Adolescent violence in the home is commonly defined as “any act of a child that is intended to cause harm, psychological or financial damage to gain power and control over a parent”1 (p. 3). Although Adolescent Violence in the Home (AVITH) is recognised and acknowledged, it remains unaddressed and under-resourced. Research suggests that youth violence against parents can vary between 5% and 24% in the general community. Recent observation amongst the headspace Early Psychosis (hEP) Mobile Assessment and Treatment Team (MATT) is that use of violence by MATT clients (aged between 12 and 25 years) is likely closer to 50%. Despite this, there are no dedicated Adolescent Violence services available through headspace, and very limited options across other youth services in the south eastern region. There is an urgent need to better understand adolescent violence presentations within the MATT cohort, and begin to identify potential risk factors and indicators of violence for mental health clinicians and peer workers with MATT.
This paper reports on a project developed to identify characteristics of the cohort currently receiving service from MATT and potentially identify any particular characteristics of young people who are using violence at home. Such characteristics include:
• Age
• Gender
• Mental health presentation
• Co-morbid disability, such as ASD or intellectual disability
• Substance use
• Trauma background
• Exposure to adult domestic violence
We also ask three further questions regarding staff confidence and competence in managing young people who are using adolescent violence in the home. The findings of the project may be useful in designing future service responses to this particularly complex and vulnerable cohort of young people.