A qualitative analysis of social work practitioners’ perceptions and responses to vignettes depicting adolescent to parent violence and abuse.

Adolescent to parent violence and abuse (APVA) is a not a new phenomenon, though it is only relatively recently that it has been acknowledged as a significant public health issue within the UK that needs addressing (Holt, 2012; Home Office, 2015). The historic silence surrounding APVA has meant that parents report feeling that their experiences of abuse are not understood by professionals, especially social work practitioners, who they feel blame them for their child’s behaviour (Hunter, Nixon and Parr, 2010; Tew and Nixon, 2010; Clarke et al, 2017). Guidance released by the Home Office in 2015 sought to address this issue, however there is little research to suggest if this guidance has been effective but informal reports from parents suggest that little has changed.
The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of how social work practitioners perceive and respond to families experiencing APVA, as much of what is known is not derived directly from social work practitioners. To do this, a small number of social work practitioners completed an anonymous online survey.
The findings suggest that social work practitioners continue to perceive and respond to families experiencing APVA in a way that minimises the abuse, blames parents for their own victimisation, and subsequently neglect to offer appropriate interventions. There was also a clear sense of uncertainty throughout the participants responses, and they tended to focus on information gathering and assessment. The findings highlight the urgent need for specific training on APVA to frontline professionals, as well as improved policies and practices which implement the recommendations outlined by the Home Office (2015).