Child-to-Parent Violence: Examining the Frequency and Reasons in Spanish Youth

Objective The structure, reliability, and validity of the Child-to-Parent Violence Questionnaire (CPV-Q) for youth is analyzed. Additionally, the frequency of child-to-parent violence and the reasons for carrying it out are analyzed. Background Child violence toward parents is a type of violence that has recently garnered great social and scientific interest. The frequency rates found vary considerably (psychological violence between 8.5% and 27% and physical violence between 1.8% and 6.1%), in part due to the type of assessment instruments used. Method A total of 1,543 young Spanish people between 18 and 25 years of age (50.2% male; M-age = 19.2 years; SD = 1.9) participated in this study and reported on the frequency of violent behavior toward parents when they were 12 and 17 years old. Results The results confirm a factorial structure of the CPV-Q, with four factors: psychological, physical, financial, and control/domain. The reasons for child-to-parent violence were grouped into instrumental and reactive. Conclusions The CPV-Q for young people presents adequate psychometric properties. The high frequency rates of child-to-parent violence justify the need to continue advancing the study of this phenomenon. Implications The CPV-Q is a useful instrument for assessing child-to-parent violence for both research and professional practice. It allows evaluating the frequency of a wide range of violent behaviors and the underlying reasons motivating this type of violence, which is of great help for interventions.