Intimate partner violence, relationship status, and protective orders: does "living in sin" entail a different experience?

The legal status of women's intimate relationships may allow for different experiences with intimate partner violence (IPV) and the protections received from the criminal justice system. There has been limited research examining differences in IPV and protective orders for women in marital and cohabiting intimate relationships. This study examines differences in experiences with IPV and factors related to protective orders: stipulations, violations, and perceived efficacy in a sample of married (n = 392) and cohabiting (n = 307) women with protective orders. Results suggest (a) married and cohabiting women are significantly different on a number of demographic characteristics; however, after controlling for these demographic differences, (b) married and cohabiting women's experiences with IPV are similar in almost all dimensions, except with the psychological tactic of degradation; and (c) married and cohabiting women receive similar protective order stipulations, experience similar rates of violations, and have the same overall perceptions of safety, freedom, and effectiveness pertaining to the domestic violence order. Implications for policy are discussed.     

The prevalence and characteristics of intimate partner violence in a community study of Chinese American women

A community probability-sampled survey was done of 181 Chinese American women to investigate the prevalence and nature of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Chinese Americans. Of participants, 42% knew a Chinese woman who had experienced IPV. Also, 14% had experienced IPV themselves in their lifetime (8% severe and 6% minor), 3% in the previous year, and 2% currently. In Chinese American women who were ever married, the lifetime prevalence of IPV was 17%. IPV resulted in physical injuries for 31% of women and affected their work and education. Exploratory analysis suggests that relationship problems and partner's alcohol use may be risk factors for IPV in this group.     

Intimate partner violence within a cohort of Pacific mothers living in New Zealand

Maternal reports of intimate partner violence (IPV) were obtained from a cohort of Pacific mothers living in New Zealand. The Conflict Tactics Scale was completed by 1,095 women who had given birth in the past 12 months, and who were married or living with a partner as married. The 12-month prevalence of "victimization" through verbal aggression was 77%, 21% for "minor" physical violence, and 11% for "severe" physical violence. The 12-month prevalence of "perpetration" of verbal aggression against a partner was 90%, 35% for "minor" physical violence, and 19% for "severe" violence towards their partner. The experience of social inequality and acculturation are associated with IPV, albeit differentially across the experience of victimization and perpetration. Factors significantly associated with victimization are ethnicity, maternal education, social marital status and household income. Factors significantly associated with perpetration are ethnicity, cultural alignment, maternal birthplace and alcohol consumption since the birth of the child.     

Emotion Dysregulation,Gender, and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration: An Exploratory Study in College Students

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent problem, as it is bidirectional and perpetrated by both men and women. Emotion dysregulation may influence IPV perpetration among men and women. This cross-sectional survey study of 598 college students investigated the associations between two important factors related to IPV perpetration: gender and emotion dysregulation. Findings illustrated an association between emotion dysregulation and IPV perpetration. The bivariate association between physical violence and one facet of emotion dysregulation differed by gender, such that lack of emotional awareness was associated with violence perpetrated by women, but not men; however, this was not supported in multivariate analyses. These preliminary findings suggest that future work should examine how different emotion regulation deficits may increase IPV by gender.     

Intimate Partner Violence Screening in a Women Veterans’ Health Clinic: Assessing Feasibility

Women presenting for care within a suburban Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital (VA) were screened for intimate partner violence (IPV). This study aimed to explore the feasibility of screening for IPV within a VA women’s health clinic, assess how well the screening measure captured women veterans’ experiences of IPV, and compare clinical correlates of IPV in women veterans who have and have not experienced IPV. Of 96 eligible women, 93 (97 %) answered a self-report question regarding experience of lifetime IPV and 72 (75 %) participated in a standardized screening. Among participants, 42 (47 %) reported experiencing past or current IPV, and of those, 11 (25 %) reported that they were currently experiencing IPV, and 31 (70 %) reported that they had experienced IPV in their past. Screening for IPV among women veterans in a women’s health clinic is feasible and identifies women who experience IPV, offering opportunities for referral and intervention.     

Seeking for risk factors of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in a Greek national sample: the role of self-esteem

The objective of this article is to gain a better understanding of the magnitude of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Greece and to explore factors associated with increased risk of IPV prevalence. A cross-sectional study was undertaken among 1,122 men and women, aged 18 to 65, who are residents of urban areas of Greece. The questionnaire used included 3 sections and 39 items that examined the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, rate of IPV victimization and perpetration (physical, sexual, emotional), childhood experience of violence, and level of self-esteem. Statistical analysis showed self-esteem to be significantly associated with physical violence victimization and perpetration (odds ratio [OR] = .975, confidence interval [CI] = .955-.996; OR = .972, CI = .951-.993, respectively), whereas experience of abuse during childhood was shown to be a strong predictor in all six models of IPV victimization and perpetration (p < .001). Finally, gender, age and years of cohabitation were some sociodemographic and background characteristics found to increase the risk of specific forms of IPV. Conclusions drawn from the current study should be taken into account in attempts aiming at preventing or ameliorating the problem.     

A forensic medicine perspective on recurring episodes of intimate partner violence

During a three year period, 418 victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) were examined and their injuries documented at the Center for Victims of Violence (CVV) in Hamburg, Germany. All victims were questioned if their acute injuries were attributable to recurring acts of violence by the same intimate partner. The victims' experiences with recurring IPV were analyzed and associated risk factors as well as findings of acute physical injuries were integrated into the assesment. Overall, women were significantly more often victims of recurring episodes of IPV than men. In 35.4% of cases, victims of recurring IPV sustained injuries to three or more body regions. However, women who were victimized during a single act of violence, presented with the same distribution of injuries in only 21.1% of cases (p = 0.01). The results emphasize the fact that IPV often manifests itself in a spiraling escalation of physical violence. Furthermore, blunt force trauma to the head was diagnosed significantly more often (p = 0.05). The risk of sustaining a head injury was equally high for women who experienced a first-time violent episode by their ex-partner as it was for married women or women living in a non-marital partnership during recurring episodes of IPV. In an effort to reduce the increased risk for victims of IPV, health care personnel are highly encouraged to partake in forensic medicine based continuing education. This preventative measure may prepare clinicians to recognize IPV earlier as well as to treat and advise clients appropriately.     

Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Victims’ Relational and Sexual Well-Being

Research shows that experiences with intimate partner violence (IPV) harm victims’ individual well-being. Surprisingly, little is known about how IPV might impact on victims’ well-being at the relationship level. Based on a population-based study in Flanders (the Northern part of Belgium), this study concentrates on how lifetime experience with IPV impacts on victims’ relational and sexual well-being with their current partner. Ten percent of the population was confronted with physical violence and 56.7 % with psychological violence. Higher levels of IPV victimization corresponded with an adverse mental, relational (relationship satisfaction, attachment), and sexual (sexual satisfaction, sexual dysfunction, sexual communication) well-being in both women and men but except for the latter correlates, the effects were more pronounced for women than for men.     

Intimate Partner Violence Against Women: Is Women Empowerment a Reducing Factor? A Study from a National Bangladeshi Sample

This article explores how women empowerment affects Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Bangladesh using a cross-sectional investigation of currently married women (n = 4,181) sampled via the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (BDHS), 2007. About one-fourth (24%) of currently married Bangladeshi women experienced both physical and/or sexual IPV in the past year. Prevalence of physical and sexual violence was 19.4% and 10.5%, respectively. Younger generation (age 15–24), illiterate, rural, and the poorest household wealth categorized women were much victimized. Current employment status predicted intimate partner violence. Household decision-making pattern also emerged as a predictor of IPV. Likelihood of all forms of IPV increases with increase of number of participation in household decision-making. Promoting women empowerment in the household without men’s support may put women at more risk of IPV.     

Intimate Partner Violence and Psychological Distress among Young Couples: Analysis of the Moderating Effect of Social Support

Young adults are more likely to experience intimate partner violence (IPV) than older adults. Little is known about the effect of confiding to others about sustained violence on the mental health of victims. The objective of this study was to explore the links between IPV, help-seeking behaviors and psychological distress by gender in a sample of 233 young couples.Our results indicate the frequency of sustained psychological violence, but not physical violence, was positively associated to distress. For women, seeking help from a greater number of confidents moderated the association between violence and psychological distress. For men, results showed that frequencies of physical and psychological violence were both positively linked to distress. However, unlike women, social support had no buffering effect on men’s distress. These findings increase our understanding of the effects of social support on young adults’ distress following episodes of IPV.     

Intimate partner violence and long-term psychosocial functioning in a national sample of American women

Using a nationally representative sample of American married or cohabiting women, this prospective study examined women who reported or denied intimate partner violence (IPV) at wave 1 and compared them on a range of psychosocial outcomes at a 5-year follow-up. This study also examined the rate of divorce or separation during the 5-year interval among women who reported IPV at wave 1 and explored whether certain predictors were related to ending an abusive relationship with an intimate partner during the period. Women with IPV at wave 1, compared to women without IPV, were significantly more likely to experience a greater degree of depressive symptoms and functional impairment and less self-esteem and life satisfaction at the 5-year follow-up. Also, nearly half of the women in an abusive relationship left the relationship within the period. Leaving the abusive relationship was associated with lower individual income and more social support at wave 1.     

Risk Factors for Women’s Intimate Partner Violence Victimization: An Examination from the Perspective of the Schema Therapy Model

This study attempted to examine risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization against women in terms of the schema therapy model (STM). Seventy-nine shelter-residing female IPV victims and 78 married female IPV non-victims participated in the study. The Young Schema Questionnaire Short Form, the Young Parenting Inventory, the Young Compensation Inventory, and the Young Avoidance Inventory were used. The results revealed that being young and having low income were risk factors for IPV victimization. Paternal parenting style was also found to be a further risk factor in addition to demographic variables. Further, the endorsement of disconnection and the unrelenting standards schema domains presented further information predicting IPV victimization above and beyond demographic variables and parenting styles. Maladaptive coping styles did not reveal themselves as maintenance factors for IPV victimization when the information gathered from demographic variables, parenting styles, and schema domains is taken out. The results are discussed in terms of the STM.     

Intimate partner violence and unintended pregnancy among bangladeshi women

This study examined the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and unintended pregnancy using data from women reporting IPV in the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey. The analysis included 4,695 married women, aged 15 to 40 years, who had at least one birth in the last 5 years. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship between IPV and pregnancy. About one third (30.4%) of women were abused physically and/or sexually and about one third (30.9%) of their births in the last 5 years were unintended. Compared with women who suffered no IPV, women who were abused sexually had a 1.64-fold increased risk of unintended pregnancy, which is higher than those who suffered physical abuse only (odds ratio: 1.35). The prevalence of unintended pregnancy among those who experienced severe physical violence was 1.60 times higher than those who reported no abuse. The findings indicate a significant relationship between IPV and unintended pregnancy among Bangladeshi women.     

The Intergenerational Transmission of Intimate Partner Violence: Differentiating Correlates in a Random Community Sample

The current study used a random sample of 502 men and women to investigate the intergenerational transmission of violence and assess the impact of family-of-origin violence on later adult intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and victimization while controlling for a host of theoretically-relevant factors and demographic characteristics. Six multivariate logistic regression analyses were modeled to identify differential correlates depending upon type of violence perpetration and victimization. Findings indicated a significant relationship between family-of-origin violence and psychological perpetration and victimization. The acceptance of violence in relationships significantly correlated with physical violence perpetration. Finally, being married, older, and employed protected against several forms of interpersonal violence. Policy implications are discussed.     

Factors Contributing to Intimate Partner Violence among Men in Kerala,India

Kerala is one of the most progressive states in India in terms of women’s opportunities for higher education and employment. Despite these advancements in gender equality, intimate partner violence (IPV) against women remains high, with some studies finding increased rates of IPV in Kerala relative to other states. This study examines contributing factors to male-to-female IPV in Kerala. One hundred and thirty-four men were surveyed on perceived marital power, early exposure to violence, drinking habits, depression, and marital satisfaction in relation to current IPV. Forty percent of participants reported incidents of IPV in the past year. Batterers scored significantly higher on childhood abuse, drinking, depression, and marital dissatisfaction. These four predictor variables were all significantly correlated with male-to-female IPV, but perceived marital power was only partially correlated with IPV. Abuse in childhood emerged as the strongest predictor of current IPV. Implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

The Association Between Different Types of Intimate Partner Violence Experienced by Women

Those who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) are often subjected to multiple types of victimization such as physical violence, sexual violence, psychological aggression, and stalking. However, relatively few studies have used a national population-based sample and multivariate methods to analyze the associations between these different types of violence. This study uses multivariate methods to analyze a national population-based sample of women in order to document empirically the extent to which different types of IPV overlap, while controlling for personal and behavioral characteristics. Results indicated significant levels of overlap, with victims often experiencing more than one type of victimization by an intimate partner. Findings also indicated that women who had experienced violence by non-intimate partners were often more likely to experience violence by intimates. Finally, women who had experienced stalking by an intimate were more likely to experience more forms of IPV on average than those who had experienced physical violence, sexual violence, or emotional aggression.     

Predicting the Risk of Intimate Partner Violence: The Chinese Risk Assessment Tool for Victims

The present study reports the development and validation of the Chinese Risk Assessment Tool for Victims (CRAT-V), an actuarial instrument for the prediction of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization in a Chinese population. Data were collected from a representative sample of 2,708 Chinese women who were married or cohabiting in Hong Kong. All participants were interviewed with a questionnaire assessing their experience of IPV victimization and personal or family factors related to IPV. As measured by the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS 2), the base rates of preceding-year physical and sexual IPV victimization were 4.6 % and 3.6 %, respectively. Using a cross-validation procedure, the present study developed a 5-factor instrument with one half of the randomly split sample and validated the resulting tool with the other half. The CRAT-V had a sensitivity of 74.0 %, a specificity of 68.3 %, an overall accuracy of 68.7 %, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.75 when administered on the second half of sample. Overall, the CRAT-V may serve as a straightforward, systematic, and easy-to-administer instrument tailor-made for Chinese populations for the assessment of risk of IPV victimization against women.     

What Happens Before Intimate Partner Violence? Distal and Proximal Antecedents

Although research on intimate partner violence (IPV) has emphasized the importance of building situational frameworks and event-based research, our knowledge of the contexts surrounding IPV is particularly limited for immigrants. The present study identifies the sequence of specific antecedents of IPV and their relationships with one another. This study is a content analysis of online postings on an anonymous internet forum for Korean married women living in the U.S. Ninety-five postings narrating IPV episodes from the direct experiences of the posters were selected. With a novel method named the “might-cause chain,” violence was extracted from the narratives and then traced back to prior actions. Results suggest that environmental settings of IPV can be expanded from immediate proximal situations (triggers), through contingent pathways, to distal context. The roles of verbal exchange, alcohol, in-laws, and self-control, and the patterns of demand interactions, IPV cycles or continuums, and dispute-related violence are discussed.     

Gender Differences in the Nature of the Intimate Partner Violence and Effects of Perpetrator Arrest on Revictimization

The majority of research on intimate partner violence (IPV) has addressed male-to-female violence, although a small but growing body of literature has developed that explores males victimized by female partners. This study used data from the National Crime Victimization Survey from 1987 to 2003 to examine male victimization by comparing the nature of violence to female victimization and by exploring the effect of perpetrator arrest on preventing revictimization. The sample was comprised of 2,462 female and 298 male victims. Study variables included gender, arrest, revictimization, type of violence, injury, and use of a weapon. Results showed that men were victimized by IPV less frequently than women and received fewer injuries, although they were more likely to experience more severe violence. Police arrested female perpetrators, but generally only if injury was involved; however, arrest did not reduce male victims’ chance of revictimization.     

Intimate Partner Violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Prevalence and Risk Factors

This paper presents results from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of married women (N?=?3,500) in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Interviews assessed the 12-month prevalence of participants’ exposure to psychological, physical, and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) and risk factors including: demographic characteristics, several factors of marital relations, stressful life events, political violence, status inconsistency, family size, locality, region, help resources in the community, and locality-level acceptance of wife abuse. The prevalence estimates of IPV were: psychological aggression, 50 % minor and 12 % severe; physical assault, 17 % minor and 6 % severe; and sexual coercion, 4 % minor and 6 % severe. Results revealed that stressful life events, husbands’ controlling behavior, and marital conflicts were related to all forms of IPV (all p-values?<?0.05). Greater locality-level acceptance of wife abuse was statistically associated with greater odds of each type of violence except sexual violence. The limitations and implications of the study for future research are discussed.