Adolescent violence against parents. Is it a consequence of gender inequality?

The aim of the present study was to explore the psychosocial profile of juveniles reported for violent behaviours against their parents, as well as the extent to which the phenomenon of violence against parents (VAP) can be explained by the hypothesis of the bi-directionality of intra-family violence. For this purpose we selected a sample of 103 juveniles classified in three groups –(a) VAP offences, (b) VAP offences and other types of offence, and (c) other offences. In total we analyzed 413 files from the office of the Public Prosecutor for Juveniles in Bilbao (Basque Country, northern Spain). We extracted personal, family context and judicial variables for the juveniles. The results suggest the existence of a specific profile of juveniles reported for VAP, and also show that through the hypothesis of the bi-directionality of intra-family violence it is possible to explain one-third of the cases analyzed.