Familial Abuse

By: Ariana Guilford, Megan Hancock,

Laura Roa, Stephanie Shepherd
and Nicole Zanickrowsky

Introduction to Familial Abuse

Goal: Educate college students on familial abuse so they can readily

identify the different types of abuses and contact professional help

5 types:
Child abuse
Adolescent-to-parent abuse
Elder abuse
Romantic abuse
Sibling abuse

Activity 1 Questions
1. Is this situation abuse?
2. What advice would you give the people involved?
3. What are some possible reasons that can make an
abuser act this way?
4. What are some possible future impacts of the abuse?

Familial Abuse

Physical
Sexual
Emotional
Financial
Substance abuse
Neglect
Abandonment

Child Abuse

Why it may occur

Neglect->Physical->Sexual

Characteristics of the individual,

the family, and larger social
context contribute to the
potential of abuse occurring

High stress levels in parents and

parental beliefs may put a child
at a higher risk for child abuse

Impacts

Low self-esteem
Depression
Anxiety
Anger
Aggression
Posttraumatic stress
Self-destructive behaviors
Suicide ideation and attempts
Panic disorder
Affect future interpersonal
relationships

Child Abuse with Disabilities

Increased risk of incidence, duration, and impact of maltreatment

3 times more likely to experience maltreatment

Lack of professional awareness

Behaviors that are indicative of child abuse may be mistaken for the childs
disability

Disabled children most times lack the understanding and communicative

ability to convey their situation

Adolescent-to-Parent Abuse

Defined as any act of a child that is intended to cause physical,

psychological or financial damage to gain power and control over a parent
Approximately 9% to 14% of parents are at some point physically
assaulted by their adolescent children
Injury: bruises, cuts, broken bones
Youth who are between 10 and 18 years of ages
Tactics: kicking, punching, biting, weapons are used by assaultive
youth
50% to 80% of violence against parents is committed by adolescent boys

Adolescent-to-Parent abuse

1 out of every 12 offenders who came to the attention of law enforcement

for domestic assault offenders victimized a parent or caregiver
Adolescents who assault parents are more likely to have weak parental
bonds. Rejected or neglected adolescents
Some studies document various forms of
mental illness
personality disorders
learning disorders
schizophrenia
Mothers are the most frequent victims
Limited research on the topic

Elder Abuse
Knowing, intentional or negligent act by a caregiver that
causes harm to someone over 65 years old
Typical victim: white female in her late 70s
2 million seniors are victims of abuse in the U.S. every
year
For every 1 report, 5 incidents go unreported
Typical forms of abuse: financial, neglect and physical

Elder Abuse (continued)

90% of abusers are family members
are children or spouses
Almost 50% of seniors with dementia experience abuse
#1 cause is stress of caregiver
Elder abuse law in all 50 states

Romantic Abuse
The willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual
assault, and/or other abusive behavior perpetrated by
an intimate partner against another
1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men are victims
85% of cases involve female victims
Females 20-24 years old are at greatest risk
One of the most underreported crimes around the world
Estimated 1.3 million women are physically assaulted
each year in United States

Romantic Abuse (continued)

Children of abusive homes greatly affected
30-60% of perpetrators of partner violence also abuse their children
Witnessing violent behavior in childhood increases risk of that child
also becoming abusive
Victims are also at risk of being raped or killed by intimate partners
Social Exchange Theory explains why victims stay
Comparison level
Comparison level of alternatives
abusers manipulate in one or many of three ways
Each day, 1 in 3 women die as a result of domestic violence

Sibling Abuse
Sibling abuse is the physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse of one sibling by another.

Survey of 2000 children ages 2-17 found that about 30% of children had been physically
assaulted by a sibling compared to 7% assaulted by peers
Related to low self-esteem, high rates of anxiety and depression and negative emotional
outcomes

Why it occurs:

Social learning and family systems theory:

Children learn how to behave from the actions they see their parents take and any
particular relationship dyad in a family reflects the general tempo and tone of the family
constellation as a whole (sibling violence takes place within a broader context of family
violence)
Experiencing and witnessing verbal conflict, violence, and abuse by significant others is predicted to be
the cause of negative sibling behavior
Shared values, labor(chores) may result in differing interests sometimes which can lead to verbal conflict,
violence, and abuse

Sibling Abuse (continued)

Cultural norms, structural arrangements in families and society, divergent interesting among siblings, and
parents tolerance of the sibling violence all create an environment that reinforces or deems acceptable for
abusive sibling behavior
Reducing sibling conflict techniques:

Timeouts, reinforcement about inhibiting aggression and social skills training

Understanding whats really happening
200 college students who had completed a survey named Conflict Tactics Scales and a self-labeling
measure of sibling violence. The findings found that a vast majority of them had experienced
sibling violence but the terminology they used to describe their experiences was not related to
violence at all. 83% of respondents reported the behavior that constituted as sibling violence
occurred but the term violence was one of the lowest rated terms used to describe what was
actually happening.

Activity 2

Debriefing Questions
What did this activity make you think about?
Can you relate with your own behaviors or experiences?
Did the activity help you understand the experiences of
someone you know?

Resources for Help

The National Domestic Violence Hotline:1-800-799SAFE
National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4A-CHILD
National Parent Helpline: 1-855-4A-PARENT
National Center on Elder Abuse: 1-855-500-ELDR