NCJ Number
202080
Date Published
2003
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Using a probability sample of 1,014 Jewish Israeli youth between the ages of 13 and 18, this study examined the impact of adolescents' exposure to father-to-mother aggression on their perceptions of affinity with their parents.
Abstract
The study hypothesized that adolescents' exposure to interparental violence would reduce affinity with their parents, which may explain one link between exposure to interparental violence and adolescent development. A structured self-report questionnaire measured adolescents' perceptions of the frequency of their father's physical/verbal aggression toward their mother, perceptions of their closeness to their parents, and perceptions of their resemblance to their parents ("Who of your parents do you resemble in personality?"). Structural equation models were used to analyze and interpret the data. The study found a negative correlation between adolescents' perceptions of father-to-mother aggression and adolescents' perceptions of affinity with their parents. Thus, as aggression between father and mother increased, adolescents' affinity with their parents decreased. Interparental aggression was found to have a significant and direct negative impact on adolescents' closeness with their parents. Its impact on resemblance was negative and mediated by closeness. Although the research design did not permit causal inferences to be made, the findings indicate that adolescents perceive that interparental violence erodes their sense of belonging within family emotional dynamics. Such distancing from parents may have developmental implications during the most critical period when self-identity is being formed. Study limitations are discussed. 3 figures and 71 references