Does alcohol make a difference? Within-participants comparison of incidents of partner violence

Episodes of husband-to-wife violence in which the husband consumed alcohol were compared with episodes of husband-to-wife violence, reported by the same individuals, in which the husband was not drinking. Among this community sample of newlyweds, wife reports, but not husband reports, indicated that violent episodes in which the husband was drinking included more acts of violence and were more likely to involve severe violence. Both wife and husband reports indicated that wives were more likely to be physically aggressive in husband drinking episodes compared to sober episodes. However, whereas wives reported that their aggressive behavior was a response to husband aggression, husbands reported that wives were more likely to initiate violence in these episodes. Violent episodes that include alcohol may be more severe and more mutually violent than sober episodes. Discrepancies between husband and wife reports may reflect differences in recall or self-serving biases.     

Who is most at risk for intimate partner violence? A Canadian population-based study

Whole population studies on intimate partner violence (IPV) have given contradictory information about prevalence and risk factors, especially concerning gender. The authors examined the 1999 Canadian General Social Survey data for gender patterns of physical, sexual, emotional, or financial IPV from a current or ex-partner. More women (8.6%) than men (7.0%, p = .001) reported partner physical abuse in general, physical IPV causing physical injury (p < .0001), sexual abuse (1.7% vs. 0.2%, p < .0001), and financial abuse (4.1% vs. 1.6%, p < .0001). There were no gender differences for partner emotional abuse. Significant risk factors after multivariate modeling for physical/sexual IPV were younger age, being divorced/separated or single, having children in the household, and poor self-rated physical health. These findings from a large, randomly generated data set further refine our understanding of the risk profile for IPV in the developed world.     

An exploratory study of women arrested for intimate partner violence: violent women or violent resistance?

With the advent of mandatory and pro-arrest laws for incidents of intimate partner violence, there has been an increase in the number of women arrested for domestic violence. Several explanations are posed in the literature that attempt to explain such a rise, including the hypothesis that women are being arrested not for offensive violence but rather for defensive violence. Few studies, however, have used empirical data to support such arguments. This exploratory study examines the characteristics of women arrested for intimate personal violence. Particular attention is paid to women arrested with their partner (i.e., dual arrestees) and the contextual characteristics of dual arrestee incidents. Important differences are uncovered in the context and consequences of arrest for dual arrestees (n = 21) compared to women arrested alone as the offender (n = 49). Implications of these findings and further research directions are discussed.     

Leave or stay? Battered women's decision after intimate partner violence

Battered women's reasons for staying with or leaving their male partners are varied and complex. Using data from the Domestic Violence Experience in Omaha, Nebraska, a discrete-time hazard model was employed to examine a woman's decision based on four factors: financial independence, witness of parental violence, psychological factors, and the police response to the domestic violence call. Findings regarding the first three factors are consistent with previous findings. However, a negative police response did not deter a woman from leaving, which is a different finding from previous studies.     

Risk assessment for intimate partner violence: how can the police assess risk?

ABSTRACT

The use of risk assessment tools by frontline police for intimate partner violence has the potential to make a difference to policing. In this paper, the key aspects of intimate partner violence risk assessment are outlined critically with a particular emphasis on how they can be used in practice. Two, evidence-based, exemplars are reviewed. These are the Ontario Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment (ODARA), an example of the actuarial approach, and the Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk (B-SAFER), an example of the structured professional judgement approach. In addition, the victim giving his or her own appraisal of risk is discussed. All three approaches have some validity when administered properly but practical factors reduce this validity. The content of the risk assessment tools are outlined and practical concerns such as training, time to administer, reliability, validity, and the overlap of intimate partner violence with other forms of offending are discussed. A balanced overview of the strengths, weaknesses and future potential of intimate partner violence risk assessment is provided.     

Of mice and men: will the intersection of social science and genetics create new approaches for intimate partner violence?

The past two decades have yielded a recognition that intimate partner violence is ubiquitous. Although violence within relationships is bidirectional, there is acknowledgment that violence directed against women is more persistent and dangerous. Strategies for treatment of men have been largely unsuccessful, and studies of women centered approaches to prevention are in their infancy. An emerging concept in the brain-behavior field is the recognition of genetics as a powerful influence on aggressive and violent behaviors. Mouse models of human health and disease have facilitated our understanding of the role of genetics in the manifestation of these traits. There is a need to push the boundaries of research on intimate partner violence by adopting biosocial approaches to understand its causes.     

Intimate partner violence against women. Does violence decrease after the entry of the alleged offender into the criminal justice system?

Intimate partner violence(IPV)is simultaneously assumed as a serious crime and a major public health issue,having recurrences as one of its main characteristics and,consequently,re-entries of some alleged offenders in the criminal justice system(CJS).The main goal of this study is to assess if in cases of female victims of IPV,violence decreases after the first entry of the alleged offender in the CJS.A retrospective study was performed based on the analysis of police reports of alleged cases of IPV during a 4-year period.The final sample(n=1488)was divided into two groups according to the number of entries in the CJS(single or multiple)followed by a comparative approach.Results suggest that violence decreases after the first entry of alleged offenders in the CJS.Re-entries were found in only 15.5%of the cases but they were accountable for 3.3 times more crimes on average.Besides,victims of recidivism presented more injuries and required more medical care.Thus,a small group of alleged offenders seems to be more violent and accountable for most of the IPV crimes registered in the CJS suggesting that regardless of legal sanctions aiming to deter violence,these measures may not be enough for a certain group of offenders.This study sustains the need for a predictive model to quantify the risk of repeated IPV cases within the Portuguese population.     

The “care package,” prison domestic violence programs and recidivism: a quasi-experimental study

Objectives

Although there are many evaluations of domestic violence rehabilitation programs, it is still unclear “what works” in this field, especially when it comes to programs within prison walls. Today, most studies indicate that domestic violence programs based on cognitive behavioral treatment, or psycho-educational models show small positive results. Yet, there is still insufficient empirical literature providing adequate evidence for the impact of integrative treatment, where different methods and approaches toward domestic violence prisoners are employed within the same rehabilitation-program framework while incarcerated. Our study examined the effects of an integrative domestic violence program with a therapeutic “package” implemented in Israel with the goal of reducing recidivism rates among prisoners in general, and especially with regard to violent offenses.

Methods

Using propensity score matching methods, we compared treated offenders to a matched sample drawn from all convicted prisoners who were released from prison between 2004 and 2012.

Results

The findings indicate that the percentages of reincarceration and rearrests of inmates, who participated in integrative domestic violence program, were significantly lower during a period of up to 4 years after release.

Conclusions

Our conclusion is that the integrative effect of different treatments along with a supportive prison climate increased the success of inmates who participated in the domestic violence program.

     

‘It’s deemed unmanly’: men’s experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV)

This study investigated male victims’ experiences of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV). Seven participants were interviewed and the data were analysed using Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Four essential themes were revealed. (1) Participants identified themselves as victims of abuse (experiencing physical and multiple forms of abuse). (2) They felt they were victims of controlling abuse (through the use of children and isolation). (3) Respondents experienced manipulation through gendered stereotypes of abuse. (4) They felt it was different because they were men. The participants within this study were often deeply affected by the abuse they had experienced. Previous research has found male abusers use societal structures and norms to enable their abuse. The participants in this study felt that their female abusers were equally adept doing this, although the mechanisms were different. Further research should look at the processes by which abusers of either gender control and abuse their victims.     

Does higher level of education of the labor force cause growth? Evidence from Bulgaria

This study tries to give new evidence on the relationship between human capital and output per capita in the former centrally-planned economies. Educational attainment of the labor force is used as a proxy for the human capital stock in Bulgaria. The empirical models are based on the extended Cobb–Douglas production function with labor, human capital as well as physical capital. In addition, the reduced form specifications include export and foreign direct investments. The econometric outcome suggests that an increase of the share of people with upper secondary education in the labor force is not related to the rate of long-run growth. Moreover, it is inversely related to the shortrun changes in real output. On the contrary, a positive impact is derived for tertiary education. In general, the study does not fully support the hypothesis that the higher average educational level of the population fosters growth. Export, physical capital and foreign direct investments turn out to be the driving forces of Bulgaria’s growth. A partial correlation analysis implies that the quality of human capital measured by foreign language proficiency could explain the insignificant effect of secondary education.     

Anxiety disorders and intimate partner violence: can the association be explained by coexisting conditions or borderline personality traits?

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious, preventable public health problem. IPV perpetration is strongly associated with Anxiety disorders at the population level. We investigated whether the association could be explained by coexisting psychiatric conditions or Borderline personality traits, using a combined data-set of two National Household Surveys (n = 15,973). Results showed women were more likely to report perpetrating IPV than men. Anxiety disorders were associated with IPV. When coexisting psychiatric conditions together with a categorical diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) were investigated as explanatory variables, 19.2% of the association between Anxiety disorders and IPV was explained. Using individual Borderline traits in place of a categorical diagnosis of BPD, 58.3% of the association was explained. In conclusion, the association between Anxiety disorders and IPV was partly, but not fully, explained by coexisting psychiatric conditions and individual Borderline traits. Perpetrators of IPV should be screened for Anxiety disorders and among those with Anxiety disorders, Borderline traits are important.     

When Does Evidence of Eyewitness Confidence Inflation Affect Judgments in a Criminal Trial?

Two studies investigated perceptions of eyewitness confidence inflation: increases in a witness's confidence between the time of the identification and the trial. Experiment 1 (N = 90) demonstrated that, for White participants, assessments of the strength of the defense case, the eyewitness's view, and participants' confidence in the eyewitness's accuracy were more favorable to the defense when there was evidence that the eyewitness's confidence increased over time (mere inflation condition), compared with a control condition. In addition, assessments of the defendant's guilt and the eyewitness's accuracy were more favorable to the defense when the eyewitness was aggressively challenged about the change in her confidence report (inflation + challenge). Experiment 2 (N = 360) demonstrated that, for Hispanic participants, sensitivity to confidence inflation did not interact with manipulations of the eyewitness's or defendant's race (White vs. Hispanic). In addition, the confidence inflation effect did not replicate with the Hispanic participants. Results are interpreted in terms of the ingroup bias in legal judgments and directions for future research.     

Does Parolee Drug Testing Influence Employment and Education Outcomes? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment with Noncompliance

Despite the ubiquity of drug testing in criminal justice settings, there is little experimental evidence suggesting that testing reduces drug use or engenders pro-social behavior. This paper estimates the effect of parolee drug testing on labor and education outcomes with data from a randomized experiment involving 1,958 young parolees. It provides the first estimates in the literature suggesting that drug testing with graduated sanctions can improve short-run employment and education outcomes for parolees. After controlling for parole office fixed effects, juvenile criminal history, and a host of other covariates, the analyses suggest that parolees randomly assigned to testing are 6–8 percentage points (∼11%) less likely to be unemployed and not in school for the month following release to parole when compared to those assigned to the no-testing condition. Racially- and ethnically-stratified analyses find that Hispanics assigned to testing are 10–13 percentage points (∼22%) less likely to be unemployed and not in school, while the estimated coefficient for Blacks is statistically insignificant and hovers around zero. Analyses that use instrumental variable techniques to account for noncompliance by parole officers yield local average treatment effects that are almost twice as large as the intention-to-treat effects.

Does foreign investment enhance domestic manufacturing firms’ labour productivity? Evidence from a quantile regression approach

Economic Change and Restructuring - We provide new insights into the relationship between foreign investment and the labour productivity of domestic firms in the Vietnamese manufacturing industry....     

Does contact with the justice system deter or promote future delinquency? Results from a longitudinal study of British adolescent twins

What impact does formal punishment have on antisocial conduct—does it deter or promote it? The findings from a long line of research on the labeling tradition indicate formal punishments have the opposite-of-intended consequence of promoting future misbehavior. In another body of work, the results show support for deterrence-based hypotheses that punishment deters future misbehavior. So, which is it? We draw on a nationally representative sample of British adolescent twins from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study to perform a robust test of the deterrence versus labeling question. We leverage a powerful research design in which twins can serve as the counterfactual for their co-twin, thereby ruling out many sources of confounding that have likely impacted prior studies. The pattern of findings provides support for labeling theory, showing that contact with the justice system—through spending a night in jail/prison, being issued an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO), or having an official record—promotes delinquency. We conclude by discussing the impact these findings may have on criminologists’ and practitioners’ perspective on the role of the juvenile justice system in society.     

What puts women at risk of violence from their husbands? Findings from a large, nationally representative survey in Turkey

A large, nationally representative, cross-sectional survey was conducted in Turkey in 2008. In this survey, which used the WHO (World Health Organization) study module on violence, information about lifetime and current violence (past 12 months) was obtained using weighted, stratified, and multistage cluster sampling. This article describes factors associated with physical or sexual violence experienced by ever-married women, aged 15 to 49, from their current or most recent husbands in the 12 months before the survey. Logistic regression analysis is used to describe the risk and protective factors from a considerable range of explanatory variables. The findings confirm that many factors are similar to the experiences of other countries. The physical or sexual violence experienced by ever-married women from their husbands was 15.1%. The violence experienced by women is significantly positively associated with early childhood abuse experiences of both women and their husbands; marriages decided by families or others; husband's behaviors such as drunkenness, adultery, controlling women's behavior, and preventing contact with women's family and friends. The age of the women, their contribution to the household income, support from women's families, women's acceptance of male authority, and nonpartner violence experience as well as regional differentials also affect the risk of violence. No significant associations were found with the employment status of women and men or education difference. This study, as one of the largest surveys ever conducted on the issue of domestic violence using face-to-face interviews, demonstrated how the patriarchal family structure still affects women's lives in Turkey. This is particularly significant, given Turkey's setting between traditional and modern values.     

Urban adolescent mothers exposed to community, family, and partner violence: is cumulative violence exposure a barrier to school performance and participation?

Using a risk and resilience perspective, the authors assessed urban adolescent mothers' exposure to community, family, and partner violence and analyzed the relationships between cumulative violence exposure and multiple school outcomes, within the context of welfare reforms. Positive attitude toward school and social support were examined as moderators of violence exposure on school outcomes. The authors pilot tested the questionnaire with 10 participants, then surveyed 120 adolescent mothers regarding their violence exposure, school performance and participation, positive attitude toward school, and social support. Results indicate very high rates of lifetime exposure to violence; intercorrelations and regression analyses indicate that as violence exposure increases, school outcomes tend to worsen, with positive attitude toward school found to be a significant moderator of the effects of exposure to community violence on behavior problems in school. Implications for researchers, practitioners, school policies and programs, and welfare policies and programs conclude the article.