Intimate Relationship Aggression in College Couples: Family-of-Origin Violence, Egalitarian Attitude, Attachment Security

Dating violence among college aged couples has become a growing concern with increasing prevalence. The current study investigated the interplay among witnessing violence during childhood (both parental conflict and parent to child aggression), attachment insecurity, egalitarian attitude within the relationship, and dating aggression. Participants of this study included 87 couples. Results from the structural equation model indicated that the proposed model provided a good fit to the with a χ2 to df ratio of 1.84. In particular, both female and male participants who reported higher levels of attachment insecurity were more likely to be victim of dating aggression in their relationships. Furthermore, female participants who reported having witnessed parental conflict were more likely to be victimized by their partners. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of intimate relationship violence with dyadic data showing, for both genders, attachment insecurity is a crucial factor in both victimization and perpetration of aggression.     

Early Models for Contemporary Thought on Domestic Violence and Women Who Kill Their Mates:

Women who kill abusive partners have become the focus of new social policy and research since 1970. A review of the early literature on women and domestic homicide from 1895 to 1970 shows that, while a specific focus on female homicide resulting from abuse was lacking, a rich heritage of ideas about homicidal women developed during this period. This heritage inevitably shaped the ways in which female offenders in general were viewed and presaged our most recent insights. A conceptual framework for recognizing the etiological themes which emerged is presented.     

A Comparison of Men and Women Arrested for Domestic Violence: Who Presents the Greater Threat?

Recent increases in the number of women arrested for domestic violence raise important questions about implementation of proarrest policies, equivalency of intimate partner aggression across genders, and management of female domestic violence offenders. This study compares demographic characteristics, criminal history variables, and the past domestic violence history of men (n = 5,578) and women (n = 1,126) arrested for domestic assault against a heterosexual intimate partner. Using victim reported information and data collected by local criminal justice agencies, we found that female arrestees were significantly less likely than males to have histories that warrant concern regarding the potential for future violence. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Elements Needed for Quality Batterer Intervention Programs: Perspectives of Professionals Who Deal with Intimate Partner Violence

Batterers intervention programs (BIPs) constitute a primary intervention for perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV). There is little understanding as to what elements are necessary for a good intervention program. We conducted 36 individual semi-structured interviews with professionals working with BIPs. Our results yielded three thematic categories: (1) optimal BIP structure—group size and program duration should foster change and interaction, (2) facilitator characteristics—co-facilitation is ideal, and facilitators should have IPV training, and (3) program approaches–programs should challenge their clients on their behavior, promote an environment of safety and openness, and strive to adapt to clients.     

The Association Between Affective and Problem-Solving Communication and Intimate Partner Violence Among Caucasian and Mexican American Couples: a Dyadic Approach

The present study examined individuals’ subjective evaluation of their effectiveness with regard to affective communication and problem-solving communication, and their relation to intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization. Data from 100 Caucasian American and Mexican American couples were collected during the first and during the third year of marriage. For affective communication, a significant partner effect emerged, indicating that husbands’ higher dissatisfaction with affective communication was related to wives’ higher IPV victimization. For problem-solving communication, a significant actor effect emerged, indicating that husbands’ higher dissatisfaction with problem-solving communication was related to husbands’ higher IPV victimization. While these findings largely generalized to Caucasian Americans, they did not generalize to Mexican Americans.     

The Helpseeking Experiences of Men Who Sustain Intimate Partner Violence: An Overlooked Population and Implications for Practice

For over 30 years, research has shown that men can and do sustain intimate partner violence (IPV) from their female partners. This is the first large-scale, nationally-based, quantitative study to systematically detail the helpseeking experiences of men who have sustained IPV from their female partners. The sample is composed of 302 men who were recruited from resources specializing in men’s issues. Results indicate that men who seek help for IPV victimization have the most positive experiences in seeking help from family/friends, and mental health and medical providers. They have the least positive experiences with members of the DV service system. Cumulative positive helpseeking experiences were associated with lower levels of abusing alcohol; cumulative negative experiences were associated with higher rates of exceeding a clinical cut-off for post-traumatic stress disorder. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the social service sector and for future research.     

Implications of Treating Family Violence for the Therapist: Secondary Traumatization,Vicarious Traumatization,and Growth

Our study dealt with the positive and negative implications of working with victims of family violence on therapists in terms of secondary traumatization, vicarious traumatization, and growth. In addition, we examined positive and negative changes that the therapists experienced in themselves, their lives, and their families as a result of their work. The research population consisted of 143 social workers employed in the field of family violence, and 71 social workers who were not employed in that field. Comparisons between the two groups were conducted for all of the research variables. The two groups did not differ significantly in levels of secondary traumatization. However, significant differences were found in levels of growth, as well as in levels of positive and negative changes that the participants experienced in themselves, their lives, and their families. Supported by the Schnitzer Foundation for Research on the Israeli Economy and Society.     

Pregnancy and Intimate Partner Violence in Canada: a Comparison of Victims Who Were and Were Not Abused During Pregnancy

The purpose of this study was to examine risk factors, indicators of severity, and differences in post-violence health effects for victims who experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy compared to victims who experienced IPV outside the pregnancy period. Data were from Statistics Canada’s 2009 General Social Survey. Among IPV victims, 10.5 % experienced physical and/or sexual violence during pregnancy. Victims who had experienced violence during pregnancy were more likely than victims who were not abused during pregnancy to experience both less severe and more severe forms of violence. In fully adjusted models, younger age, separated or divorced marital status, as well as partners’ patriarchal domination, destruction of property, and drinking were significant predictors of pregnancy violence. Measures indicative of more severe violence and of a number of adverse post-violence health effects were significantly elevated among victims who experienced pregnancy violence relative to victims who were not abused during pregnancy. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Work-Family Conflict and Intimate Partner Violence in the South Korean Military: Mediating Role of Aggression and Buffering Effect of a Counseling Resource

The objective of the current study was to identify the relationship between work-family conflict (WFC) and intimate partner violence (IPV) among military personnel, and verify the mediating role of aggression and buffering effect of a counseling resource. A total of 293 married Korean Air Force personnel were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire; their responses were analyzed with a structural equation model. The major findings were that 36.9 % of respondents have perpetrated IPV, the prevalence of verbal violence was 33.4 % and physical violence was 16.0 %. Aggression mediated the important part of the association between WFC and IPV. Also, presence of a counseling resource attenuated the relationship between WFC and aggression. The findings suggest that it is necessary for the military to build a personnel counseling system to prevent spouse abuse, develop professional counseling services, and accurately identify aggression tendencies among military personnel.     

Violence in the city: Empirical bases for a collective working image

Many police patrol officers in Newark, New Jersey, articulate a working image of violence in the city that is similar to Louis Wirth's classical model of the effects of urban social disorganization on deviant behavior. In Newark, however, the working theory posits the 1967 civil disorders as a cataclysmic disorganizing event that generated ominously unique patterns of violence in the post-disorder years, compared to earlier times. Using data on violent crimes reported to the Newark police between 1940 and 1980, this article attempts to test the adequacy of that working theory as an explanation of reality. Regression techniques similar to those used by Friesma (1979) to assess natural disaster impacts are applied to three transformations of these crime data. The analysis demonstrates that the police working version of the disorganization model is more accurate as an inference from the pattern of violence that characterizes their workload than it is one from the patterns of absolute incidence of violent crime or of the risk of violent victimization incurred by residents of Newark. The article closes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for the larger problem of police-citizen distance.     

Intimate Partner Violence as a Risk Factor for Mental Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

This article reviews literature on the prevalence of mental health problems among women with a history of intimate partner violence. The weighted mean prevalence of mental health problems among battered women was 47.6% in 18 studies of depression, 17.9% in 13 studies of suicidality, 63.8% in 11 studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 18.5% in 10 studies of alcohol abuse, and 8.9% in four studies of drug abuse. These were typically inconsistent across studies. Weighted mean odds ratios representing associations of these problems with violence ranged from 3.55 to 5.62, and were typically consistent across studies. Variability was accounted for by differences in sampling frames. Dose-response relationships of violence to depression and PTSD were observed. Although research has not addressed many criteria for causal inferences, the existing research is consistent with the hypothesis that intimate partner violence increases risk for mental health problems. The appropriate way to conceptualize these problems deserves careful attention.     

Typologies of Intimate Partner Violence: Evaluation of a Screening Instrument for Differentiation

Given the prevalence and impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) in both community and therapeutic settings, it is vital that the varying typologies of IPV be identified and treated accordingly. The present study sought to evaluate the efficacy of a screening instrument designed to differentiate between characterologically violent, situationally violent, and distressed non-violent couples; focus was placed on identifying situationally violent couples so that they could be invited to participate in a conjoint pyschoeducational workshop. Couples from two samples were assessed to achieve this goal. Situationally violent couples (N = 115) from Sample 1 were screened into the study via a phone interview and participated in an in-home assessment, which assessed self-reported relationship violence. These couples were compared to a previously collected sample (Sample 2; Jacobsen et al. 1994) of characterologically violent, distressed non-violent, and situationally violent couples. The main hypotheses stated that couples from Sample 1 would report less severe relationship violence than characterlogically violent couples from Sample 2, and would report greater amounts of low-level violence than distressed non-violent couples from Sample 2. Additionally, similar rates of both self-reported violence would be seen for situationally violent couples from Samples 1 and 2. Multivariate analyses supported this with the exception that situationally violent couples from Sample 1 did not differ significantly across all domains from distressed non-violent couples in Sample 2. Implications for the screening instrument’s utility in clinical and research settings are discussed.     

Risk for Revictimization of Intimate Partner Violence by Multiple Partners: a Systematic Review

Are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) by multiple partners (MP) different from victims of IPV by one partner? Are there different victim-related risk factors for IPV by MP? This systematic literature review identified seven empirical studies that related to these issues. The review findings indicated that (1) empirical research on IPV by MP appears to be scarce, with only limited recent development; (2) there were significant differences between women who had been subjected to IPV in a single relationship and women with IPV by MP; (3) IPV by MP was significantly associated with childhood domestic trauma, drug abuse, IPV characteristics, and attachment style; (4) regarding PTSD and personality disorders, the results were mixed and inconclusive; and (5) depression did not appear as a salient risk factor for IPV by MP. Interpretations must be made cautiously because of the wide diversity in measurement approaches. It is important that service personnel and researchers attend with increased awareness to women with IPV by MP.     

Understanding the Relationship Between Mental Disorder and Violence: The Need for a Criminological Perspective

This paper offers a criminologically informed framework to guide research on the relationship between mental disorder and violence. Criminological theories examined include social learning, social stress, social control, rational choice, and social disorganization. In addition, the "criminal careers" and "local life circumstance" methodologies are reviewed. It is argued that adopting a criminologically informed framework that takes into account within-person changes over time will contribute greatly to our understanding of the factors that affect violence among people with mental disorder living in the community, and enhance the capacity of research to support effective evidenced-based case management programs aimed at reducing violence.     

Gender Arguments and Paradigmatic Challenges within Intimate Partner Violence Research: A Call for a more Inclusive Paradigm of Understanding Regarding Physical Partner Violence Perpetration

This paper suggests that the epistemology surrounding intimate partner violence (IPV) is flawed due to two areas in particular: 1) an overreliance on quantitative methodologies that lack the detailed and contextual information required for complex understandings of IPV and 2) the minimization of alternative theoretical perspectives on the meaning of gender. Although an ecological perspective to understanding IPV has been advocated by the World Health Organization as a useful theoretical framework from which to understand IPV (Krug et al. 2002), few empirical studies have tested this complex perspective. We suggest that broader research approaches may prove useful in shedding light on non-conventional IPV experiences, potentially broadening our understanding of this complex phenomenon.     

One Step at a Time: A Latent Transitional Analysis on Changes in Substance Use,Exposure to Violence,and HIV/AIDS Risk Behaviors among Female Offenders

The aim of this analysis is to identify latent subgroups of women based on substance use, exposure to violence, and risky sexual behaviors and quantify discrete stages of behavior change over time. Data comes from 317 women recruited from a Municipal Drug Court System in the Midwest. All participants were interviewed regarding their substance use and sexual behaviors, as well as their exposure to violence at baseline, a 4th-month follow-up, and an 8th-month follow-up. A latent transitional analysis (LTA), a longitudinal extension of a latent class analysis (LCA), was used to quantify discrete stages of behavior change. The results of our analyses revealed 4 distinct behavioral profiles in our sample: 1) women with high probabilities of risky sexual behaviors, exposure to violence, and crack/cocaine use, 2) women with a high probability of exposure to violence, and moderate sexual risk taking, 3) women characterized solely by a high probability of crack/cocaine use, 4) women with low probabilities of all factors. The proportion of women in latent statuses characterized by a high probability of crack/cocaine use did not substantially decrease over time. Women who experienced child sexual abuse, had a greater number of lifetime arrests, were older, and believed they had risky drug using behavior that needed changing at baseline were significantly more likely to be in higher-risk latent statuses. Targeted interventions tailored to crack/cocaine users, as well as a wide-spread need for trauma-informed interventions among females involved in the criminal justice system, are needed.