A new study found that teens that were often screamed or threatened by their parents tend to show poor behaviors and even depression.
Researchers from the Bowling Green State University led by Psychology Prof. Annette Mahoney found that it is very important to watch verbal behavior. "It can be easy to overlook that, but our study shows that the verbal hostility is really relevant, particularly for mothers who scream and hit, and for fathers who do either one."
They recruited 239 problematic adolescents with age 11-18 and asked for their parents' participation on the survey. These children were endorsed to a community health center because of mental or behavioral issues.
The survey includes questions whether they were physically hit, verbally abused, or were subject to any other physical or verbal aggression by their parents within the previous year.
Out of the 239 participants, 51 percent admitted that they were subject to grave physical and/or verbal abuse from one or both parents.
The researchers were not surprised to find that those teenagers who were physically abused through choking, hitting or making threats with the use of a gun or knife, showed more risk of developing mental disorders and behavioral issues.
Co-researcher Michelle Leroy told Reuters Health, "Parental verbal aggression towards adolescents is just as - if not more - destructive than severe physical aggression, particularly in families seeking mental health services."
They also found that mothers who abuse their children physically and verbally had greater serious effects on the teens' mental health issues than those moms who were either physically aggressive or verbally abusive. Thus, the impact of verbal abuse by mothers on teenagers could be far worse if it is combined with physical aggression. This can be explained by the traumatic feeling of knowing that the threat of physical violence could probably happen.
For fathers, however, the results are different. Whether or not the aggression is combined with physical abuse, teens showed higher risk of mental issues when their dads are verbally hostile.
The significance of this study, according to the researchers, is for doctors to be vigilant for these types of aggression at home especially for problematic teenagers. They suggest doctors to practice asking parents about physical as well as verbal aggression.
"You have to break the cycle; someone has to crack it open. It doesn't excuse the parents' behavior, but (doctors and therapists) have to not be judgmental (and) get the facts out," added Prof. Mahoney. "The take home point is that the verbal behaviors matter."
The study was published in the online journal Child Abuse & Neglect.
