Experiencing and Witnessing Familial Aggression and Their Relationship to Physically Aggressive Behaviors Among Filipino Adolescents

• NCJ Number: 222662
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 18 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2003 Pages: 1432-1451
• Author(s): Christopher D. Maxwell; Sheila Royo Maxwell
• Date Published: December 2003
• Length: 20 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Michigan State University; National Science Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis outlines the salience of family violence (either child-directed or child-witnessed) in explaining antisocial behaviors among Filipino adolescents.

Abstract

Findings from the analysis specifically illustrate that child-directed and child-witnessed violence influence adolescent aggression. The findings also show that of the two family violence measures examined, witnessing violence had the largest observed effect on aggression. In addition, study findings suggest that traditional criminological studies of antisocial behaviors should routinely include multiple measures of family violence as independent explanations of these behaviors. The results give credence to the family violence thesis because both measures of family violence were statistically significant explanations of aggression by Filipino adolescents, as well as evidence that the effects of family violence on aggressive conduct by adolescents are perhaps generalizable across cultural environments. The effects of family violence on children’s aggressive behaviors have been the focus of much research with current research supporting the positive relationship between family violence and aggressive behavior in adolescents. However, several questions remain regarding the nature of this relationship. This study focuses on three of these ambiguities: (1) the specific effects on aggression of child-directed violence versus child-witnessed violence; (2) the salience of family violence as an explanation of aggression when other theoretically relevant explanations of aggression are controlled; and (3) the gender-specific effects of family violence. Using a probability sample of adolescents from a medium-sized city in the Philippines, this study assessed the effects of child-directed and child-witnessed violence between parents on aggressive behaviors of adolescents. Tables and references