Parent battering and the psychiatric and family correlates in children and adolescents.

ABSTRACT

The term "battered parents" was first used over two decades ago, but very few studies are available on the subject. This study examines an outpatient sample of children and adolescents where a key presenting feature was violent behaviour towards their parents. The commonest DSM IV axis I diagnosis was obsessive compulsive disorder with a prevalence of 25%. The same diagnosis in the control group was 6.4%. Anxiety and depressed mood dominated the clinical pictures in the study sample. Several crosscultural differences were apparent in age, behaviour and family context of the subjects when compared with the available studies. This study highlights the relevance of examining for presence of violence towards parents in children and adolescents who present with anxiety.