Violence against parents perpetrated by adolescent siblings of individuals with intellectual disability in South Korea

Abstract

Background: Few studies have focused on the daily hassles among adolescent siblings living with individuals with intellectual disability (IwID) and the resulting conflicts between family members. The pathway from stress (hassles) to adolescents' violent acts has been largely ignored.

Objective: This study examined the link between hassles (independent variable) and violence against parents (dependent variable), with aggression as a mediator and social support as a moderator.

Participants: Data were collected from November 2018 to February 2019 in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon City. Participants were 303 adolescent siblings of IwID (male: 47.2 %; female: 52.1 %).

Methods: Descriptive analysis was conducted using SPSS 24.0 and mediating pathways were determined using SPSS Macro 25.0. To verify the moderating role of social support, the entire sample was divided into two groups based on the mean value of social support and the mediating model was analyzed.

Results: In the low social support group (n = 140), the direct effect was not significant (β = 0.0111, 95 % CI = -0.0044 to 0.0266), but the indirect effect was maintained (β = 0.0096, 95 % CI = 0.0005 to 0.0234). However, in the high support group (n = 118), neither the direct effect (β = 0.0106, 95 % CI = -0.0162 to 0.0373) nor the indirect effect (β = 0.0126, 95 % CI = -0.0013 to 0.0301) was significant. Social support as a moderator was statistically significant compared with different paths in the two-group analysis.

Conclusions: Counselling interventions are needed to alleviate the link between hassles and adolescent violence against parents through aggression.

Keywords: Adolescent siblings; Aggression; Hassles; Individuals with intellectual disability; Social support; Violence against parents.