New child-to-parent violence: the difficult balance between limits and love

Authors

  • Roberto Pereira Euskarri – Centro de Intervención en Violencia Filio-Parental – Bilbao, Spain. | Sociedad Española para el Estudio de la Violencia Filio-Parental – Bilbao, Spain. https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4071-6067

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60114/rbtf.v14i1.166

Keywords:

Child-to-parent violence, Attachment, Family therapy, Individuation

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the affective-relational dimension of new child-to-parent violence based on attachment theory and the systemic-relational model. Method: Theoretical-clinical review with case illustrations. Results: The coexistence of violence and affection in child-to-parent violence families can be understood through the concept of pathology of love: intense attachment bonds, individuation difficulties, and the formation of pseudo-couples — parent-child dyads whose emotional functioning replicates adult couple relationships. Violence emerges as a desperate attempt to separate. Conclusion: Recognizing this relational dimension is essential for effective intervention, moving beyond an exclusively normative focus on parental authority.

References

Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44(4), 709-716. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.4.709

Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Psychological Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315802428

Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss (vol. 1). Hogarth Press.

Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss (vol. 2). Hogarth Press.

Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss (vol. 3). Hogarth Press.

Fiscalía General del Estado (FGE) (2015). Memoria de la Fiscalía General del Estado. FGE. Recuperado de: https://www.fiscal.es/memorias/memoria2015/Inicio.html

Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3), 511-524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511

Johnson, S. M. (2002). Emotionally focused couple therapy with trauma survivors: Strengthening attachment bonds. Guilford Press.

Main, M., & Hesse, E. (1990). Parents’ unresolved traumatic experiences are related to infant disorganized attachment status. In M. T. Greenberg, D. Cicchetti & E. M. Cummings (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 161-184). University of Chicago Press.

Pereira, R. (2006). Violencia filio-parental: un fenómeno emergente. Mosaico, (36), 8-9.

Pereira, R. (Coord.). (2011). Psicoterapia de la violencia filio-parental: Entre el secreto y la vergüenza. Morata.

Pereira, R. (2018). La nueva violencia filio-parental: características, funcionamiento familiar y propuesta de intervención. Mosaico, (71), 131-148.

Pereira, R. (2019). La violencia filio-parental en el siglo XXI. In E. Calvete & R. Pereira (Eds.), La violencia filio-parental: Análisis, evaluación e intervención (pp. 267-290). Alianza.

Pereira, R. (2025). El diagnóstico y la intervención en violencia filio-parental. Mosaico, (91), 99-119.

Pereira, R., & Bertino, L. (2009). Una comprensión ecológica de la violencia filio-parental. Redes, 21, 69-90.

Pereira, R., Loinaz, I., Del Hoyo-Bilbao, J., Arrospide, J., Bertino, L., Calvo, A., Etxebarria, I., & Garrido, M. J. (2017). Propuesta de definición de violencia filio-parental: consenso de la Sociedad Española para el Estudio de la Violencia Filio-Parental (SEVIFIP). Papeles del Psicólogo, 38(3), 216-223. https://doi.org/10.23923/pap.psicol2017.2839

Published

2026-09-02

How to Cite

Pereira, R. (2026). New child-to-parent violence: the difficult balance between limits and love. The Brazilian Journal of Family Therapy, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.60114/rbtf.v14i1.166

Issue

Section

Articles