Psychology of Violence, Vol 15(5), Sep 2025, 545-554; doi:10.1037/vio0000552
Objective: Little is known about the individual risk factors for developing child-to-parent violence (CPV) in adolescents and its consequences. This study aimed to assess the reciprocal longitudinal associations between internalizing symptoms and CPV and the role of maladaptive coping strategies and justification of violence schemas. Method: Eight hundred ninety-six community adolescents (Mage = 13.49, SD = 1.19) answered questionnaires on the study variables at three different moments, with a 3-month interval. Path analysis, through a negative binomial Poisson regression-based approach with bootstrap, was used to test the longitudinal relations and the mediations among the variables over time. Results: Internalizing symptoms predicted a direct increase in CPV and also an indirect increase through maladaptive coping strategies. CPV did not predict internalizing symptoms directly, but an indirect path through maladaptive coping strategies was found. Additionally, we found a significant mediational effect of maladaptive coping strategies on CPV through the justification of violence schemas. Finally, maladaptive coping strategies maintained the relation between CPV and internalizing symptoms over time. Conclusions: Our findings revealed a bidirectional relation between internalizing symptoms and CPV and highlighted the relevant role of adolescents’ cognitive mechanisms, such as justification of violence schemas and, mainly, maladaptive coping strategies, in this relation. Therefore, this study identifies relevant mechanisms and symptoms to consider when developing CPV preventive programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)