EXTERNALLY FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS
Hidden in plain sight: Exploring the lived experience of adolescent-to-mother violence
Background
This project explores the multi-layered experience of adolescent-to-mother violence within families who have experienced domestic violence.
Aim
This project’s broad aims are to describe the lived experience of mothers and young people where there is a history of domestic violence from an intimate partner and adolescent-to-mother violence, and to explore how that impacts mothers’ experiences of adolescent-to-mother violence.
Methods
The project uses in-depth interviews with mothers and young people, ages 12 to 17, to shed light on their lived experience and the complexity of adolescent-to-mother violence. Mothers all have experienced domestic violence from an intimate partner and are currently experiencing adolescent-to-mother violence.
Methodologically, the project incorporates a phenomenological stance in line with Martin Heidegger’s view of describing the lived experience and an intersectional feminist lens. Interviews with mothers and adolescents explore different aspects of adolescent-to-mother violence.
Conceptually, the use of an intersectional feminist lens will provide an opportunity to explore the adolescent-to-mother violence experience from a coercive control perspective. Moreover, the intersectional feminism lens will include experiences from a variety of perspectives from different social categories women identify with, and explore the role service providers play in women’s help-seeking behaviour and decision-making.