| Research on spousal and child abuse has yielded an extensive amount of literature, yet research on parent and sibling abuse is not nearly as comprehensive. Further, family violence research is even less comprehensive when the aggressor has mental illness. This dissertation uses ethnographic interviews to examine how families adapt and respond to a violent child with mental illness. The analysis revealed a six-phased pattern in how families perceived and responded to victimization and their child or sibling's mental illness. The findings suggests that families with a violent child with mental illness cannot live through episodes of violence without removing the child with mental illness from the home or suffering considerable damage to the family. This conclusion is explored at length and discussed as they relate to policy recommendations for mental health practitioners and family intervention specialists. |
