Background

Children's exposure to parental violence against another parent has been widely studied as an adverse childhood experience and source of childhood trauma. Exposure to parental violence against a sibling could be equally as traumatizing, but the literature on this exposure is sparse, by comparison. We examined the frequency of exposure to parental assault on a sibling (EPAS) and its demographic distributions. We also investigated the links between EPAS and symptoms of distress.

Method

From three combined surveys of the National Survey on Children's Exposure to Violence, based on telephone interviews with parents, and in the case of those 10–17 years old, adolescents, we examined children living with a juvenile sibling (N = 7, 029; 49% female).

Results

Lifetime EPAS was 3.7%, and sibling assault was more common by fathers (70%) than by mothers (30%). Exposure was greatest for boys and adolescents, highest for those whose parents had some college education, and for those living with other non-parental adults, single parents, and stepfamilies. Rates did not differ by ethnicity. Most exposed youth felt afraid (83%), and fear was greater when witnessing fathers than mothers assaulting a sibling. Controlling for child maltreatment and exposure to interparental violence, those exposed to EPAS showed higher current levels of mental distress (anger, depression, and anxiety; F (10, 6146) = 140.44, p = .001; R² = 0.19).

Conclusions

Clinical work and parent education programs should address the occurrence of EPAS and the adverse association between EPAS and mental health to reduce its potential negative impact.

中文翻译：

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将父母对兄弟姐妹的攻击视为童年逆境

背景

儿童遭受父母对另一位父母的暴力已被广泛研究为不良的童年经历和童年创伤的根源。暴露于父母对兄弟姐妹的暴力可能同样造成创伤，但相比之下，关于这种暴露的文献很少。我们检查了父母对兄弟姐妹（EPAS）的攻击频率及其人口分布。我们还调查了 EPAS 与痛苦症状之间的联系。

方法

从全国儿童遭受暴力调查的三项综合调查中，基于对父母的电话采访，对于那些 10-17 岁的青少年，我们检查了与未成年兄弟姐妹一起生活的儿童 ( N  = 7, 029; 49% 女性）。

结果

终身EPAS为3.7%，父亲（70%）比母亲（30%）更常见兄弟姐妹攻击。男孩和青少年的接触率最高，父母受过大学教育的人以及与其他非父母成年人、单亲父母和继家庭一起生活的人接触率最高。费率没有因种族而异。大多数暴露在外的青少年感到害怕（83%），而目睹父亲比母亲殴打兄弟姐妹时的恐惧更大。控制虐待儿童和暴露于父母间暴力，暴露于 EPAS 的人目前表现出更高水平的精神痛苦（愤怒、抑郁和焦虑；F (10, 6146) = 140.44, p  = .001; R ²  = 0.19）。

结论

临床工作和家长教育计划应解决 EPAS 的发生以及 EPAS 与心理健康之间的不利关联，以减少其潜在的负面影响。