Parental Interference/Family Abduction and Its Relationship with Depressive Symptoms in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

The literature has been scarce in addressing parental interference/family abduction and its relationship with depressive symptoms. Due to this, the objective of this study was to examine the association between family abduction/parental interference and depressive symptoms in a national sample of 11,568 children and adolescents aged 12 to 18 from Chile. Robust linear regression models were conducted to assess how these experiences are related to depressive symptoms while controlling for age. Our results show that children and adolescents who reported these experiences in their lives presented higher levels of depressive symptoms. Additionally, although all forms of caregiver victimization were associated with depressive symptoms, parental interference/family abduction also showed a significant association, even when controlling for sociodemographic variables. These findings highlight the need for attention to the phenomenon of family abduction/parental interference, especially concerning its potential associations with mental health outcomes such as depression. Theoretically, the study contributes to the limited body of research on this form of caregiver victimization, and practically, it provides evidence that may inform future prevention strategies and mental health policies targeting children and adolescents exposed to high-conflict family dynamics in the Chilean context.

1. Introduction

Research on child and adolescent victimization has focused on analyzing the most well-known types of violence, such as physical abuse or sexual abuse, while ignoring other forms of violence that also affect children and adolescents [1,2]. This is the case with parental interference or family abduction [3,4,5,6].

Parental abduction or parental interference has been described within the framework of caregiver victimization, which has been categorized into four types of violence: physical abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, neglect, and abduction or parental interference [2,7]. Specifically, parental interference or family abduction refers to the obstruction of the custody or personal care of a child or adolescent, meaning that one parent takes, retains, or hides the child in order to prevent contact with the other parent [3,8]. In fact, it has been described that among child abductions, those occurring within family settings are the most frequently reported [6]. Some characteristics of family abduction include (1) a higher likelihood of experiencing it at a younger age [6]; and (2) greater prevalence in separated families and those with custody or personal care conflicts over the children [3]. Based on this, it has been characterized that this type of phenomenon may occur in families with a high level of conflict between parental figures and in cases involving complex legal disputes [9]. There is a high probability that these dynamics coexist with situations of domestic violence [3].

In this sense, family abduction/parental interference has been associated with a series of negative effects on the mental health of the children and adolescents involved [3,10]. In fact, the study by Finkelhor, Henly, Turner and Hamby [3] found that family abduction/parental interference was associated with traumatic symptoms in children, even when controlling for the effect of other relevant forms of victimization in terms of variance. The study by Gibbs, Jones, Smith, Staples and Weeks [10] reported several psychological effects as a result of parental abduction experiences in those who reported them. These consequences included loss of trust in the opposite sex, difficulties in forming and maintaining friendships, a sense of being in a dream-like state, difficulty remembering important aspects of the event, and problems with sleeping and concentrating. This could particularly affect identity, impacting self-esteem and leading to psychological distress.

In fact, from the perspective of interparental conflict [11], which has been associated with parental interference/family abduction [3], other findings have documented that conflict between parents was positively related to children’s depressive symptoms, a relationship mediated by parent–child communication and self-esteem [12]. Another study adds that there are significant correlations between parental conflict and externalizing and internalizing behaviors in adolescents who experienced it [13].

Globally, this form of caregiver victimization gains relevance when considering the figures reported by various studies. For example, in the United States, with a sample of 4502 children, it was found that 1.2% reported experiences of family abduction or parental interference in the past year [8]. These figures contrast with the 4% who reported such experiences over the course of their lifetime [3]. In Mexico, with a sample of 874 children and adolescents, it was found that 4.2% reported having experienced parental interference/family abduction [14]. Consistent with this study, another investigation conducted in the same country with a sample of 1068 young people reported that 2.2% of them indicated having been victimized by parental interference or family abduction in the past year [15].

Particularly in Chile, the data follows a similar trend. A study based on data from a probabilistic sample of children and adolescents (n = 19,687) in 2017 found that 3.5% reported experiences of parental interference/family abduction in the past year [16]. Although these data reflect a prevalence that could be considered low, it is important to note that the Chilean study addressing these victimization circumstances was conducted using a probabilistic sample, which provides a degree of representativeness. Certain family circumstances, such as divorce and disputes over personal care, have also been of interest in the literature, as these circumstances may create a context in which family abduction and parental interference can manifest more easily [3].

Some necessary aspects to contextualize are marriages, civil union agreements, and divorces. To begin with, in 2023, 64,285 marriages were reported, which translates to 3.2 weddings per thousand inhabitants. Another relevant aspect is civil union agreements, legal arrangements similar to marriage, which that year reached 11,745—an increase compared to previous years [14]. In Chile, civil union agreements have seen sustained growth, possibly reflecting sociocultural transformations concerning forms of cohabitation and legal recognition of unmarried couples. This trend could also be linked to a greater flexibilization of traditional family models and a search for legal mechanisms that provide property protection and civil rights without the need for conventional marriage [15]. On the other hand, in 2024, 54,504 divorce cases were filed in the country’s courts [16], an increase compared to the 43,626 divorces filed in 2022 [17]. Other relevant figures include cases related to visitation arrangements, known in Chile as direct and regular contact, which amounted to 81,787 in 2023, as well as 28,744 cases related to the personal care of a child or adolescent [16].

The Present Study

Based on the aforementioned, the present study is justified for the following reasons: (1) In Chile, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study that evaluates family abduction/parental interference victimization from the perspective of caregiver victimization [16], considering a large national probabilistic sample. (2) The impact on the mental health of the child and adolescent population that has been a victim of this phenomenon has not been evaluated, as it has been for other forms of victimization [3]. (3) This family phenomenon has been associated with traumatic symptoms, which could have similar effects to other forms of victimization, such as sexual abuse or physical maltreatment, further emphasizing the need to analyze it through research [3]. (4) Finally, the figures in the Chilean context regarding divorces/separations, disputes over personal care, and direct and regular visitation arrangements highlight scenarios in which victimization by family abduction or parental interference could easily proliferate [17,18], as the literature has linked it to parental conflict [3,5]. Therefore, from a geolocation perspective, it is necessary to generate empirical data on this issue to provide technical inputs for the development of public policies and related interventions.

Given this background, the objective is to examine the relationship between family abduction/parental interference and depressive symptoms in a national sample of children and adolescents in Chile. The following assumptions were formulated: (1) Children and adolescents who report having experienced abduction or parental interference in their lifetime exhibit higher levels of depressive symptoms. (2) There are significant associations between abduction or parental interference and depressive symptoms, even when controlling for sociodemographic variables and other forms of caregiver victimization.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Participants

This study analyzes secondary data from the National Polyvictimization Survey [19]. While this dataset has been used in previous research, the present study addresses distinct research questions, includes different variables, and applies unique analytical strategies. Therefore, there is no overlap in objectives, analyses, or findings with prior publications based on the same dataset. The target population of this study consisted of all school-aged children and adolescents enrolled between seventh grade of primary education and third grade of high school in the enrollment directory of the Ministry of Education of Chile during 2023, covering both rural and urban areas. The sample selection process was stratified probabilistic and conducted in three stages, considering (1) educational institutions, (2) grade levels, and (3) students enrolled within each grade. The sample estimation error was + 0.8 percentage points, with maximum variance and a 95% confidence level. The sample was weighted through post-stratification adjustments based on sex, age, administrative dependency of the educational institution, and region. Missing cases were eliminated, and only participants who responded to the question about abduction and parental interference were considered. The final sample consisted of 11,568 children and adolescents from 509 educational institutions, aged between 12 and 18 years, 11 months, and 30 days (M = 14.23, SD = 1.53), of which 49% were male, 49.3% female, and 1.7% identified as another gender. Additionally, 85.2% identified as not belonging to an indigenous group, while 14.8% identified as belonging to one. The final sample consisted of 11,568 adolescents aged 12 to 18, of which 49% were male and 49.3% female. A total of 90.3% were born in Chile, and 15.3% reported a permanent physical limitation.

Table 1. Description of the participants’ characteristics.

	n	%
Gender
Male	5664	49
Female	5700	49.3
Other	196	1.7
Age
12	1853	16
13	2418	20.9
14	2216	19.2
15	2225	19.2
16	2147	18.6
17	598	5.1
18	111	1
Immigration status
Non-migrant	10,419	90.3
Migrant	1117	8.7
Disability
No	9797	84.7
Yes	1771	15.3

Note. The differences in sample sizes are due to the omission of responses to some sociodemographic indicators by the participants.

provides a detailed description of the sample characteristics used in this study.

2.2. Measures

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Sociodemographic Characteristics Questionnaire: A questionnaire was developed to gather specific characteristics of the study sample members. Participants were asked about the following: (1) gender; (2) age; (3) migrant status; (4) administrative dependency of the participant’s educational institution; (5) geographic area of residence; (6) self-identification with an indigenous group; (7) permanent condition or disability status.

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Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ; [2]): The JVQ is a self-report questionnaire designed for adolescents between 12 and 17 years old. The JVQ is unique in that it assesses the presence or absence of victimization across six domains: victimization by common crimes, victimization by caregivers, peer victimization, sexual victimization, indirect victimization, and electronic victimization. For the present study, only the caregiver victimization module was used (four items), specifically focusing on parental interference/family abduction (for example: sometimes families argue about where children should live. Has one of your parents or a family member ever taken you, kept you away, or hidden you from your father or mother?). The JVQ items were analyzed independently; therefore, no internal consistency coefficient was computed. However, the instrument has been used in various studies with Chilean samples, demonstrating adequate psychometric properties [20,21].

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Depressive scale by Birleson [22]: This instrument measures the severity of symptoms associated with depression and is composed of 18 items, where each item can be assigned values ranging from 0 (always), 1 (rarely), and 2 (never). This scale was adapted to the Chilean population by Álvarez et al. [23], demonstrating adequate psychometric properties. This instrument has been used by other authors with adolescents aged 11 to 17 years [24]. One example of an item from the scale is “I feel so sad that I can hardly bear it”. In this study, the scale showed an α = 0.87.

2.3. Proccedure

The present research used secondary data from the National Polyvictimization Survey [19]. The ethical criteria and procedures carried out for the sample selection and implementation of the study were reviewed. According to the guidelines set forth by the institution conducting the study, it is important to highlight that this research adhered to all principles of the Declaration of Helsinki for research involving human subjects and was reviewed by an ethics committee of the governmental bodies involved in this study. The administration of the instruments took place between March and August 2023. The development of the questionnaire, ethical protocols, and dissemination in schools was coordinated with institutions such as the Ministry of Education, the Subsecretariat for Children, and the Office for the Defense of Children, through specific coordination efforts and a working group led by the Department of Prevention and Social Reintegration (DGT). Access to the adolescent participants was obtained through their schools and classrooms; informed consent and assent were requested from parents and students, respectively, through the educational institutions. The instruments were administered in the students’ classrooms by a trained interviewer, without the presence of the teacher. The children and adolescents were asked to complete the questionnaires in silence and return them to the professional in charge. The estimated time for completion was between 40 and 60 min. Finally, as the questionnaires addressed personal experiences that could cause emotional distress in participants, an emotional support protocol was implemented for those in need. In this context, an email address was provided for students to confidentially contact victim support services from the Subsecretariat for Crime Prevention, offering psychological support or providing a space for participants to share any situation that might be affecting them.

2.4. Statistical Analysis

First, to examine the characteristics of the sample, univariate descriptive analyses of the main sociodemographic variables of interest were conducted. In addition, Cronbach’s alpha reliabilities of the instruments were analyzed. For the depressive symptom indicators, the sum of the symptoms from the depression scale [22] was used to obtain an overall score. Specifically, higher scores indicated greater intensity of symptoms. Skewness values were analyzed, considering the criterion that they should be less than 2, and kurtosis values should be less than 7, which would indicate a distribution close to normality [25]. To examine whether depressive symptomatology differed according to the presence of parental interference or family abduction, a preliminary analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted, controlling for age. Prior to estimation, we tested the assumption of homogeneity of variances using Levene’s test, which was statistically significant (p = 0.003), as well as the Breusch–Pagan test for heteroscedasticity (p = 0.005). In light of these violations, a robust ANCOVA approach was implemented using heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors (HC3), which provides more reliable estimates under non-constant error variance [26]. Parameter estimates were obtained from a linear regression model with robust standard errors (HC3), where depressive symptoms were regressed on age and the presence or absence of parental interference. The presence of interference was used as the reference category. Effect sizes were reported using partial eta squared (η²), and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. To determine the presence of parental interference or family abduction, participants were asked a dichotomous (yes/no) question: “Has one of your parents or a family member ever taken you, kept you away, or hidden you from your father or mother?”. Participants who responded “yes” were classified as having experienced parental interference, while those who responded “no” were included in the comparison group.

In the second phase of the analysis, to explore whether family abduction or parental interference was associated with depressive symptoms, even when controlling for other types of caregiver victimization, a stepwise hierarchical multiple regression was used. This type of analysis allows for explaining the variability in a dependent variable (depressive symptoms) based on independent variables—in this case, family abduction/interference and control variables (sociodemographic factors, other forms of victimization). It is important to note that the gender variable was dichotomized (0 = male, 1 = female), due to the very small number of participants who identified as non-binary or another gender category. This decision was made to ensure the statistical stability and interpretability of the regression models. For the central analysis, preliminary assumptions for the regression models were examined, including normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, multicollinearity, and independence. For instance, outliers and influential observations were identified using residual scatter plots. To check for the independence of residuals—meaning that errors in the measurement of the explanatory variables are independent of each other—the Durbin–Watson statistic was examined, ensuring it fell within the range of 1.5 to 2.5 [27]. For multicollinearity, two factors were considered: tolerance and the variance inflation factor (VIF). Given that preliminary tests indicated violations of the homoscedasticity assumption, the final regression models were estimated using heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors (HC3). In Model 1, gender and age were included as control variables. In Model 2, the same sociodemographic variables (gender and age) were retained, and the following forms of caregiver victimization were added simultaneously: psychological abuse, physical abuse, neglect, and family abduction/parental interference. The significance level was set at p < 0.05. These analyses were conducted using the stats, car, lmtest, sandwich, and performance packages in RStudio Version 1.4.1564. The significance level was set at p < 0.05.

3. Results

Descriptive analyses show that 9.4% (n = 1085) of the participants reported having experienced parental interference or family abduction during their lifetime. To examine differences in depressive symptoms according to the presence of parental interference, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted controlling for age. Preliminary tests indicated violations of the homogeneity of variances assumption (Levene’s test, p = 0.003) and heteroscedasticity (Breusch–Pagan test, p = 0.005), prompting the use of a robust ANCOVA approach. Specifically, parameter estimates were computed using heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors (HC3). As shown in

Table 2. Comparing depressive symptoms by parental interference presence (controlling for age).

	B	S.E (Robust)	t	p	η2
Age	0.005	0.002	2.11	0.034	0.000
Parental interference (No)	−0.227	0.012	−18.38	p < 0.001	0.029
Parental interference (Yes)	Reference	---	---	---	---

Note. Robust standard errors were calculated using the HC3 estimator. η² = partial eta squared. The reference category for parental interference was the presence of interference. p < 0.05 is considered statistically significant.

, results showed that, after controlling for age (B = 0.005, SE (Robust) = 0.002, t = 2.11, p = 0.034, η² = 0.000), participants who reported parental interference exhibited significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to those who did not (B = −0.227, SE (Robust) = 0.012, t = −18.38, p < 0.001, η² = 0.029). These findings indicate a consistent association between parental interference and depressive symptomatology, which remains significant after controlling for age and heteroscedasticity.

Subsequently, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the associations between parental interference/family abduction, other victimization experiences, and depressive symptoms. In this analysis, sociodemographic variables were included as statistical controls, due to their well-established theoretical associations with depressive symptoms. The results, available in

Table 3. Hierarchical multiple linear regression of family abduction/parental interference considering control variables.

Caregiver Victimization	B	SE (Robust)	B	t	R2
Model 1
Gender	−0.28	0.006	−0.39 *	−45.37
Age	0.10	0.002	0.04 *	4.76	0.15
Model 2
Gender	−0.21	0.006	−0.29 *	−35.98
Age	0.01	0.002	0.02 *	2.50
Psychological Abuse	0.19	0.007	0.26 *	30.00
Physical Abuse	0.09	0.007	0.11 *	13.41
Neglect	0.16	0.010	0.12 *	15.60
Family Abduction/Parental Interference	0.08	0.010	0.06 *	8.25	0.30

Note. * p ≤ 0.001. Standardized beta coefficients are reported. Gender was coded as 0 = male and 1 = female.

, revealed that in Model 1, the negative standardized beta coefficient for gender (β = −0.39, p < 0.001) indicates that female participants reported significantly higher depressive symptoms than male participants. The standardized beta coefficient for age (β = 0.04, p < 0.001) suggests that older adolescents also tended to report slightly higher levels of depressive symptoms. This model was statistically significant, F(2, 11,234) = 1019.96, p < 0.001, explaining approximately 15% of the variance in depressive symptoms. In Model 2, gender and age remained significantly associated with depressive symptoms, and additional significant associations were observed for different forms of caregiver victimization: psychological abuse (B = 0.26, p < 0.001), physical abuse (B = 0.11, p < 0.001), neglect (B = 0.12, p < 0.001), and parental interference/family abduction (B = 0.06, p < 0.001). In this model, the variable of interest—parental interference/family abduction—also showed a significant association with depressive symptoms, even when controlling for the other variables mentioned above. This extended model was also statistically significant, F(6, 11,230) = 831.49, p < 0.001, and explained 30% of the variance in depressive symptoms.

4. Discussion

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between family abduction/parental interference and depressive symptoms in a national probabilistic sample of Chilean children and adolescents. According to the findings, the prevalence of victimization due to parental interference/family abduction was 9.4%, which is a higher figure compared to other studies conducted in developed countries using a similar methodology and the same measurement instrument such as studies in Spain [28] or the United States [7]. It is even higher than what has been reported in previous Chilean studies using the same instrument but with a representative sample from 2017 [16]. This implies an increase of almost three times the number of children and adolescents reporting this experience of victimization, which aligns with national figures regarding contested divorces over personal custody and regular direct visitation [17]. As mentioned, these are circumstances where interparental conflict could escalate, and phenomena such as family abduction could occur more easily [3]. In this regard, some studies suggest that the context of COVID-19 may have exacerbated conflicts between parents, even being associated with depressive symptoms in sons and daughters [29], which could partly explain the increase in the figures reported in our research. The COVID-19 pandemic created great uncertainty for numerous families. Court-established joint custody agreements were impacted due to the disruption of family routines and concerns related to dealing with a new situation. For families with joint custody, COVID-19 intensified already strained relationships between parents and presented complex legal challenges for caregivers [29].

On the other hand, our results confirmed that children and adolescents who reported parental interference/family abduction exhibited greater depressive symptoms than those who did not have these experiences. This was measured using Birleson’s scale [22], which has been utilized in various Chilean studies with adequate psychometric properties [24,30]. Importantly, this association remained significant even after controlling for age, suggesting that the relationship between parental interference and depressive symptomatology is robust across developmental stages. Moreover, this result is consistent with the literature that highlights the relationship between this form of victimization and various mental health problems in those who are victims of these circumstances [3,10].

Subsequent to these preliminary findings, multiple hierarchical regression models were conducted to jointly evaluate the incorporation of sociodemographic factors, such as age and gender, which have demonstrated associations with caregiver victimization [16], as well as other forms of caregiver victimization that have shown to have significant effects in terms of variance for the statistical models [31]. In this regard, our findings indicate that both the sociodemographic control variables were significant in explaining depressive symptoms. In this regard, our findings indicate that both sociodemographic control variables—age and gender—were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Specifically, being female and older in age were linked to higher levels of depressive symptomatology. These results underscore the relevance of considering individual characteristics alongside caregiver victimization experiences when analyzing mental health outcomes in children and adolescents. Moreover, they are consistent with previous findings that have already associated age and gender with the occurrence of parental interference [16], although the present study complements these findings by examining their association with depressive symptomatology. On the other hand, parental interference showed a significant association with depressive symptoms, just as the other forms of caregiver victimization included in the analysis—such as psychological abuse, physical abuse, and neglect—did. This finding reinforces the importance of considering parental interference as a potentially harmful experience for the mental health of children and adolescents. To explain these results, it is necessary to contextualize that, as previously mentioned, the literature addressing this form of victimization individually is scarce, especially considering its relationship with depressive symptoms [10]. While our findings show that parental interference is significantly associated with depressive symptoms, the effect size is smaller than those observed for other forms of caregiver victimization, such as psychological and physical abuse. However, it is important to consider that parental interference may not occur in isolation. In many cases, these experiences may co-occur with emotional or physical abuse, especially in high-conflict separations or domestic violence contexts. Future studies should explore these potential overlaps and investigate whether parental interference contributes to depressive symptoms independently or as part of broader patterns of polyvictimization [2]. Nevertheless, a theoretical framework that could be useful in explaining at least partially our results is that which comes from alienating behaviors [32]. This theory suggests that these behaviors are carried out by both parents in contexts of high interparental conflict and involve interfering with or harming the relationship of a common child with the other parental figure [32,33,34]. In fact, this conceptual framework describes one of the alienating behaviors that parents may exhibit towards their children as obstructing a child’s contact with the other parental figure [32], which aligns closely with the concept of parental interference/family abduction [3]. Furthermore, these behaviors have been extensively related to depressive symptoms, although with adult samples [35,36,37], including in the Chilean context [33,38], as is the case in the present research. This opens a research field on the phenomenon of parental interference/family abduction, relating to how this form of victimization could contribute to other adverse childhood and adolescent experiences, exacerbating the mental health issues faced by children and adolescents.

4.1. Strengths and Limitations

The present research followed a careful methodological approach from its design to analysis, and its sampling strategy allows for certain representational insights within the defined population. Various statistical control variables were incorporated to strengthen the analyses and the associated results. However, it is important to note some limitations. The nature of the cross-sectional design limits the ability to attribute causality to the studied variables. It should be emphasized that the data are subject to the limitations inherent in any study based on self-report. Given that it is an extensive questionnaire with questions about experienced violence events, factors such as social desirability and acquiescence may have had some impact on the results.

4.2. Practice Implications

The findings of the present study may have important practical implications for the prevention of caregiver victimization (not only physical or psychological abuse) but also parental interference/family abduction. These results can be transferred to professionals in the clinical, social, or psychosocial care fields who work in clinical, health, or community contexts. This is because they could serve as the first line of detection for families exhibiting these types of conflict dynamics. Regarding the findings on factors related to depressive symptoms, these may be useful for authorities developing child protection plans and programs. In this way, public policy budgets could be allocated to increase awareness of this form of victimization in society.

4.3. Future Research Recomendations

Following up on variables of interest related to mental health is a necessary area to explore. This is considering that the literature on this phenomenon has been largely overshadowed by the focus on evidence regarding other more frequent forms of caregiver victimization. Future studies should explore whether the impact of parental interference/family abduction varies across specific sociodemographic subgroups, such as immigration background, disability status, or indigenous self-identification, by incorporating these variables as potential moderators or control factors. Finally, the need for deeper research on the increase in the prevalence of parental interference is revealed, taking into account recent contextual factors (such as COVID-19).

5. Conclusions

This research adds to the expanding body of work on lesser-known types of caregiver victimization by exploring the link between parental interference or family abduction and depressive symptoms in a national, probabilistic sample of Chilean youth. The results indicate a greater number of reports of parental interference or family abduction than those reported in previous national and international studies using the same instrument. This rise might be partly attributed to contextual factors like increasing parental custody disputes and the disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, parental interference or family abduction was strongly linked to depressive symptoms, even after controlling for age and other forms of caregiver victimization. Although the effect size was smaller than that of psychological or physical abuse, the findings suggest that parental interference is a significant and distinct factor contributing to depressive symptoms. Our results highlight the need for further exploration of these dynamics during childhood and adolescence, as well as their enduring mental health impacts. This research paves the way for inquiries that could inform early detection strategies and child protection measures within family law and psychosocial services.