Child-to-mother violence : a pilot study

Michel A. Edenborough, Debra Jackson, Lesley M. Wilkes, Judy Mannix

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    Abstract

    There is vigorous research and debate into family violence. However, there is a paucity of enquiry into violence directed from child-to-mother. This paper presents preliminary results from the pilot of a larger study that examines child-to-mother violence in the western suburbs of Sydney Australia. The data are from questionnaires distributed to women who are or have been mothers of children aged 10 to 24 years. Descriptive analysis revealed that an overwhelming majority of the 129 women surveyed experienced some form of threatening behaviour or acts of violence from their child/ren. The main perpetrators were sons and targets mothers. More than half the women had not spoken to anyone about the behaviour previously and a number of women stated their child had witnessed violence in the home. Findings suggest the complexity for women is increased as women are often encouraged to separate from violent partners but their role as mothers prevents them from dividing from a violent child. The incidence appears high, however further evidence from larger samples is required to reveal the full extent of this important social issue.
    Original languageEnglish
    Number of pages14
    JournalContemporary nurse : a journal for the Australian nursing profession
    Publication statusPublished - 2006

    Keywords

    • child-to-mother violence
    • family violence
    • gender and power
    • mothering
    • prevalence

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