Parent substance use and child-to-parent violence: A brief report

Substance use has been associated with child-to-parent violence (CPV), yet little is known about the contributing factors. This study investigated the association between parental substance use and substance involved child to parent violence (SU-CPV; i.e., the young person is influenced by a substance), and whether this association was unique to SU-CPV compared to other co-occurring functions of CPV (proactive/instrumental, reactive/response to threat, affective/emotion-related).

One hundred and nineteen caregivers experiencing abuse-level CPV from a young person (97% female; aged 27-78 years; Mage = 48.4, SDage = 7.34) completed an online survey assessing their own, and the young person's substance use, and the young person's use of CPV.

Multivariate multiple linear regression analyses demonstrated parental alcohol use was significantly positively associated with SU-CPV (b = 0.29, p = 0.002), but not other CPV functions. There was no significant association between parental drug use and SU-CPV. Discussion and Conclusions Parental alcohol use was associated with increased likelihood of SU-CPV, suggesting parental behaviours may influence the young person's behaviour, and this may be exacerbated by the disinhibiting impact of alcohol and unpredictability within the home environment. Parent alcohol use may also be a coping strategy for experiences of SU-CPV. The lack of association with parent drug use may be due to few parents reporting drug use and the varied impact of differing drug types on the home environment. Substance use is a key contributing factor for aggressive and violent behaviour, highlighting the role of prevention and intervention efforts encompassing the broader family.