Reflection of adolescent-to-parent violence in media news in Turkey

Abstract

This study aims to analyze how news about adolescent-to parent violence is reflected in the media. Certain phrases that define adolescent-to-parent violence were identified and searched on Google search engine. The news between 2018 and 2022 was scanned by applying the time filter. The news were evaluated in terms of the scope, the socio demographic correlations, and the causes of adolescent-to parent violence. Descriptive statistics was expressed as mean±standard deviation and median. Categorical parameters were represented with frequency and percentage values. The Chi-Square test were used for standard statistical analyses. A p value of <0.05 was considered ‘statistically significant’. Between 2018 and 2022, a total of 58 individual news were identified. It was found that the majority of adolescents were male while the majority of parent-victims were fathers, and that adolescents had a high rate of using firearms in cases of violence that were usually due to an altercation. Inconsistencies between different media sources regarding their coverage of the incidents, which would lead to violations of the rights of adolescents and parent-victims, have been determined. The study showed that although the causes of adolescent-to-parent violence differ, it is apparent that adolescents use violence commonly as a way of solving their problems. Since no studies specific to adolescent-to-parent violence conducted in Turkey could be found, it can be concluded that there is a need for studies that will provide healthy and accurate data on the dimension, frequency and variables of the problem. In addition, it is suggested that the media can play an important role in preventing the violence in general through accurate, complete, impartial and responsible reporting.