Adolescents' experiences of maltreatment within the family: challenges for family nursing

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyse and describe the experiences of adolescents who had been maltreated by their parents in childhood. Child maltreatment was defined as physical, psychological or sexual abuse or neglect caused by parents or other primary caregivers of the child. Data were collected from seven adolescents, aged 14–19 years, who had been maltreated within their family of origin for many years. Interviews employed broad themes pertaining to family life, maltreatment experiences and the family's strengths and problems. The data were analysed by qualitative content analysis. The analysis resulted in a description of the adolescents' experiences of maltreatment and of the consequences of maltreatment as perceived by the young people themselves. The consequences included connections between maltreatment and family life and direct consequences for the adolescents themselves. These results aid our understanding of child maltreatment and its manifestations from the viewpoint of adolescents within the family. An improved understanding of their views should make it possible to develop nursing care of these children and their families as part of multidisciplinary work. The role of nursing is central to this work, because one of the goals of nursing is to improve the well-being of families and individuals. However, further research is still needed to add to our knowledge of child maltreatment from the adolescents' viewpoint.