Verbal Aggression by Parents and
Pychosocial Problems of Children
Yvonne M. Vissing and
Murray A. Straus
Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire
Richard J. Gelles, University of Rhode Island
John W. Harrop, Brown University Medical School
This is a summary of an article
that appeared in Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol. 15, pp. 223-239,
1991. The article was based on two independently written papers that were
combined when the authors of each became aware of the other paper addressing
the same issues with the same data set. A paper by Vissing and Straus
was presented at the August 1989 meeting of the Society for the Study
of Social Problems. A paper by Gelles and Harrop was presented at the
Eighth National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect in October 1989.
Reprint requests may be addressed to Murray A. Straus, Family
Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824.
The research involved
3,346 children in a nationwide study. The first objective provided information
on the number of American children who experienced verbal aggression at
the hands of their parents, and the frequency of such attacks. The second
objective tested the correlation between verbal aggression experienced
by children and the high rate of childhood psychological and social problems.
Definition and Meaning of Verbal
Aggression
Verbal/symbolic
aggression is a communication intended to
cause psychological pain to another person, or a communication perceived
as having that intent. The communicative act may be active or passive,
and verbal or nonverbal. Examples include name calling or nasty remarks
(active, verbal), slamming a door or smashing something (active, nonverbal)
and stony silence or sulking (passive, nonverbal).
Summary and Conclusions
1. Approximately two-thirds
of American children are victims of verbal/symbolic aggression by parents.
2. Verbal aggression
by parents occurred an average of 12.6 times during the year of this study,
and more than a third reported 11 or more instances.
3. More boys are victims
of verbal aggression than girls.
4. More children over
age 6 were likely to have experienced verbal aggression. However, if children
under age 6 were the victims of verbal aggression, it occurred more frequently
than was the case with children over 6.
Parental verbal aggression
was directly related to the behavior problems of the child as follows:
- The more frequent
the rate of verbal aggression by the parent, the greater the probability
of physical, aggressive, or delinquent behavior by the child.
- Children who never
experience being hit by their parents often exhibit behavior problems
associated with verbal aggression.
- The correlation
between verbal aggression and psychosocial problems affects all age
groups, both sexes, and all families regardless of their socioeconomic
status.
- The psychosocial
problems of children is more directly related to parental verbal aggression
than to physical aggression.
- Psychosocial behavior
problems of children were found to be more directly affected by a combination
of verbal aggression and abusive violence rather than experiencing either
by themselves.
This summary is provided by the Texas Youth Commission. For more information about programs and research relating to children, youth, and family issues, contact us by e-mail at prevention@tyc.state.tx.us or by telephone at (512) 424-6336.
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