Interactive and Unique Risk Factors for Husbands' Emotional and Physical Abuse of Their Wives

Predisposing risk factors of husband to wife physical and emotional abusiveness were assessed in 175 community volunteer couples. Negative life events, marital dissatisfaction, attitudes regarding aggression, and employment status accounted for unique variance in the prediction of husbands' total abusiveness. Alcohol impairment, while not in itself a significant predictor, moderated the effects of life stress and marital dissatisfaction. Men reporting alcohol impairment, combined with high negative life events or with high marital dissatisfaction, exhibited greater abusiveness than predicted by the additive effects of these individual risk factors. Men exhibiting emotional abuse, compared to those without emotional abuse, scored higher on hostility and attitudes condoning aggression, whereas men exhibiting severe physical aggression, compared to those without severe physical aggression, reported more negative life events, more marital dissatisfaction, more hostility, and more exposure to abuse in their family of origin. The present data highlight the importance of variables that fluctuate over time, as well as the co-occurrence of such variables in understanding husband to wife abusiveness.     

Comparison of MMPI psychopathic deviate scores of battered and nonbattered women

Despite the voluminous research using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, little research has been done evaluating the MMPI for assessing personality profiles and psychopathology in victims of domestic violence. The current study focused on the Psychopathic Deviate scale (scale 4), and the Harris and Lingoes subscales measuring specific aspects of this concept. The objective was to evaluate whether a clinical population of battered women differed from a nonbattered group drawn from a similar clinical setting. The battered group scored higher on the full scale (p .001), the Authority Problems scale (p .001), the Social Alienation scale, (p .01), and the Social Imperturbability scale (p .05). There was no difference on Self-Alienation. The score on Family Discord (Pd1) was the most elevated for the battered group, falling just below moderately elevated. Within the battered group, the score on Family Discord (M =69.11) was significantly more highly elevated than the score on Self-Alienation (M =60.4) (the next most highly elevated score). These findings suggest that there is an association between elevated scale 4 scores and victimization by domestic violence. However, it is essential that clinicians carefully evaluate such scores in the context of each individual situation before attributing causation.     

Drug Abuse and Partner Violence among Women in Methadone Treatment

This study aims to (1) describe rates of lifetime and current partner abuse among women on methadone; (2) examine the relationship between partner violence and demographics, substance abuse, and drug risk behaviors; and (3) explore the association between a victim's current use of crack/cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and drug risk behavior after controlling for demographics, household composition, history of victimization and sex trading. Approximately three-fourths of the women ever experienced physical, sexual, or life-threatening abuse and slightly less than one-third experienced at least one type of abuse during the previous year. A history of childhood victimization was reported by more than half of the women and one-third witnessed her mother being abused. Risk of partner violence was associated with victim's current drug and alcohol use, visiting shooting galleries, and living with someone with drug or alcohol problems. The study discusses the implications of the findings for research and intervention.     

Group Treatment for Spouse Abuse: Are Women with PTSD Appropriate Participants?

Eighty four abused women seeking therapy with their husbands were accepted into a group treatment program for spouse abuse. In the current study, we evaluated the treatment outcome of those women (n = 27) diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD diagnosis, itself, did not differentiate those women who dropped out of treatment. Results indicated, however, that across all women, avoidance symptomatology significantly differentiated treatment completers from dropouts. Although women with PTSD began treatment in worse condition (lower marital satisfaction, higher depressive symptomatology, greater fear of spouse), post-assessment revealed they achieved positive treatment gains parallel to those of women without PTSD. Women with PTSD improved on each outcome variable measured, including a reduction in fear of spouse. Women with PTSD also did not differentially drop out of either treatment condition (men's/women's versus conjoint groups) which lends support to the appropriateness of conjoint treatment for spouse abuse.     

The Comparability of Male Violent Substance Abusers in Violence or Substance Abuse Treatment

The abuse of alcohol is strongly associated with violent behavior in general and domestic violence in particular. The present study examined the compara-bility of dual-problem (i.e., substance abuse and conjugal violence) men in substance abuse and violence treatment milieus. Thirty males in substance abuse treatment and 33 men in violence treatment were identified as being dual-problematic and were administered the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) to assess psychosocial and substance abuse status, the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) for the frequency and type of abusive behavior, the Symptoms Checklist-90 (SCL-90) for psychological distress, and the 16 Personality Factor (16PF) for personality attributes. When dual-problem men from each milieu were compared on these measures, men in the substance abuse-milieu reported not only significantly more severe substance abuse problems, but also more frequent partner sexual abuse. Few other differences emerged. Thus, while current referral procedures may be appropriate in identifying and directing more severe substance abuse problems to the appropriate treatment setting, violent men with difficulties comparable to those seen in violence treatment may also be found in substance abuse treatment. These findings emphasize the need for: (1) routine objective screening for family violence and substance abuse in these two treatment milieus; (2) informed and up-to-date staff in both settings who are sufficiently prepared for the therapeutic challenges such men may present, and (3) more study of how treatment for dual-problem men may be coordinated by the violence and substance abuse treatment communities to optimize their outcome.     

Exploring Agreement on Appropriate Responses to Domestic Violence and Sexual Trauma Across Victim Advocates,Mental Health Service Providers,and Substance Abuse Treatment Providers

Abstract

Research suggests that survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault are more at risk than the general population for substance abuse and/or mental health disorders (Kendler et al., 2000). Additionally, research suggests that survivors of both crimes are at risk to be “multiply diagnosed-have” a history of victimization, a mental health diagnosis, and abuse of alcohol and drugs (Steele & Rechberger, 2002). While advocates have called for a change in the treatment of trauma survivors to treat their multiple needs, the availability of collaborative care between victim advocates and behavioral health professionals remains questionable. Using survey data collected from victim advocates, mental health service providers, and substance abuse treatment providers, this study assesses the extent to which providers of different backgrounds agree on how to effectively and appropriately serve domestic violence and sexual assault survivors-the first step in achieving the goal of holistic care.     

An Integrated Theoretical Model of Sibling Violence and Abuse

Drawing on three theoretical perspectives (feminist, conflict, and social learning), an integrated analytical model of adolescence sibling violence and abuse is proposed. The model suggests that certain characteristics of the parents' relationship, various aspects of parent–child relations, and characteristics of the sibling relationship are major components in explaining sibling violence and abuse. These are mediated by individual sibling characteristics and sibling verbal conflict. The model should enable researchers to systematically examine, in a more holistic way, the factors related to violence and abuse, and to assess their relative importance in accounting for these phenomena.     

Female Domestic Violence Toward Male Partners: Exploring Conflict Responses and Outcomes

The general purpose of this study was to investigate domestic violence within a conflict framework. Specifically, the association between conflict-based, communication response and outcome behaviors and the frequency and severity of female domestic violence towards male partners was examined. Participants were 153 female volunteers who reported on a range of communication responses and outcomes for both self and partner. The contribution of relationship distress was controlled for and also examined as a moderator. Relationship distress was not found to be a significant moderator. Results showed that seven communication response variables and four outcome variables were significantly associated with the frequency and/or severity of female domestic violence. Relative to nonviolent relationships, relationships with female violence had more male and female unilateral verbal aggression, more mutual verbal aggression, more male verbal aggression/female calms things down, more male demand/partner withdraw, more mutual avoidance, and less constructive relative to destructive communication. Relationships with female violence also had poorer resolution of problems and more emotional distance after problem arguments and discussions than their nonviolent counterparts.     

Comparison of Abuse Alleged by Same- and Opposite-Gender Litigants as Cited in Requests for Abuse Prevention Orders

Domestic violence is commonly portrayed as something male batterers do to their female victims. Much research excludes study of female-perpetrated violence. This study develops a two-gender measure of abuse as documented by requests for protection. All nonimpounded Abuse Prevention Orders (M.G.L. c. 209A) issued in Massachusetts' Gardner District Court in the year 1997 were analyzed by gender to examine the level and types of violence alleged by plaintiffs. The level and types of violence were categorized and measured by examining Abuse Claimed Checkboxes found on each Complaint for Protection and by applying quantitative scales to affidavits, or plaintiff statements, filed as part of each request for protection. Despite widespread misconceptions that tend to minimize female abuse, examination of these court documents shows that male and female defendants, who were the subject of a complaint in domestic relation cases, while sometimes exhibiting different aggressive tendencies, measured almost equally abusive in terms of the overall level of psychological and physical aggression.     

Lifetime Abuse, Mental Health, and African American Women

This study examined the relationship between lifetime abuse and mental health among 126 African American women and 365 White women from a primary health care setting who participated in a telephone interview as part of a larger study. Seven types of childhood and adult intimate partner abuse were measured. Consistent with hypotheses, (1) lifetime abuse was associated with elevated levels of anxiety and depression, and (2) women who experienced childhood abuse were more likely to report adult partner abuse. African American and White women showed more similarities than differences in the associations between most abuse experiences and depression and anxiety, as well as types of childhood abuse. African American abused women reported more excessive jealousy by partners. Nonabused African American women reported higher levels of depression and anxiety than their White counterparts. Results are interpreted and discussed taking into account relevant social and cultural factors.     

Victims With Voices: How Abused Women Conceptualize the Problem of Spousal Abuse and Implications for Intervention and Prevention

Working from the conceptualization of abused women as both victims of and experts on spousal abuse, this study compares how women who have been abused, and how men and women with either less direct or no experience with spousal abuse, understand the problem and their beliefs about how it should be addressed. Results of a telephone survey of Philadelphia adults (N = 1,850) indicate that although in many ways abused women's opinions regarding domestic violence do not differ from those of nonabused women, abused women are more likely to believe that society gives tacit consent to abusive behavior through its silence and that talking openly about the problem will make it easier to solve. These findings suggest that initiatives aimed at changing the social norm around domestic violence may assist in both intervention and prevention efforts.     

Assessing the Domestic Violence Training Needs of Benefits Workers

Domestic violence victims often have economic and employment needs that either directly or indirectly stem from their victimization. In their efforts to seek services, victims may turn to benefits workers who are given the task of providing clients with short-term financial help, job training, access to health care, and assistance in obtaining a job. It is not clear whether benefits workers are adequately prepared to help domestic violence victims. In this study, 189 social services workers from the Commonwealth of Virginia were surveyed to assess the training needs of all social services workers. This article focuses on the specific training needs of benefits workers and draws comparisons between benefits workers’ training needs and other workers’ needs. The findings suggest that benefits workers are perceived as knowing less about domestic violence than other social services workers. Implications are discussed. This research was supported by a contract from the Virginia Institute of Social Services Training Activities     

Domestic Violence Abusers: A Descriptive Study of the Characteristics of Defenders in Protection from Abuse Orders in Sedgwick County,Kansas

Protection from abuse orders have been presented in the contemporary literature as one of many tools in protecting battered women. While protection from abuse orders provide legal protection from abuse, many abusers violate these court orders. The current study describes the characteristics of 1,873 alleged domestic violence abusers in Sedgwick County, Kansas. Data were collected from protection from abuse filings over a 12-month time frame. The data were used to examine the demographics of offenders as well as to assess the prior arrests of the offenders. Results showed that abusers were typically white males, average age of 33 with extensive past criminal arrest histories.     

A Multidimensional Definition of Partner Abuse: Development and Preliminary Validation of the Composite Abuse Scale

The lack of definitional consistency about domestic violence and the absence of a well-validated comprehensive abuse screening questionnaire have been major methodological flaws in domestic violence research. While there are several screening questionnaires in use, they either are narrowly defined and do not have discrete measures of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse or have not been validated on both abused and nonabused samples. This study presents the development and preliminary validation of a new partner abuse screening questionnaire (Composite Abuse Scale; CAS). Items measuring the three areas of partner abuse were extracted from four published scales: the Conflict Tactics Scale, Measure of Wife Abuse, Inventory of Spouse Abuse, and Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory. A survey using these items was sent to all nurses working at a large Australian public, inner-city teaching hospital. Factor analyses of the responses of 427 participants revealed four dimensions: Severe Combined Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Physical Abuse, and Harassment. Preliminary evidence is presented on validity and a high scale reliability is reported fof each subscale.     

No One Type of Intimate Partner Abuse: Exploring Physical and Non-Physical Abuse Among Intimate Partners

Although research into intimate partner abuse has expanded throughout the past several decades and increased our understanding of this multi-faceted phenomenon, the vast majority of empirical work is still focused almost exclusively on physical violence—against women in particular. Although a crucial issue in our society, physical violence against women is only one facet in an array of possible abusive behaviors toward an intimate partner. Researchers have long acknowledged the existence of multiple forms of non-physical abuse. These types of abuse have received little research attention, however, and are commonly lumped together simply as “non-physical” or “emotional” abuse. There is no reason to believe, however, that all forms of non-physical abuse are the same, whether in intensity, frequency, or co-existence with physical violence. The current study attempts to disentangle the multiple types of nonviolent abuse to examine prevalence, differences by sex, and its relationships to physical abuse. Using Tjaden and Thoennes’ (1998) survey data, this study examines the prevalence of different types of non-physical abuse, both in the general population and among those experiencing physical violence Findings indicate that non-physical partner abuse is more common than physical and that non-physical abuse does not show striking sex differences, as is commonly believed. There is strong evidence that some types of non-physical abuse serve as clear risk factors for physical abuse and may increase risk of more frequent violence among those already being abused. These relationships do not, however, differ by sex. Implications for future research are discussed.

Injuries and Health Care Use in Women with Partners in Batterer Intervention Programs

Objective:To characterize injury frequency, injury patterns, and health care seeking behavior in women with intimate partners enrolled in batterer intervention programs. Methods: A standardized telephone interview was conducted on a sample of women with male partners enrolled in batterer intervention programs in four U.S. cities. Information on prior injuries and the utilization of health care services was sought. Results: Four hundred and eighty eight of the 648 women (75.3%) reported a history of prior injury as a result of abuse. Contusions were the most common injury. Of the women reporting contusions, 233 (51.4%) reported contusions as their only injuries. Another 220 women (48.6%) reported other injuries in addition to contusions. In the majority of cases (63.2%) the contusions were to multiple body parts. When the contusion involved only one anatomical region, it was mostly to the face. A total of 192 of the 488 injured women (39.3%) reported ever seeking medical care for injuries caused by their intimate partner. Twenty-three women (4.7% of the injured cohort or 3.5% of the total cohort) reported having ever been hospitalized for injuries sustained from abuse.     

Humiliation,Manipulation, and Control: Evidence of Centrality in Domestic Violence Against an Adult Partner

This paper describes two related studies. Study 1 is a literature review of existing adult partner domestic violence assessment scales. Results of the review revealed that the scales varied on the available amount of empirical evidence for validity and reliability. More importantly, results showed that the content of the scales focused most heavily on the physical abuse aspects of domestic violence. Study 2 is a factor analysis performed on the results of 64 items taken from the Artemis Intake Questionnaire, a clinically relevant tool constructed by treatment providers used in working with the victims of domestic violence. Results indicate that reported humiliation and blame of the victim accounted for the largest amount of variance, followed by controlling the victim, and then physical violence. Results of this factor analysis suggest that greater emphasis must be put on factors other than physical violence in the construction of future domestic violence scales.     

An Exploratory Analysis of Florida Law Enforcement Domestic Violence Policies

The high social cost of domestic violence has caught the attention of lawmakers and criminal justice agency administrators across the country. As public awareness and concern over the incidence of domestic violence has risen, domestic violence legislation has focused on, among other things, the law enforcement response to domestic violence. The purpose of this study is to examine Florida law enforcement agency response to domestic violence by analyzing agency standard operating procedures (SOPs) across measures identified in the Florida Model Policy for Domestic Violence. Utilizing content analysis, the authors identify agency policy mandates including the number of officers responding to the scene, the use of specialized units, availability of victim advocates, and procedures for investigation.     

Predicting the Use of Different Conflict Tactics Among Arab Siblings in Israel: A Study Based On Social Learning Theory

The article presents a study conducted among 832 Arab adolescents from Israel, in an attempt to predict their use of different tactics (i.e., reasoning, verbal abuse, and physical violence) to resolve conflicts with siblings from the perspective of social learning theory. Different forms of the CT Scales were utilized to elicit information on Arab adolescents' exposure to and experience with different conflict tactics in their families of origin, as well as on their use of such tactics with siblings. Results indicate that the more they witnessed reasoning in their families of origin, the greater the likelihood that they would use the same tactic to resolve conflicts with their siblings. At the same time, the more they witnessed or experienced verbal abuse and physical violence, the greater their use of verbal and physical violence against their siblings. A detailed discussion of different patterns of violence in Arab families as reported by the adolescents is presented, and several implications of the study are addressed.     

The Effect of Maternal Victimization on Children: A Cross-Informant Study

The impact of maternal victimization on the behavioral, social, emotional, and cognitive development in a group of 206 low-income, predominantly African American children from inner city, pediatric primary health care clinics was explored using mother, teacher, and self-report data. Results revealed that mothers with a victimization history reported more externalizing and internalizing behaviors in their children, compared to mothers who had not been victimized. Maternal victimization history was not related to teachers' ratings of children's behavior, child reports of social competence and depression, or standardized assessments of cognitive development. The relation between mothers' history of victimization and their reports of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in their children was mediated by pathways through maternal depression and disciplinary practices (verbal aggression). These findings provide evidence for the link between maternal victimization and children's behavior problems. Treatment for victimized mothers that reduces their depressive symptoms and promotes adaptive parenting practices may lead to fewer behavior problems in their children.