Beliefs and Practices of the Parents of Violent and Oppositional Adolescents: An Ecological Perspective |
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Authors: | Catherine P Bradshaw Ph D Brian A Glaser Georgia B Calhoun Jeffrey M Bates |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA;(2) Department of Counseling and Human Development Services, University of Georgia, Georgia, USA;(3) Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA |
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Abstract: | Parenting is a transactional process, influenced by the child’s behavior and the environmental context. The present study
explores the beliefs and practices of parents of aggressive and oppositional adolescents to understand better the relation
among parenting practices, context, and youth violence. Parents of juvenile offenders (N=203) completed assessments of youths’ violent and oppositional behaviors, community violence exposure, and their own beliefs
and parenting behaviors and perceptions of the juvenile justice system. Parents of youth with the highest levels of violent
and oppositional behavior problems reported elevated feelings of hopelessness regarding the child’s future, inadequacy as
a parent, fear of physical harm by the child, anger toward the child, as well as difficulty monitoring the child. All parents
reported relatively high levels of perceived support by the justice system. Parental stress was also examined as a possible
influence on the parents’ beliefs and behaviors regarding the child. Results suggest that parents’ emotional and behavioral
responses should be addressed when intervening with juvenile offenders.
Editors’ Strategic Implications: The authors present evidence to suggest that parents’ perceptions of hopelessness/inadequacy and their fear for their child’s
safety are both by-products of life with an aggressive child as well as contributing factors to that aggressive behavior.
Thus, successful interventions must both target the parents as change agents in the youth’s life but also include a strong
parental support component, so that parents will have an opportunity to orchestrate positive impacts in high-risk environments. |
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Keywords: | parenting delinquency youth violence prevention juvenile justice community violence exposure |
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