Perceived Mattering to the Family and Physical Violence Within the Family by Adolescents

Abstract

Mattering is the extent to which people believe they make a difference in the world around them. This study hypothesizes that adolescents who believe they matter less to their families will more likely threaten or engage in intrafamily physical violence. The data come from a national sample of 2,004 adolescents. Controlling for respondents’ age, gender, race, religiosity, and family socioeconomic status, structure, and size, logistic regression reveals that mattering to family is a strong contributor to violence. The effect of mattering is mediated by self-esteem and attitude toward violence. Females are more violent than males. Compared with the average respondent, Hispanics are less likely than Whites to commit violence. Children from larger families increasingly use violence. Religiosity diminishes family violence. Children whose responding parent did not finish high school are less likely to turn to violence compared with those whose parent did postcollege study.