Does Intimate Partner Violence Epidemiology Differ Between Homes With and Without Children? A Population-Based Study of Annual Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors

We sought to determine whether intimate partner violence (IPV) risk factors differed depending upon the presence of children in the home, and to estimate the annual prevalence of IPV first in the general population and then in homes with and without children. We analyzed data from a cross-sectional random sample of 6,836 women in southeastern Pennsylvania interviewed by telephone in 2004. The magnitude of association between IPV and risk factors varied between homes with and without children for women’s alcohol problems (with children, odds ratio (OR) 7.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.9, 20.9; without children, OR 2.4; 95% CI 0.9, 6.0), and mental health problems (with children, OR 4.0; 95% CI 1.8, 8.9; without children, OR 3.0; 95% CI 1.6, 5.7). Poverty was significantly associated with IPV only in homes without children (OR 3.6; 95% CI 1.9, 7.2). Annual IPV prevalence was 1.2% overall, 1.4% in homes with children, and 1.1% in homes without children. One in 63 children lived in a home with IPV. Differences in IPV risk factors in homes with and without children suggest distinct underlying IPV mechanisms or consequences in these contexts.     

IF A THREAT OF VIOLENCE IS PRESENTED,WHEN DOES THE LAW REQUIRE FAMILY MEDIATORS TO BREACH CONFIDENTIALITY?

For a family mediator to protect his client, a third party, and/or himself from unlawfully disclosing a client's admission, the family mediator should use the principles set forth in Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California when a threat of violence is presented by one of his clients, since many states have adopted these principles through case law and statute to protect third parties from acts of violence. The two most significant factors in determining whether to breach confidentiality are the identifiability of the victim and the likelihood of the potential physical harm. If a jurisdiction has not explicitly done so via statute, the family mediator should nonetheless follow these principles since they are likely to be adopted by that jurisdiction through case law, because the probability of a court's finding a special relationship between a family mediator and a client is relatively high.     

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.     

家庭暴力和婚姻家庭的伦理底线

夫妻之间产生的家庭暴力是一种不对称的暴力行为。其可分成硬暴力和软暴力两种不同形式。而后者的行为同样令人发指,它所带给夫妻双方的伤害更为隐密和持久。如果说硬暴力是一个和法律密切相关的问题,那么软暴力似乎只是一个和婚姻伦理相关的问题。     

Continuities in marital violence

Marital violence studies of clinical populations of battered women indicate that, over time, violence becomes an habitual strategy for resolving conflicts resulting in escalation in frequency and severity of violence. This study examines the issue of continuity of marital violence among a national probability sample of female victims and male offenders. Findings indicate that among the general population, approximately one-half of all marital violence is suspended over a three-year period. Predictors of marital violence continuity were also investigated in an exploratory way.     

Linking marital violence,mother-child/father-child aggression,and child behavior problems

Previous research indicates that observation of marital violence has a deleterious impact on children's adjustment. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. The present study examined the relationships between observation of marital violence, mother-child aggression, father-child aggression, and child behavior problems in a sample of 185 children (ages 7 to 13) and their mothers who were residing at battered women shelters. A significant positive association was found between amount of marital violence witnessed and father-child aggression. However, the correlation between the amount of marital violence witnessed and mother-child aggression was not significant. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that both the amount of marital violence witnessed as well as mother-child aggression were significantly related to child behavior problems, even when controlling for the effects of child age, race, and father status (i.e., whether the mother's partner was the biological father or stepfather/cohabitee). Family violence variables were better predictors of girls' rather than boys' behavior problems, particularly externalizing behavior problem scores. The lack of significance between father-child aggression and child behavior problems, as well as the implications of the findings, are discussed.     

Changing Stalking Patterns and Prosecutorial Decisions: Bridging the Present to the Future

This article reviews sixty cases from prosecutor's files in two New Jersey counties. These cases are used to examine and help better define the phenomena of stalking. Selected sample case examples are presented and described in regard to the typology of stalking behavior originally proposed by Dziegielewski and Roberts (1995). Based on these cases, application, modification and refinement of the typology criteria are suggested. The critical need for crisis intervention protocols and specialized anti-stalking units and training are emphasized. It is hoped that this information will help the criminal justice and forensic professional to better understand, assess the dangerousness of, and intervene rapidly and effectively in the phenomena of stalking, and to provide technology to protect victims.     

中国北方部分城市人工流产妇女家庭暴力相关因素初探

作者采用结构式调查问卷方法,于2001年11月至2002年1月在天津、辽宁、河南及陕西地区对1215名自愿要求人工流产的城市妇女进行调查,分析了中国北方部分城市人工流产妇女中家庭暴力发生的相关因素。结果发现,274名调查对象在本次妊娠前或后曾遭受过亲密伴侣的家庭暴力(包括性暴力、躯体暴力和心理暴力),家庭暴力发生率为22.6%。家庭暴力的发生与年龄、教育程度、职业、经济收入均无关联。家庭暴力并非只发生于特定的人群,而是一个普遍存在的社会问题,人流妇女有与暴力有关的生活经历以及与男方关系不良,易增加暴力发生的风险。     

Relationship Between Two Types of Help Seeking Behavior in Domestic Violence Victims

A coordinated community response system to the help-seeking behaviors of domestic violence victims is critical to minimize the impact of violent events and to educate the public, so that safe and effective conflict management skills may replace violent responses. The focus for the present study is to identify and analyze victims’ choices of law enforcement assistance in stopping the violence and/or aid through the services of the regional family violence center. Some victims select legal channels of support; others rely exclusively on social service support, and others seek assistance from both sources. Characteristics of victims whose cases followed two types of help-seeking behavior patterns—legal support or social support–were determined through archived data from both the records of a regional family violence center (FVC) (n=258) and domestic violence incident reports of a police department serving a city of approximately 200,000 citizens (n=127). Findings indicate that African American victims more frequently sought protection through law enforcement sources than they did through family violence center services, and the reverse was true for Euro-Americans.     

FATHERS AND CHILD ABUSE ALLEGATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF PARENTAL SEPARATION AND DIVORCE

Fathers' role in child abuse in the context of parental separation and divorce has been the subject of continuous stereotyping over the last several decades. This article examines the stereotypes projected against current research, particularly findings from a study of an experimental family court program designed for the better management of residence and contact disputes where child abuse allegations had been made. These findings are discussed in regard to similar studies internationally. While the two prevailing but opposing stereotypes of fathers' role in child abuse in this context were not confirmed by the research, aspects of the stereotypes regarding fathers' views and mothers' views of each other were supported. Problems associated with the paradoxical position of fathers as the most frequently alleged perpetrators of abuse, the most frequently substantiated perpetrators, and also the most frequently unsubstantiated perpetrators tend not to be fully addressed by the current court process for these disputes.