Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence: Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Affirmative Outreach and Advocacy

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is pervasive and crosses all boundaries of sexual orientation, race, and class. Scholars contend that the intimidation of another person through abusive acts and words is not a gender issue. Organizations seeking to offer equitable services to survivors of IPV must intentionally establish themselves as inclusive agencies. This article presents a review of common societal myths and barriers to help-seeking for survivors of same-sex partner violence and offers program guidelines for lesbian, gay, and bisexual affirmative outreach services and advocate training.     

Measuring Gender Differences in Partner Violence: Implications from Research on Other Forms of Violent and Socially Undesirable Behavior

The proposition that men and women perpetrate partner violence equally would make partner violence unique with respect to other forms of interpersonal violence. Women, however, commit a substantial minority of violent acts. Any theory of gender patterns in partner violence needs to be reconciled with other violence data. Data on other violence indicate that different methodologies sample from different sets of phenomena, and those methods that sample the least severe violence show greater gender equivalence. Interpretation is clouded, however, by underreporting and overreporting across methodologies. Despite improvements in self-report measures, partner violence measurement lacks a gold standard. A gold standard would include incident data, sexual violence, injury, and be developed through direct comparison of multiple methods, including perhaps real-time self-monitoring.     

The Psychology of Health and Illness: The Mental Health and Physiological Effects of Intimate Partner Violence on Women

Violence against women is a global public health problem with about one in three women experiencing either physical and or sexual intimate partner violence during their lifetime. Globally as many as 38% of homicides committed against women are by a male intimate partner. Violence against women may have negative effects on their mental, physical, and reproductive health (WHO fact sheet, 2016). Untreated individuals who have experienced violence or life-threatening situations may develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This disorder has the potential to be life-changing and cause negative psychological and medical issues (Rokach, Ahmed, & Patel, 2017). This potentially life-changing nature and consequence of violence affecting women world-wide deserves greater attention to ensure elimination of risk factors, financial support of investigational studies to promote detection of victims, and research to increase therapeutic efficacy of remediation. These efforts should be bolstered by all physicians, mental health experts, social service specialists, and public health advocates.     

An exploration of prevalence of domestic violence in same-sex relationships

The prevalence of domestic violence in a sample of 33 men and 33 women currently or previously in same-sex relationships was assessed. Data were collected through a mail survey in the state of Virginia. Of 1000 surveys sent out 66 usable ones were returned (response rate = 6.6%). Analysis indicated that 34 had experienced some form of domestic violence, but significant differences between male and female respondents were not detected. When data from this same-sex sample were compared with those of the heterosexual sample of the National Violence Against Women Survey, intimate partner assault may be more prevalent against gay men than against heterosexual men, but there was no significant difference between lesbians and heterosexual females.     

The maleness of violence in dating relationships: an appraisal of stereotypes

This study clarifies and adds to our understanding of how gender and gender orientation affect physical aggression in dating relationships. The stereotype of male violence assumes that men exclusively or nearly exclusively use abusive and violent behavior to manage conflict situations with an intimate partner, and that the more violent men will be more masculine. Data from a sample of 336 undergraduates indicate that the expected sex differences were not observed; among college students, physical aggression in dating relationships is not gender-specific. However, gender orientation was significantly related to courtship aggression. A more masculine and/or less feminine gender orientation and variations in relationship seriousness proved to be the two strongest predictors of both men's and women's involvement in courtship violence. Findings are discussed in terms of the masculine mystique and the male role norms in our culture's superstructure.This project was funded in part by a faculty research grant from Holy Cross College.     

FEMALE VIOLENCE AGAINST INTIMATE PARTNERS: AN INTRODUCTION

This special issue addresses some of the contradictions found in the research literature on intimate partner violence. Much of this work is concerned with the problems of severely battered women. However, other research indicates that women can be just as violent as their partners. Articles in this issue begin to explore some of the ways that women express intimate partner violence and argue that there is more than one type of partner violence. Motives and other correlates of violence are examined and future research directions are outlined.     

It Takes Two to Tangle: Gender Symmetry in Intimate Partner Violence

This study examined the equivalence of male and female intimate partner violence (IPV) across three samples of the New Zealand population (student, general, and incarcerated). Additionally, we compared the attitudes of victims and perpetrators. Findings revealed that although the incarcerated sample experienced a higher frequency of violence, the nature of IPV was similar across the samples. More importantly, our findings showed gender symmetry in IPV with male and female IPV being similar in frequency, severity, and injury. There was, however, some variation in the type of physical abuse acts perpetrated as a function of gender. Furthermore, victims and perpetrators reported similar attitudes and behaviors that differentiated them from participants with no history of physical violence. These included being more hostile, holding traditional gendered beliefs, and lacking communication and anger management skills. A rethinking of how we view IPV is recommended in light of these findings.     

Issues of Reliability in Measuring Intimate Partner Violence during Courtship

The current paper focuses on problems in conceptualizing and establishing reliability when using self-administered measures of intimate partner violence to assess dating violence. Establishing reliability is an important step in the development of dating violence assessment instruments. However, the nature of dating violence can make it difficult to establish reliability. Most notably, measures of intimate partner violence in courtship yield data that are positively skewed, with almost no one reporting high levels of violence. This could have implications for the calculation of several forms of reliability that assume normality (e.g., Pearson correlations, intraclass correlations). In addition, there are other characteristics of dating violence that could impact reliability. For example, partner violence perpetrators do not necessarily use multiple acts (internal consistency reliability) or repeat specific acts (test-retest reliability). And, gender differences in the perception of partner violence may influence intra-couple reliability in heterosexual couples. Finally, statistical interdependence within couples makes current intra-couple reliability assessment suspect. Research is reviewed and recommendations are made concerning the establishment of test-retest reliability, intra-couple reliability, and internal consistency reliability for measures of dating violence.     

Counter-stereotypical impulsivity and violence among African American college men

The study examined the relationship between impulse control and violence in terms of past feelings and acts among African American males enrolled in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Data were gathered from a sample of 1,874 male undergraduates in eleven colleges and universities with predominantly African-American students. Less than six percent were classified as impulsive, and even less than half of the impulsive males had past feelings and acts of violence. The study offers strategies for impulse control which may help to further minimize incidents of violence on the college campus.     

Counter-stereotypical impulsivity and violence among African American college men

The study examined the relationship between impulse control and violence in terms of past feelings and acts among African American males enrolled in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Data were gathered from a sample of 1,874 male undergraduates in eleven colleges and universities with predominantly African-American students. Less than six percent were classified as impulsive, and even less than half of the impulsive males had past feelings and acts of violence. The study offers strategies for impulse control which may help to further minimize incidents of violence on the college campus.     

Intimate Partner Violence Assessment in an Historical Context: Divergent Approaches and Opportunities for Progress

This paper provides a brief history of the assessment of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the United States. We examine strengths and weaknesses of the original IPV assessment approaches and describe the modifications and extensions that have been employed to improve our understanding of the multifaceted nature of IPV. We next discuss more recent movements in IPV assessment, including the assessment of non-heterosexual relationships, the examination of various (and often intersecting) forms of IPV, and the identification of qualitatively different types of IPV. We provide an analogy between the assessment of IPV and the assessment of other problems such as depression, and compare the differences between an assessment of symptoms and an assessment of impairment or harm. We conclude by highlighting the need for multi-method assessment approaches that can account for both the frequency and intensity of aggressive acts, as well as the context, motivations, and impacts of such acts, in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of violence in intimate relationships.     

Domestic violence, separation, and suicide in young men with early onset alcoholism: reanalyses of Murphy's data

Partner violence and partner separation at the time of completed suicide were investigated in 42 male alcoholics originally described by Murphy (1992). Half of the men had domestic violence histories. Partner-violent men were younger, had an earlier age of onset of alcoholism, and were more likely to be separated from their partner at the time of death than partner-nonviolent men. Loss of a close personal relationship, often a domestic partner, is common during the last year of life among alcoholic men completing suicide. Domestic violence appears to typify many of their domestic relationships, particularly among younger men and men with early onset alcoholism.     

An Underserved Population and Untapped Resource: A Preliminary Study of Collegiate Sorority Response to Dating Violence

ABSTRACT

To what extent do national collegiate sororities have formal programs and policies addressing dating violence? Given that undergraduate women are at high risk for violence by a male partner, sororities represent an opportunity to reach large numbers of undergraduates as well as women in the community who are active in alumni chapters. Based on a telephone survey and review of organizational Web sites, study results suggest that collegiate sororities are an underserved population with regard to prevention, education, and outreach services and an untapped resource with regard to opportunities for community service. Suggestions for building collaboration between sororities and service providers to raise awareness, support victims, create safety planning, and develop resources are addressed.     

The Intersection of Mutual Partner Violence and Substance Use Among Urban Gays,Lesbians, and Bisexuals

Intimate partner violence among gays and lesbians has gained increased attention in recent years. The present study assessed mutual partner violence within a gay, lesbian, bisexual (GLB) community sample to explore how mutual partner violence relates to the use of psychoactive substances. The results suggest that individuals engaging in mutual partner violence are more likely to report the use of numerous drugs than other subjects. However, this finding holds more consistently among men. The results also indicate that the exchange of violence is more significant for substance use than the particular type of violence involved. The authors suggest that minority stress may be an underlying mechanism of both substance use and partner violence and may contribute to the intersection of these deviant phenomena in the GLB community.     

Voices from the Group

Summary

This article presents experiential reactions of male and female domestic violence perpetrators one year after completing a 52-week court-mandated intervention program. Data were derived from in-depth interviews as part of a larger research study looking at recidivism and other outcomes in a probation department with a domestic violence courtand a coordinated legal, programmatic and community response. Overall, elements that were most helpful in domestic violence intervention were primarily relational ones, such as group support and therapist/facilitator alliances, and secondarily, specific strategies of handling anger and other emotions, and interpersonal communication. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for therapists and facilitators involved in providing services for this population.     

Effects of Gender and Confrontation on Attributions of Female-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence

The present study examined the effects of perpetrator gender, victim confrontation, observer gender, and observer exposure to violence on attributions of blame and responsibility for partner violence. Data were collected from 728 college-aged students enrolled at two southeastern universities in the United States. Results demonstrated gendered biases among both male and female respondents. Men and women attributed less responsibility and blame to female perpetrators than male perpetrators, especially if the perpetrator was provoked. Moreover, exposure to violence was important for predicting attributions, and some of the evidence for observer effects were reduced to non-significance once these variables were added to the model.     

Intimate Partner Violence among West African Immigrants

Although the number of African immigrants arriving to the United States has increased significantly, there has been little investigation regarding their experiences of intimate partner violence or coping strategies. This study used focus groups and individual interviews to explore intimate partner violence among 32 heterosexual West African immigrants. Results suggest that although cultural expectations influence their coping strategies, West African–born men and women face different realities, with women reporting multiple instances of abuse and a sense of frustration with the existing options for assistance. Although participants discussed multilevel support structures within the immediate West African community to address intimate partner violence, all of these options maintained a gender hierarchy, leaving women dissatisfied. Challenges and barriers to partner violence resolution and coping strategies are identified. Results are examined in terms of their implications for addressing the needs of this underserved population. Implications for future research and services are discussed and highlighted.     

实施社区首诊制的意义及建议

目前,实施社区首诊制有重要的意义在于,可以缓解看病难、看病贵问题,适应人口老龄化的需求,改善流动人口的健康状况,以及减少私人诊所和药店不规范医疗带来的危害。但是,首诊制的实施也必然面临一定的困难。因此,应积极倡导医保制定向社区倾斜的政策,鼓励社区提高医务人员的技术水平、服务质量,并且完善双向转诊制度。     

Repeating the Errors of Our Parents? Family‐of‐Origin Spouse Violence and Observed Conflict Management in Engaged Couples*

Based on a developmental social learning analysis, it was hypothesized that observing parental violence predisposes partners to difficulties in managing couple conflict. Seventy-one engaged couples were assessed on their observation of parental violence in their family of origin. All couples were videotaped discussing two areas of current relationship conflict, and their cognitions during the interactions were assessed using a video-mediated recall procedure. Couples in which the male partner reported observing parental violence (male-exposed couples) showed more negative affect and communication during conflict discussions than couples in which neither partner reported observing parental violence (unexposed couples). Couples in which only the female partner reported observing parental violence (female-exposed couples) did not differ from unexposed couples in their affect or behavior. Female-exposed couples reported more negative cognitions than unexposed couples, but male-exposed couples did not differ from unexposed couples in their reported cognitions.     

Size Does Matter: The Effects of Gender on Perceptions of Dating Violence

Previous research has shown that people perceive intimate partner violence (IPV) as more serious in cases involving a male perpetrator and female victim versus other gender combinations. This study is the first to explore reasons for these differences. 181 undergraduates at a U.S. southeastern college rated one of four dating violence vignettes that varied by perpetrator and victim gender. Participants viewed male-on-female violence as more frightening primarily because males are stronger and bigger than female perpetrators. Physical differences were rated as significantly more important causes of fear than other personality/relationship dynamics. Because males are actually stronger and bigger than females, it appears that gendered perceptions of violence are based in real-world knowledge of gender differences, not merely gender stereotypes.