The Need for a Whole of Family Response: The Invisibility of Siblings in Adolescent-to-Parent Violence Interventions

Adolescent-to-parent violence (APV), especially son-to-mother violence, often occurs in the context of adult-perpetrated domestic and family violence (DFV). APV interventions largely focus on the behaviour of the young person using violence, and their relationship with the protective parent, often the mother. Focus on the mother-young person dyad is important yet ignores their relationships with siblings, who have also experienced DFV and APV. If dynamics within the home are unaccounted for, strategies developed within the contained environment of an intervention program are unlikely to be sustained. This paper examines the experiences of siblings whose mothers and brothers are attending an APV intervention. In order to inform more responsive policies and practices, it addresses two research questions: 1) What are the needs of siblings whose brothers are engaging in APV? and (2) how can APV interventions better recognise and respond to the needs of siblings?

This paper reports on a subset of qualitative data from the evaluation of an Australian APV intervention, conducted between 2020 and 2022. Interviews were undertaken with mothers (n = 17), sons using APV (n = 9), practitioners (n = 11) and a sibling (n = 1). Case files (n = 16) containing data related to the levels of violence witnessed by siblings were also reviewed.

Thematic analysis produced five themes: (1) intersecting complexity; (2) recognition of violence experienced by siblings; (3) different sibling cohorts; (4) family disruption; and (5) siblings and the program.

We argue that a whole of family response is needed for families recovering from DFV where APV is present.