Physical violence between young adults and their parents: associations with a history of child maltreatment

This study investigated the relationship between maltreatment during childhood, parental conflict tactics and the tactics employed by young adults during a disagreement with their parents. Four hundred and sixty nine university students completed the Conflict Tactic Scale and a Childhood History Questionnaire giving details on tactics employed during the previous year and information about their childhood respectively. Overall, 14.5% of students reported using violent tactics with their mother and/or father and 3.8% of them admitted to being severely violent to one or both of their parents. The conflict tactics used by the respondent were found to be significantly related to the reported tactics of their parents and the experience of being maltreated by parents in earlier years. KEY WORDS: physical violence; parents; young adults; child maltreatment.