Following on from the Guardian article at the weekend, there has been coverage across radio and TV regarding the findings of the Oxford University research study into adolescent to parent violence. You can listen to an interview on the BBC Radio 4 PM programme here for the next week (about 50 minutes in). In it ‘Jane’ describes living in fear of her son after a violent assault with a knife, the guilt and shame experienced by parents in her situation, and the help she received from the Rosalie Ryrie Foundation in Wakefield. Her son spent one year living out of the home, but has now returned and with the help she receives she has been able to be more confident in the way she responds to his behaviour, walking away when necessary and establishing good boundaries – feeling safer, though not entirely safe still at this time. Rachel Condry, author of the study, and Joe Lettieri, of PAARS in Enfield, also appeared on the early evening BBC London News television programme, and the interview is to be shown again this evening in the late news programme.
Category Archives: Research
That thing …
… When you do or think something and suddenly everyone else is doing the same? Well it’s been that sort of day!
Following the presentation of the key findings and recommendations on Thursday, Professor David Gadd of Manchester University received coverage across a number of radio stations for the From Boys to Men Project, which examined why some young men go on to become perpetrators of domestic abuse, and what can be done to prevent this. The research found strong correlations with past experience of domestic violence in the home, but David Gadd made it clear that this did not amount to causation. The authors of the research call for the development of preventative work in schools, with work on violence and abuse included in sex and relationship education. Continue reading
Filed under news reports, radio and video, Research
Weekend round-up
Over the last weeks a number of things have caught my attention and I thought it worth while bringing them all together here before they get lost.
A new journal article from Mounir H Fawzi, Mohab M Fawzi & Amira A Fouad, Parent abuse by adolescents with first-episode psychosis in Egypt, Journal of Adolescent Health, published online 16.08.13 (abstract here). The purpose of the research was to determine rates of parent abuse among this group of adolescents presenting at outpatients, and to identify the association between parent abuse and a number of socioeconomic and clinical factors. I found the article interesting for a number of reasons. It does not seem so long a time since people were asking whether parent abuse was a phenomenon confined to western societies with particularly lax forms of parenting, yet time and time again there are news items and articles emerging from societies right across the world. The findings show clear bias towards sons as abusers and mothers as victims, (apologies for the terminology which I know is uncomfortable for some people). Once again parent abuse is described as a taboo, a hidden problem, and there is a call for greater awareness raising, education and support. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, publications, Research
New Adolescent Violence to Parents website goes live
I was really thrilled this week to see the new website from Rachel Condry and Caroline Miles at Oxford University.
This website has been developed from the ESRC-funded research project ‘investigating Adolescent Violence towards Parents’ based in the Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford. The site shares findings from the project and draws together knowledge and experience of APV from research, policy and practice.
As well as disseminating the research findings, the site will provide an important place to link to the forthcoming book from the research.
Practitioners and researchers will be meeting together in Oxford on September 23rd for the release of the research project findings. I look forward to attending and posting more news from this important gathering.
BBC draws attention to parent abuse.
Great to hear a six minute piece about parent abuse on the BBC Radio 4 flagship Today programme this morning. (8.22am – 8.28am) Also available from the BBC website here.
Joe Lettieri, from PAARS, was interviewed, and there were 2 clips from interviews with parents. One was a single parent who had experienced escalating abuse from her son (now aged 12) for the last 10 years, and the other a “middle class” mother whose daughter had become physically violent to her only recently, but who had been abusive in other ways prior to this. Both commented that it was the verbal abuse that they found the hardest to take, despite accounts of really quite severe physical injuries. Attention was drawn also to the shame and stigma experienced by parents: “I feel like I’m a rubbish Mum”. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, radio and video, Research
The hidden abuse by children on parents – News and events – University of Brighton
The very first post on this blog was with regards to research into Child to Parent violence, with news of work undertaken at the University of Brighton, led by Dr Paula Wilcox.
So it has been exciting to see multiple references in the British media over the last week to this particular research project, acknowledging the award of a £641,000 grant from the European Commission under the Daphne 111 programme. The project will assess the effectiveness of two existing intervention models ‘Break4Change’ (also featured earlier here) and ‘Non Violent Resistance’ from a gendered perspective across five European countries – Bulgaria, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
More details of the research can be found in this news release from the University of Brighton.
The hidden abuse by children on parents – News and events – University of Brighton.
Filed under news reports, Research
Child to Parent Violence Webinar
Parenting UK, part of the charity, Family Lives, holds regular events to support practitioners, including, recently, a webinar on the subject of Child to Parent Violence, presented by Oliver Standing, Policy and Projects Co-ordinator from Adfam, and Sara Hassell, a Family Co-ordinator with Family Lives. Oliver was talking about a recent research project. Sara was addressing work she does in a primary school and the tools she uses working to support abused parents. The organisers have made a video of the presentation available to all interested parties (which lasts just under an hour and three quarters), and also links to documents mentioned and to supplementary material. Continue reading
Filed under Research
A PhD in Child to Parent Violence
A unique opportunity is advertised this week for students interested in undertaking funded research into the gendered aspects of CPV, under the guidance of Dr. Paula Wilcox at the University of Brighton.
Full details here.
Applications by January 25th, study begins February 2013
Filed under Research
HOLES IN THE WALL 