of the 44 caregivers who participated, two were grandmothers of the target children and the rest were mothers. On average, caregivers had 2.9 children (range = 1–9) who were 21 or younger and who lived with them at least part-time during the previous year. Thus, caregivers reported on 128 children (mean age = 8.0 years; SD = 4.4; range = 0.7–21.3; 51% male). One was a grandchild, one was the child of a relative/friend, two were children of the mother’s boyfriend, and the rest were caregivers’ biological children. A fifth (18%) of the caregivers had other children who had not lived with them during the past year. Out of the 128 children reported on, those who were older than 3.5 years of age and had at least one sibling were included in analyses, resulting in a sample size of 99 children. Of these children, caregivers reported that in the past year, half (47%) of the children had been aggressive toward their parents (N = 47), 69% of the children had been aggressive toward their siblings (N = 68), and more than a third (38%) had engaged in both forms of aggression (N = 38).

Most of the caregivers were African American (55%). The others were of two or more races (20%), Caucasian (11%), Native American (9%), native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (2%), and “other” (2%). As might be expected from a shelter population, the caregivers’ level of socioeconomic status was low. Most were not highly educated (23% did not complete high school, 32% were high school graduates, and 39% had some college but did not graduate). Almost half (48%) was unemployed and looking for work, and a quarter (25%) was unemployed due to disability. Only a small proportion of the sample (13%) was employed part- or full-time or going to school. Caregivers’ median monthly income was US$500 (range: US$0–US$2612), and the large majority (89%) was receiving some form of public assistance.

Most (84%) caregivers reported that they had been single throughout the past year; only 5% had been married throughout this period. However, most (73%) had at least one adult living with them during the past year, including 60% who had lived with a spouse or partner. Three-quarters (74%) of the children lived full-time, and 8% lived more than half the time with the caregiver.

At the time of interview, all but one caregiver was living in the shelter. Median time at the shelter was 4.0 weeks (range = 1 day to 22 weeks). The one caregiver who was not living in the shelter had moved to a more permanent location the day prior to the interview.

Emotional reactions of the parents to children’s parent-directed aggression

Caregivers who reported that their children had aggressed against them were asked whether they had experienced any of 14 feelings in the past year about the parent-directed aggression of each of their children. They were asked to indicate their feelings about the behaviors that concerned them the most with a yes or no; they were allowed to endorse multiple items if they wished. The five most commonly endorsed items were anger (34%), sadness/depression (31%), and guilt (30%), followed by forgiveness: my child didn’t really mean to do harm (27%), and feelings of worthlessness, uselessness, and feeling ineffective or disrespected as a parent (27%). The five least commonly endorsed items were “scared, intimidated, fear for my safety” (9%), “worried that the child will get into trouble if word gets out” (11%), “scared for the safety of the other children in the household” (13%), “doesn’t’ bother me” (14%), and “victimized, trapped, powerless, helpless” (16%). Parents were also asked whether they had other feelings that were not listed, but only 3.9% gave this response. At the end of the interview, when asked whether they had any worries about the future regarding their children’s parent- or sibling-directed aggression, 57% said yes, and the rest said no.

Seeking help for children’s parent- and/or sibling-directed aggression

Caregivers were asked whether they had sought help from anyone for their children’s parent- or sibling-directed aggression and 89% of caregivers had sought help from someone. We divided help into three categories: (1) non-professional help (significant other, friends, family); (2) professional help from mental health professionals (school social worker, drug or alcohol abuse treatment for the child, psychologist/counselor outside of school to work with the child or the parent, social worker or case worker outside of school to work with the child or the parent, psychiatrist for the parent or the child, and shelter staff); and (3) help from non-mental health professionals (children’s teachers, police, organized religion, 911, helpline, pediatrician, or other medical doctor or nurse). Parents were asked to rate the extent to which they felt listened to and respected (1 = not at all, 10 = extremely) and the extent to which the help contributed to the problem solution (1 = not at all, 10 = extremely).

Table 1 shows the percentage of parents who sought help from each source and the mean ratings of the questions about respect and contribution as well as confidence intervals around the means. The caregivers’ ratings of either respect or contribution did not differ significantly from each other for the three groups.

Table 1.

Percentage of parents who sought help and median ratings of respect and contribution based on type of help.

Variable	Non-professionals	Mental health professionals	Non-mental health professionals
Sought help	77%	82%	61%
Felt listened to/respected	7.5 [CI = 5.1, 9.2]	8.2 [CI = 7.8, 0.6]	8.9 [CI = 7.0, 10.00]
Contributed to solution of the problem	6.3 [CI = 3.8, 8.0]	7.4 [CI = 4.6, 8.0]	7.8 [CI = 3.7, 9.0]

CI: confidence interval.

Discussion

Summary of results and relation to previous research

The most common reactions these caregivers exhibited toward their children’s aggression directed toward them were anger, sadness/depression, guilt, forgiveness, and feelings of worthlessness or ineffectiveness. Feelings of guilt and ineffectiveness as a parent are well in line with those emotional reactions of other caregivers reported in the previous literature (Eckstein, 2004). Feelings of forgiveness or believing that the child did not really mean to do harm and stating that they have no worries about the future of the child’s parent- and sibling-directed aggression may be reflective of some parents’ tendency to minimize or deny the problem. However, considering that most of the parents in our sample did seek help for their children’s parent- and/or sibling-directed aggression, it is also likely that parents are aware a problem exists but want to hope for the best when it comes to their children despite present challenges. Thus, the feelings and emotions these caregivers who had experienced IPV had about their children’s parent-directed aggression are similar to those shared by other caregivers who may be less disadvantaged and under less stressful conditions. No single reaction was shared by the majority of the participants and caregivers were likely to experience a range of reactions, which reflects the complex nature of the problem.

Almost all of the caregivers in this sample (89%) had sought help for their children’s parent- or sibling-directed aggression. This challenges the narrative presented in other sources that have stated these caregivers often do not seek help (Cottrell & Monk, 2004; Eckstein, 2004; Harbin & Madden, 1979; Jackson, 2003). There are a number of potential reasons for this discrepancy, and a difference in samples may be the most salient. For example, this finding in Eckstein (2004) is based on interviews with 20 parents recruited through a parent network/word-of-mouth and who were a fairly homogeneous sample demographically different from ours (all Caucasian parents ranging in age from 35 to 55 years). In the study by Jackson (2003), the mothers stated that they could have benefited from professional help but just did not know where to turn. This particular study was qualitative and based on the perspectives of six women. Aside from demographic and sample size differences, we considered more types of help than most studies by including professional and non-professional sources such as family and friends. In addition, our results could be reflective of a population that is more prone to seek help. By residing in a DV shelter, these women are already seeking help for IPV and may be more equipped to access resources based on their needs. Women who have experienced IPV may also be more apt to recognize inappropriate aggressive behaviors from their children and more sensitive to how such behaviors negatively impact them and their family.

We also asked the caregivers in our study to rate to what extent they felt respected or listened to and to what extent the help they sought contributed to a solution in the problem. Both were rated highly overall. In other studies, caregivers did not find the help they sought effective (Holt & Retford, 2013; Paterson et al., 2002), felt judged or blamed (Eckstein, 2004; Edenborough et al., 2008; Gallagher, 2004), or had their problems dismissed from health or school professionals (Stewart et al., 2007). However, most of these studies are based on very small and homogeneous samples (Eckstein, 2004; Paterson et al., 2002), are based on practitioners’ accounts (Gallagher, 2004; Holt & Retford, 2013), and/or the mothers were not directly asked about what kind of help they sought (Edenborough et al., 2008). Another noteworthy finding from our study is that there were no significant differences in perceptions of effectiveness between professional and non-professional help. These results indicate a need for future researchers to inquire about informal support networks and for professionals to harness the strength of such networks to ensure potential sources of help, such as family, friends, and peers, are well educated, informed, and equipped to provide assistance and resources if called upon.

Limitations

Our sample size was small, all data were based on caregiver self-report, and we did not have a comparison sample. In addition, due to the absence of comprehensive and established measures of parent- and sibling-directed aggression in the literature, this questionnaire was developed based on previous research on these forms of aggression and does not have established psychometric properties. Furthermore, although our broad age range addressed the tendency for studies of parent-directed aggression to focus exclusively on adolescent samples, the relatively small sample size prevented us from taking into account developmental differences.

In addition, due to the confidentiality and privacy involved in conducting research with women residing in a DV shelter, we are unable to obtain perspectives on these children’s aggression from other adults who were residing in the home. Furthermore, although males also experience IPV and male caregivers experience parent-directed aggression, as with most DV shelters, almost all of the adult residents were women, and thus, we were not able to consider how parental reactions may differ for men.

Results may not generalize to populations who are middle- to high-income or who have a permanent residence. In addition, we did not assess in detail the types of intervention the caregivers had sought for their children’s aggression and do not know the nature of the help that was sought, for example, type, duration, frequency, and in the case of treatment with professionals, the caregivers’ level of adherence/compliance.

Implications for researchers and practitioners and future research directions

It is important to consider how parent- and sibling-directed aggression may operate in families who have experienced IPV. Although the emotional reactions of the caregivers to aggression directed toward them in our study were very similar to those of other caregivers in previous studies, their help-seeking behavior aggression directed toward them or siblings was very different. Most of the caregivers had sought help for their children’s parent- and/or sibling-directed aggression, and, on average, they found the help they obtained to be effective. This challenges the narrative presented in the current literature. Furthermore, it is important that researchers and practitioners not limit their assessments of these parents’ help seeking to professional help and that practitioners promote more ways of ensuring sources such as family and friends continue to support these caregivers once treatment is terminated. Educating potential support networks and the public about how to help caregivers dealing with these forms of aggression could go a long way in further addressing this problem. However, as both forms of aggression are seriously underreported, it is also critical that efforts are put forth to reach those who are not seeking help on their own. Assessing the presence of these forms of aggression in families who are known to have experienced IPV may be a good starting point.

More generally, future studies should examine these forms of children’s aggression from a developmental perspective, especially considering that they may occur at relatively young ages, and, if left unaddressed, may progress into the more severe forms seen in adolescents who become involved with the juvenile justice system. In addition, considering the level of co-occurrence between these forms of aggression, it is imperative that future studies examine both.

The function of children’s aggression is another future research direction. Findings suggest that parent-directed aggression may be more proactive (Calvete, Orue, & Gámez-Guadix, 2013), whereas sibling-directed aggression may be more reactive (Tucker, Cox, et al., 2013). Several suggestions have been offered for why children engage in parent-directed aggression including using it as a means of control to get their way or get back at parents for being abused or witnessing abuse (Coogan, 2011; Margolin & Baucom, 2014).

Related to the function of the child’s aggression are the nature and quality of the relationship with their parents and siblings. Children who aggress against parents or siblings report poorer relationships with them (Kennair & Mellor, 2007; Tippett & Wolke, 2015). In the case of sibling-directed aggression, researchers have noted such behavior often stems from jealousy or resentment on the part of the aggressor due to perceptions that they are being treated unequally or unfairly by parents (Caffaro & Conn-Caffaro, 2005; Gnaulati, 2002; Haskins, 2003).

It is clear from our findings that many parents want and seek help with their children’s aggression directed toward them and siblings, but as noted previously, research on interventions for these forms of family violence is still in its beginning stages. However, a number of current interventions for parent-directed aggression, including a family treatment approach (Holt, 2011; Holt & Retford, 2013; Micucci, 1995; Miles & Condry, 2015; Robinson et al., 1994; Rybski, 1999), a trauma-informed treatment model (Nowakowski-Sims & Rowe, 2015), and cognitive behavioral therapy combined with a restorative justice framework (Correll et al., 2017; Routt & Anderson, 2011), appear promising. Although, these approaches are limited by their focus on adolescents whose aggression was severe enough to warrant involvement with the juvenile justice system, which further delineates the importance of future research to address intervention for less severe parent-directed aggression in younger children. When it comes to interventions that address aggression between siblings, time out (Adams & Kelley, 1992; Allison & Allison, 1971; Olson & Roberts, 1987), family approaches (Caspi, 2008, 2012; Haskins, 2003), and focusing on promoting bonds between siblings (Linares et al., 2015) have been found to be effective. Although, interventions for parent- and sibling-directed aggression are limited by their sole focus on one type despite evidence that they often co-occur, indicating a need for examining these forms of aggression in tandem for intervention efforts to be truly comprehensive.

Conclusion

Parent- and sibling-directed aggression are often overlooked in intervention efforts. Research on interventions for these forms of aggression is still in the beginning stages and does not examine ways to intervene with both forms of aggression in tandem. Our findings with this unique, high-risk sample add to the limited research addressing interventions with these families within the context of IPV. As this literature advances and interventions further progress through development, evaluation, and implementation, it is imperative researchers and practitioners consider current limitations and ensure parent- and sibling-directed aggression’s strong links to IPV are not overlooked.

Footnotes

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: The preparation of this manuscript was supported by a fellowship awarded to the first author through the National Science Foundation (00039202).

ORCID iD

Michelle P Desir:

Canan Karatekin:

Author biographies

Michelle P Desir, MA, is an advanced PhD candidate in the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. Her research primarily focuses on understanding factors that influence the developmental trajectory of children who have experienced victimization and other forms of trauma.

Canan Karatekin, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on the causes, correlates, and consequences of adverse childhood experiences in different populations

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