Psychology and violence against women

The discipline of psychology has made many contributions to the understanding of the social problem of men's violence against women during the past 15 years by reframing the problem as one of misuse of power by men who have been socialized into believing they are entitled to control the women in their lives, even by violent means. The new scientific psychology data base formed by integrating feminist gender analysis methods into more traditional psychological methodology is discussed, as are the implications of the resulting empirical data on which are based newer assessment, treatment, and forensic applications. A review of the major psychological advances in psychotherapy with women who have been sexual assaulted, exploited, and battered is presented, as well as implications for national policy. The feminist model presented is one in which science and practice concerns are carefully considered at all steps of the process. The article concludes with a discussion of the challenges involved in making the future training of psychologists more relevant to women's mental health concerns.     

Obstetricians and violence against women

I argue that the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), as an organization and through its individual members, can and should be a far greater ally in the prevention of violence against women. Specifically, I argue that we need to pay attention to obstetrical practices that inadvertently contribute to the problem of violence against women. While intimate partner violence is a complex phenomenon, I focus on the coercive control of women and adherence to oppressive gender norms. Using physician response to alcohol use during pregnancy and court-ordered medical treatment as examples, I show how some obstetrical practices mirror the attitudes of abusive men insofar as they try to coercively control women's behavior through manipulation and violence. To be greater allies in the prevention of violence against women, obstetricians should stop participating in practices that inadvertently perpetuate violence against women.     

Pornography and attitudes supporting violence against women: revisiting the relationship in nonexperimental studies

A meta‐analysis was conducted to determine whether nonexperimental studies revealed an association between men's pornography consumption and their attitudes supporting violence against women. The meta‐analysis corrected problems with a previously published meta‐analysis and added more recent findings. In contrast to the earlier meta‐analysis, the current results showed an overall significant positive association between pornography use and attitudes supporting violence against women in nonexperimental studies. In addition, such attitudes were found to correlate significantly higher with the use of sexually violent pornography than with the use of nonviolent pornography, although the latter relationship was also found to be significant. The study resolves what appeared to be a troubling discordance in the literature on pornography and aggressive attitudes by showing that the conclusions from nonexperimental studies in the area are in fact fully consistent with those of their counterpart experimental studies. This finding has important implications for the overall literature on pornography and aggression. Aggr. Behav. 36:14–20, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The impact of rock videos and music with suicidal content on thoughts and attitudes about suicide

In Experiment 1, 133 college student volunteers watched a rock music video with or without suicidal content and then completed written measures assessing mood, priming of suicide-related thoughts, perceptions of personal risk, sensitivity to suicidality in others, and attitudes/beliefs about suicide. In Experiment 2, 104 college student volunteers listened to rock music with either suicidal or neutral content and then completed measures similar to Experiment 1, with the addition of a hopelessness measure. In both experiments, participants exposed to suicidal content wrote more scenarios with suicide-related themes in a projective storytelling task than those exposed to nonsuicidal content. However, there were virtually no group differences on explicit measures of affect, attitudes, and perceptions. Music and videos with suicide content appeared to prime implicit cognitions related to suicide but did not affect variables associated with increased suicide risk.     

Perceived frequency of domestic violence against women and neighbourhood social disorder

Regression analyses from a nationally representative sample of 10,235 adult Spaniards, provided in 1995 from the Spanish Demands of Security and Victimization Survey, showed a small and positive relationship between high neighbourhood social disorder and perceived frequency of domestic violence against women in Spanish families, after controlling for sociodemographic variables and size of city. Among sociodemographic variables, sex had the strongest association with neighbourhood social disorder, being more than twice as large as neighbourhood social disorder.     

Domestic violence against women: Understanding social processes and women's experiences

The prevalence of domestic abuse against women has been estimated as high as one in four. The risk is particularly high for women who are younger, economically dependent, unemployed and with children. Research about the factors that maintain situations of abuse has generally focused separately on the coping strategies of women, barriers to leaving the relationship and the perpetrators' means of abuse. In this study we used a community psychology perspective to seek a broader understanding of what maintains situations of abuse, in order to suggest interventions in a rural County in the North of England. Twelve women who had experienced domestic abuse and had used voluntary sector services agreed to be interviewed about their experiences and the resources and strategies available to them. Using grounded theory we generated four themes: (1) Commonalities and contradictions in the experience of abuse; (2) living with abuse; (3) the response of systems reinforced or challenged the abuse and (4) dealing with abuse beyond the relationship. These findings illustrate how situations of domestic abuse can be prolonged by limited options available to victims for support and protection, and a lack of active public acknowledgement that domestic abuse is unacceptable. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychometric properties of beliefs about relationship violence against women and gender stereotypes scale

This article describes psychometric properties of the Gender-Based Relationship Violence Beliefs Scale (BEREVIWOS) and the Gender Stereotypes and Beliefs (GESTABE) scale in a Nigerian setting. Analysis was based on a convenience sample of 202 respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to determine construct validity of the three-factor structure of each scale and measurement invariance procedures were utilised to determine whether the factor structure was equivalent across gender. Convergent and discriminant validity of the scales, and predictive and incremental validity were examined for consistency with theory on gender beliefs/stereotypes and violence in patriarchal society. A single-factor CFA model approach was used to examine common method bias. Results suggest the BEREVIWOS and GESTABE are multidimensional scales with an intercorrelated three-factor structure. The fit of the models and composite reliability were adequate. Scores from the BEREVIWOS and GESTABE appear reliable and valid measures of underlying beliefs and stereotypes associated with violence against women in Nigeria.     

The effects of mass media exposure on acceptance of violence against women: A field experiment

Two hundred seventy-one male and female students served as subjects in an experiment on the effects of exposure to films that portray sexual violence as having positive consequences. Some of these subjects had signed up to participate in a study ostensibly focusing on movie ratings. They were randomly assigned to view, on two different evenings, either violent-sexual or control feature-length films. These movies were viewed in theaters on campus and two of the movies (i.e., one experimental and one control) were being shown as part of the regular campus film program. Members of the classes from which subjects had been recruited but who had not signed up for the experiment were also used as a comparison group. The dependent measures were scales assessing acceptance of interpersonal violence against women, acceptance of rape myths, and beliefs in adversarial sexual relations. These scales were embedded within many other items on a Sexual Attitude Survey administered to all students in classes several days after some of them (i.e., those who signed up for the experiment) had been exposed to the movies. Subjects were not aware that there was any relationship between this survey and the viewing of the movies. The results indicated that exposure to the films portraying violent sexuality increased male subjects' acceptance of interpersonal violence against women. A similar nonsignificant trend was found on acceptance of rape myths. For females, there were nonsignificant tendencies in the opposite direction, with women exposed to the violent-sexual films tending to be less accepting of interpersonal violence and of rape myths than control subjects. Explanation of the data on the basis of “attitude polarization” and “reactance” effects are discussed. Also discussed are the conditions of the present research in terms of the type of stimuli used, the “dosage levels” of exposure, and the duration of effects in relation to future research and a general social climate promoting a sexist ideology.     

The relationship between sex role attitudes and attitudes supporting marital violence

This study explored the relationship between attitudes toward sex roles and attitudes endorsing the legitimacy of physical force by men in the marital relationship. Approximately 40% of this sample of 300 college undergraduates were black, allowing black-white comparisons on these variables as well. The results support a sociocultural analysis of spouse abuse. A moderately strong positive relationship was found between traditional sex role preferences and attitudes supporting the use of physical force. In addition, men were found to hold more traditional sex role attitudes than women and were more likely to endorse the use of physical force in the marital relationship. Whites were found to be more traditional in their sex role attitudes than blacks, but no racial differences were found with regard to attitudes endorsing physical force. Further analysis revealed that traditional sex role attitudes were the most powerful predictor of attitudes supporting marital violence, while race and sex played a relatively unimportant role. Implications for spouse-abuse prevention program are discussed.     

Blame, shame, and community: justice responses to violence against women

Justice processing for crimes against women is reviewed. The data reveal conviction rates for partner violence and rape by known acquaintances are miniscule; mandatory arrest, protection orders, and diversion programs inadequately deter rebattering; few losses are compensated; and the adversarial justice process is retraumatizing, exacerbating survivor's self-blame. To better address crimes against women, several nations and tribal communities use communitarian approaches, forms of restorative justice. The offense is framed to include the perpetrator, victim, and community. The process forgoes incarceration to have family, peers, and advocates design perpetrator rehabilitation, victim restoration, and social reintegration of both victim and perpetrator. Evaluations suggest communitarian justice may increase victim satisfaction, raise the social costs of offending, multiply social control and support resources, and open a new avenue to targeted prevention.     

Intimate partner violence against African American women: An examination of the socio-cultural context

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health concern that affects an alarmingly high percentage of women. There is evidence to suggest that African American women are impacted by IPV at higher rates than are Caucasian women, yet little of the IPV literature addresses the cultural and structural factors that differentially affect African American and Caucasian couples. The present paper reviews the existing literature on IPV towards African American women, including prevalence, theories, risk factors for victimization, victims' psychological sequelae, barriers to service utilization, coping strategies, and interventions for survivors and perpetrators of IPV. Recommendations for counseling, research, and policy are explored.     

Effects of gender and gender role self-perceptions on affective reactions to rock music videos

To evaluate the mediating impact of gender and gender role self-perceptions on affective responses to rock music videos, female and male undergraduates recruited from the predominantly Caucasian population of a southeastern university completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory and then watched and evaluated nine short music video segments. Consistent with previous research, the results highlight the critical importance of gender as a determinant of affective reactions to popular music. Males, in general, showed the strongest positive reactions (i.e., greatest enjoyment, least disturbance) toward hard-rock music videos while females reported the strongest positive reactions toward soft-rock music videos. Furthermore, both genders reported significant misestimations of other-gender peers' reactions. On the other hand, the influence of gender role self-perceptions proved minimal. Some implications of these findings are discussed.An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the November 1991 meeting of the Speech Communication Association in Atlanta, Georgia.     

Accepting "total and complete responsibility": new age neo-feminist violence against women

Barry Konikov, a hypnotherapist, of Potentials Unlimited Inc., a Michigan-based company which produces approximately 160 Subliminal Persuasion/Self Hypnosis tapes, promises his listeners miracles. The tapes on premenstrual syndrome, abortion, and sexual abuse were analyzed. The self-hypnosis message by Konikov is dangerous for women, because his antifeminism, misogyny, and patriarchism are couched insidiously within New Age neofeminism. Under therapeutic guidance the woman listener can direct her own transformation to complete mental, physical, and spiritual well-being, and her new and improved self is so empowered as to accept total and complete responsibility to overcome the hurt about menstruation, abortion, or sexual abuse. Growth therapies such as Gestalt, guided fantasies, and bioenergetics undermine women with false promises of power. If women are so powerful, then it is their fault if they got raped, or battered, or if they have not received love, money, and inner peace. While seemingly empowering women to develop a strong sense of personal agency, Konikov ignores the patriarchal structures which intersect his women listeners' experience of menstrual discomfort, abortion, and sexual abuse. Konikov's New Age, neofeminist stance contains 4 stages of healing: responsibility, absolution, forgiveness, and resolution. Accepting responsibility for the wound next leads to absolution, and particularly absolution for men. As an example of absolution, Konikov's woman client-ex-plantation slave accepted her past-life relationship to her husband, absolved him of guild, and decided upon a divorce. The issue of absolution widens into forgiveness in the healing process, whereby Konikov wants women to hypnotize themselves therapy should be to help a woman see how her own power as an individual is inextricably bound to the collective power of women as a group. There is no doubt that the New Age neofeminist stance taken by Konikov on the tapes leaves women profoundly disempowered.     

Relationship between sex-role attitudes and attitudes toward violence among incarcerated male juvenile offenders

The purpose was to investigate the relationship between sex-role attitudes, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Women Scale for Adolescents, and attitudes toward violence, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Violence Survey, among 81 incarcerated male juvenile delinquents. No association was found between sex-role attitudes and sensitivity toward violence; however, a statistically significant relationship emerged between sex-role attitudes and propensity toward violence. Specifically, offenders who reported the most traditional attitudes toward women's rights and roles were more apt to report that they would engage in violent acts if they were certain of not being punished. Implications are discussed.     

Taking control of violence against doctors

Violence against healthcare professionals is a serious but understudied global problem and one that lacks evidence-based solutions. The current research offers a novel explanation and intervention for addressing this issue: We propose that low feelings of control among patients and their family members play an important role in shaping doctor-patient relationships. To regain a sense of control, we suggest that patients attribute responsibility to doctors for their suffering, which may in turn lead to aggressive behavioural intentions against one's doctors. We conducted three studies to understand whether individuals with low perceived control blame doctors more, and whether threats to their sense of control cause participants to attribute more responsibility to doctors. Study 1 found that feelings of lack of control were an important predictor of attributing responsibility for negative illness-related incidents to doctors in a manner consistent with blame. Study 2 specified that the chaotic and unpredictable nature of illness, and not just its negative valence, is what drives attributions of increased responsibility to doctors. Study 3, which utilized a field setting in hospitals, found that an experimental intervention to increase feelings of control decreased frustration against (Study 3a/3b) and intention to harm doctors (Study 3b). These findings suggest that increasing feelings of control among patients can improve patient-doctor relationships. We also discuss the role of control and scapegoating during the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Health consequences of intimate partner violence against married women: a population-based study in northern Iran

The effects of different types of intimate partner violence (IPV) on mental health are understudied. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between women’s mental health and physical, psychological and sexual IPV. We invited subjects of a population-based survey conducted in 2015 in Rasht, Iran, on IPV against women to complete the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The present research study is a secondary study based on these data and archival data from the 2015 study. For analysis, multivariate analysis of covariance was used. Additionally, predictors of IPV were evaluated using linear regression. A total of 2091 married women were surveyed. The participants were divided into abused women (n = 512, 24.5%) and non-abused women (n = 1579, 75.5%). The pattern of IPV among our patients showed more instances of psychological aggression than physical assault, sexual coercion or injury. Our results show that the non-psychotic psychiatric disorders of the victims were significantly impaired in all aspects, including somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction, and depression. Except social dysfunction, the psychological and sexual abuse were significant predictors of other aspects of mental health. Our findings suggest that risk of IPV is high in this population. They also indicate that various forms of abuse are different from each other in terms of predicting a victim’s mental health. Different strategies may be required to reduce and prevent this violence. Additional research is needed to confirm and expand upon our findings.     

When we hurt the ones we love: Predicting violence against women from men's mate retention

Mate retention behaviors are designed to solve several adaptive problems such as deterring a partner's infidelity and preventing defection from the mating relationship. Although many mate retention behaviors appear to be innocuous romantic gestures (e.g., displaying resources, giving flowers), some may be harbingers of violence. We investigated the associations between male mate retention and violence against women in romantic relationships. In Study 1, 461 men reported their use of mate retention behaviors and separately completed instruments designed to assess violence in their relationships. Study 2 assessed 560 women's reports of their partners’ mate retention behaviors and the degree to which their partners used violence against them. As predicted, and across both studies, men's use of particular mate retention behaviors was related positively to female‐directed violence. Study 3 secured 2 separate data sources—husbands’ reports of their mate retention and wives’ reports of their husbands’ violence in a sample of 214 individuals forming 107 couples. The results corroborated those of Studies 1 and 2, with particular male mate retention behaviors predicting violence against romantic partners. The general discussion outlines future directions for research that are likely to result in a more comprehensive understanding of partner violence against women.