Are youth justice educational groups in Catalonia empowering? The perceptions of families of young people who have committed crimes of child-to-parent violence

Abstract

In Catalonia, child-to-parent violence is addressed through educational groups within the youth justice system. This study explores families’ perceptions of the effectiveness of these groups in supporting young people’s development and family dynamics. Five qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with families of boys aged 17 to 19, four months after the young men had completed their stay in the judicial resource. An inductive-deductive categorical-thematic analysis was subsequently carried out, focusing on dimensions of youth empowerment (e.g., self-esteem, responsibility). Findings suggest that families perceived limited improvement in the youths’ skills, highlighting ongoing emotional instability, lack of self-criticism, weak commitment, and low community involvement. These results point to the need for an intervention model that is empowering, restorative, and inclusive in order to more effectively address child-to-parent violence