Domestic Violence and Risk Factors among Korean Immigrant Women in the United States

Domestic Violence is a serious problem among Korean immigrant women in the United States. However, little is known about the incidence of domestic violence as well as risk factors predicting violence experienced in intimate relationships. The purpose of this study is to describe domestic violence among Korean immigrant women, including type and frequency of violence and predictive factors of domestic violence experienced by Korean immigrant women. One hundred and thirty-six Korean women completed questionnaires developed in this study. Results indicate that domestic violence is a major family problem for Korean immigrant women. Implications are discussed in terms of the need of social services for Korean immigrant women.     

Domestic violence during pregnancy in an eastern city of Turkey: a field study

Violence is an increasing and important community health problem that can be seen in any area of human life. Limited studies were found about domestic violence among pregnant women and its relation with social status of women. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and types of domestic violence during pregnancy, factors affecting it, women's thoughts about violence, and relation between social status of women and domestic violence. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 253 pregnant women, using cluster and simple random sampling methods. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis methods were used to analyze the data. Women who indicated that they have been exposed to violence at some point of their lives were 24.1% and who indicated that violence continued while they were pregnant were 11.1%. Physical violence was the most common type of violence reported (18.2%). It was found that women who had primary school or lower level of education and who made unwanted marriage suffered from more violence during pregnancy. It can be said that violence against pregnant women is still a social problem. In societies where gender roles are dominant, decision makers have to take necessary steps such as supporting education of girls to improve social status of women, increasing awareness among women in regard to personal rights and legal regulations which will contribute to the solution of the issue.     

Domestic violence and criminal justice training needs of social services workers

Domestic violence is a multifaceted problem that requires various agencies to work together to serve victims. Among other agencies that are involved in this collaborative effort, criminal justice officials must work with social services workers to ensure that cases are handled effectively. At the root of this collaborative effort, it is natural to question whether various parties have the knowledge needed to effectively respond to specific cases of domestic violence. In this study, attention was given to whether social workers possessed enough knowledge about various aspects of domestic violence, including information required to process domestic violence cases in the criminal justice system. In all, 186 social services worker supervisors in the Commonwealth of Virginia were asked to rate the level of knowledge they believed social services workers had regarding specific domestic violence topics with the level of knowledge workers they believed social workers needed regarding each domestic violence topic. Findings suggested that social services workers might have more problems dealing with the interpersonal nature of domestic violence cases than they do with the legal issues. At the same time, the supervisors suggested the workers knew less about specific legal options than they needed to know. Based on this, the authors suggest changes in training for all human services workers, including criminal justice officials and social workers.     

Evangelizing Congress: The Emergence of Evangelical Republicans and Party Polarization in Congress

The realignment of evangelical voters is well‐documented, but religion's impact within Congress is less clear. New data on home churches of members of Congress shows that the realignment of congressional evangelicals, combined with their growth and distinctly conservative legislative behavior, has significantly contributed to party polarization in Congress. Controlling for other factors, evangelicals are significantly more conservative than members of other religious traditions. This conservatism also has second‐order effects on the polarization of the House, where their more partisan proposals comprise a larger share of the roll‐call agenda when Republicans are in the majority. Moreover, evangelical Republicans in Congress differ significantly from evangelical Democrats in terms their geography, denominations, and experiences prior to Congress.     

Creating Justice Through Balance: Integrating Domestic Violence Law into Family Court Practice

Freedom from domestic violence is a central right that will be realized through a transformation of culture. Law, embedded within the evolving cultural transformation, plays a necessary, though not sufficient, role in social change. This article reviews the development of family and domestic violence law. It compares and contrasts the core precepts of family and domestic violence jurisprudence with resulting practice and policy ramifications arising from the inherent substantive tensions. Finally, critical civil legal system actors, courts, and attorneys are challenged to apply and practice domestic violence law in the struggle to afford justice for all.     

Application of forensic toxicology to the problem of domestic violence.

The role of the forensic toxicologist in helping to determine causes of death or in aiding in the resolution of "driving under the influence" or similar cases is well known and clearly understood. Less clearly defined is the position of the forensic toxicologist vis-à-vis other socially significant problems. However, as the 21st century approaches, it is worth considering how forensic toxicology can help in unraveling some of these problems. The problem of violence between intimates--that is, domestic violence--is a social problem in which it has been long felt that alcohol has played a part. Until now, though, no carefully controlled toxicological studies have been conducted to substantiate this or to determine whether other drug use is associated with domestic violence. At the San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office, toxicological data from both the victim and the suspect in 20 cases of domestic violence that ended in homicide have been gathered. It was found that alcohol or other drugs or a combination of these factors was invariably present in the suspect, the victim, or both. The implications of these results and how they can be used to develop a toxicological strategy to help reduce the most serious consequences of domestic violence are presented.     

Responding to violence against women: social science contributions to legal solutions

Violence against women represents a serious problem in America. Not only does intimate partner violence represent a significant threat to women, but it also counts among its victims, children living in the violent household. By its very nature, intimate partner or domestic violence may be approached as either a legal or a social problem. However, there is a shortage of legal approaches that have been informed by sound social science research. One promising framework for developing such integrated responses to intimate partner violence is therapeutic jurisprudence, which encourages legal professionals to work closely with social scientists to develop system responses based on empirical data. Such an approach contrasts sharply with the current practice of developing law based on assumptions, which frequently reflect traditional paternalistic and sexist attitudes toward women. This paper begins by examining the current theories and scientific knowledge on domestic violence with particular emphasis on the supporting data. A theoretical framework for conceptualizing domestic violence characterized as patriarchal terrorism as distinct from common couple violence is examined and offered as a means of explaining inconsistencies in research findings. Following a review of current legal responses to domestic violence, the paper concludes by outlining alternative strategies and recommendations for future efforts that are supported by current theory and research.     

Factors Associated with Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Victimization

This study explored factors associated with a lifetime history of domestic violence and sexual assault in a sample of welfare recipients in Illinois. Results indicate that childhood exposure to domestic violence is a risk factor for both sexual assault and domestic violence victimization, but that childhood physical abuse is only a risk factor for domestic violence. Increased education and employment skills and having more children were also risk factors for domestic violence victimization. Domestic violence was significantly associated with depression, while sexual assault was associated with low social support and a greater perceived need for mental health services. Frequent alcohol and drug use were not associated with either type of victimization. Research implications are discussed.     

"Women must endure according to their karma": Cambodian immigrant women talk about domestic violence

Asian populations living in the United States share similar cultural values that influence their experiences with domestic violence. However, it is critical to recognize how differential cultural beliefs in the context of immigration and adjustment to life in the United States affect attitudes, interpretations, and response to domestic violence. This article discusses findings from community-based participatory action research that explores how Cambodian immigrant women talk about domestic violence, what forms of abuse contribute to domestic violence, and what strategies they use to cope with and respond to abuse in their lives. The richness of this research lies in the stories that immigrant women tell about their struggle and their strength in addressing domestic violence.     

What's So Special about Specialized Courts? The State and Social Change in Salt Lake City's Domestic Violence Court

The nationwide growth in specialized or problem‐solving courts, including drug courts, community courts, mental health courts, and domestic violence courts, among others, raises questions about the role of the state with respect to social change. According to social control theories of the state, especially theories of technocratic or rationalized justice, law is increasingly about efficiency, speed, and effectiveness. Specialized courts, however, take on a social problem approach to crime, seeking to address crime's “root causes” within the individual, the society, and the larger culture in ways more characteristic of social movements. Are specialized courts about social control or social change? This study examines state action in a specialized court in domestic violence in order to examine this question. I focus on a domestic violence court that arose in February 1997 and four years later employed full‐time judges, prosecuting and defense attorneys, and numerous other staff to handle all misdemeanor domestic violence cases in Salt Lake County, Utah. I ask how legal, political, and community officials justify the court and its operation in order to examine some important issues about the role of the state and social change. Ultimately, I suggest that my findings about the complementary roles of social control and social change within domestic violence courts have implications not only for critical theories of technocratic justice and for the battered women's movement but also for democratic theories of the state.     

Differences in Effects of Domestic Violence Between Latina and Non-Latina Women

There has been much research on the effects of domestic violence on women; however, little research has focused on possible differences in reactions to domestic violence between Latina and non-Latina women. Comparable samples of Latina and non-Latina women were obtained and analyses revealed that there were no significant differences between the two samples with regard to the nature and severity of the domestic violence to which they were exposed. However, results indicated that Latina women who had been victims of domestic violence had significantly greater trauma-related symptoms, depression, lower social and personal self-esteem, and were less likely to make global attributions for positive events than were non-Latina women. They also reported more parenting stress due to their child's behaviors than did non-Latina women. The implications of these results in light of cultural differences between Latina and non-Latina women are discussed.     

Beyond Therapy: Problem‐Solving Courts and the Deliberative Democratic State

Problem‐solving courts (drug courts, community courts, domestic violence courts, and mental health courts), unlike traditional courts, attempt to get at the root of the individual and social problems that motivate criminal behavior. Theoretical understandings of problem‐solving courts are mostly Foucauldian; proponents argue that these new institutions employ therapeutic techniques that encourage individuals to self‐engineer in ways that subtly increase state power. The Foucauldian approach captures only some elements of problem‐solving courts and does not fully theorize the revolution in justice that these courts present. Problem‐solving courts, domestic violence courts in particular, orient not just around individual change but also around social change and cultural transformation. Combining the Foucauldian idea of a therapeutic state (as developed by James Nolan) with an understanding of the deliberative democratic mechanisms of larger‐scale structural transformation (found in Habermas and others) leads to a more balanced and empirically open orientation to the actual motivations, goals, and achievements of problem‐solving courts.     

A Cross-cultural Comparison of Social Reform: The Growing Pains of the Battered Women's Movements in Washington, D.C. and Madrid, Spain

In this exploratory cross-cultural study, we use interview data from representatives of social service, criminal justice, and policy-making agencies in two capital cities (Washington, D.C.) and Madrid, Spain) to compare responses to domestic violence within each country's sociolegal and cultural context. While both countries have patriarchal structures, there is great difference in the history, funding, development, and participants of the battered women's movement. For instance, in Spain the government determined the appropriate response to domestic violence from the onset, whereas in the United States the power to frame, find, and respond to the issue operated through a more insidious process of state cooptation. In both countries, wider social changes did not result; rather, services were provided as the movements became tied to finding requirements and to satisfying bureaucratic exigencies. Within this context, we analyze respondents'perceptions and interpretations of domestic violence as well as the institutional practices and future strategies proposed for continued social action.     

Predictors of Physical Spousal/Intimate Violence in Chinese American Families

A total of 262 Chinese Americans (133 males and 129 females) were randomly selected from the Los Angeles County telephone directory using Chinese surnames as the identifying marker. A structured telephone interview was administered measuring respondents' gender role beliefs, acculturation, sociodemographic factors, and their victimization experiences with physical aggression by a spouse or intimate partner. Contrary to the feminist literature on domestic violence, gender role beliefs was not related to physical intimate violence. Acculturation, however, significantly predicted severe physical violence experienced during respondents' lifetime. Whether respondents were employed also predicted lifetime minor forms physical violence by a spouse/intimate partner. Findings are discussed in a cultural context, and social work practice and research implications are also highlighted.     

Social Context and Violence Exposure as Predictors of Internalizing Symptoms in Mothers and Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Family and social environment may play a part in children’s post-violence adjustment. The goal of this paper is to examine which factors are related to internalizing symptoms in mothers and their children exposed to intimate partner violence. Participants were 208 mothers exposed to domestic violence. Mothers responded using the Conflict Tactics Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and other standardized scales. They also reported on their children’s internalizing symptoms using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). For the whole group, children’s CBCL scores were related to higher maternal depression and lower maternal self-esteem. Factors determining internalizing in children varied based upon the child’s race. This study illustrates the importance of factors, such as maternal depression, maternal self-esteem, violence exposure, and social support, in determining whether a child exposed to domestic violence develops internalizing symptoms, and that ecological factors may have different effects on children based on race.     

Trends in understanding and addressing domestic violence

This article is a response to three questions posed by the editor about past and future research on interpersonal violence by focusing in this essay on domestic violence:(a) What is the most important thing we have learned about this social problem in the last 20 years, (b) what is the most important thing we need to learn about it in the next 10 years, and (c) what is the most promising methodological innovation in the last 20 years for the study or treatment of domestic violence? This assessment suggests that the field has witnessed considerable advances in domestic violence research and policy but that many as yet untapped opportunities exist to improve both knowledge and practice.     

Predicting the occurrence of stalking in relationships characterized by domestic violence

A high correlation has been found between domestic violence and stalking. However, very few studies have examined what factors predict the occurrence of stalking in relationships characterized by domestic violence. Using in-depth interviews with victims of domestic violence whose cases have gone through the criminal justice system, this article explores this issue. It was found that experiences of stalking by their abusers were very prevalent in this group of domestic violence victims. In terms of predicting stalking, domestic violence victims who were not in a relationship with their abuser, whose abusers had an alcohol or drug problem, who experienced more controlling behaviors by their abusers, and who had experienced prior stalking by their abusers were at the greatest risk of experiencing more severe stalking. Implications for intervention are discussed.     

Gender, traditionalism, and attitudes toward domestic violence within a closed community

This research was aimed at examining the attitudes toward domestic violence of people living in communal secular and religious kibbutzim. The findings, disregarding gender or traditionalism, indicate that most of the kibbutz members examined view the kibbutz as almost totally lacking any problem of violence toward women by their partners. The belief that the kibbutz home is a secure place for women within the family framework appears, surprisingly, at a higher frequency among women than among men. There are two possible theoretical explanations for this finding. First, the kibbutz lifestyle has indeed brought about equal power relationships, which explains why domestic violence is not viewed as a social problem, mostly by secular women. Second, women, who play a relatively minor role in constructing the public agenda in the kibbutz, have not become aware of the existence of this issue in the closed community.     

Veteran Status and Marital Aggression: Does Military Service Make a Difference?

Previous research has demonstrated that rates of domestic violence are higher among couples where at least one person is on active duty. What is unclear is whether or not the propensity to engage in domestic violence remains after an individual has left the military and entered into veteran status. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate whether or not veteran status will increase an individual’s tendency to engage in acts of domestic violence. Through the use of cultural spillover theory, the argument can be made that the effects of military resocialization will persist even after separation from active duty service, and that veteran status will contribute to domestic violence in a marriage. Analysis of the National Survey of Families and Households Wave I dataset allowed for a comparison of the rates of domestic violence among veterans and non-veterans to see if veterans are more likely to engage in domestic violence, net of combat exposure, relationship stressors and other statistical controls. The data reveal that male veterans are in fact less likely to engage in an episode of domestic violence as compared to civilians with no previous military experience; however, once other factors are accounted for, this relationship becomes nonsignificant.

Parent–Child Interaction Therapy with Domestic Violence Populations

Domestic violence continues to be a significant social problem impacting our society. Battered women and their children experience a myriad of negative consequences as a result of domestic violence. Of the possible negative sequelae that mothers and children experience, the disrupted parent–child relationship has received relatively little attention in the literature. Though psychosocial interventions are available to treat women who experience violence and children who witness violence, few interventions focus on the parent–child relationship. This article describes parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT), a relationship-based intervention. Although not initially developed to treat domestic violence, PCIT has unique characteristics that make it a promising intervention with this population. A rationale for the use of PCIT with battered women and their children is presented.