The Effect of the Non-violent Resistance Program for the Parents of Children with Violent Behaviors

Abstract

The ‘’Non-violent Resistance’’ program was developed for parents, teachers and caregivers who have children and adolescents exhibiting aggressive and violent behaviors. It is a new educational model aiming to help parents cope effectively with their mutual interactions with their children that increase tension. The aim of this research is to examine the effect of the “Non-violent Resistance Program”, which is a program for parents with children with violent behaviors, on the violent and aggressive behaviors seen in children, and the levels of the stress experienced by parents, the feelings of perceived inadequacy and support they feel. The data of the study were obtained through the ‘Family Evaluation Scale’, ‘Parenting Stress Index’ and ‘Questionnaire of Subjective Disturbance Units’, all of which were administered to the parents in the experimental and control groups. These aforementioned scales were administered to the parents of the experimental and control groups as pretest, posttest and follow-up measurements. When the findings were examined, it was seen that the programs administered to parents created changes in family relationships, reduced the violence and aggressive behaviors seen in children, significantly decreased parents’ feelings of stress and inadequacy and increased their levels of perceived support. Based on these results, it is suggested that the Non-Violent Resistance Program should be implemented in educational environments and other institutions providing services for children and adolescents with cooperation from parents.