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.     

Low blood glucose nadir in the glucose tolerance test and homicidal spouse abuse

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether homicidal spouse abuse offenders with a low blood glucose nadir in glucose tolerance test (GTT) showed more instances of repeated and severe aggression and criminality than counterparts with more normal GTTs. An attempt was also made to determine whether personality profiles on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) differentiated between the groups. Altogether, 60 male homicidal offenders were studied. Those with low values had been repeatedly violent and impulsive under the influence of alcohol in relationships but also outside the home. The homicidal act usually occurred under the influence of alcohol with no clear recollection. These offenders had normal MMPI but some of them showed motor restlessness and irritability during the GTTs. The possible connections with enhanced glucose and abnormal brain serotonin metabolism among habitually violent and impulsive offenders are discussed.     

The social structure of violence in childhood and approval of violence as an adult

Data from a national sample survey conducted for the Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence are used to investigate the relationship of three aspects of exposure to violence in childhood (observing violence, being a victim of violence, and committing violence) with approval of violence as an adult. Those who experienced violence as a child tended to favor the use of violence to achieve personal and political ends. However, there was no correlation between childhood violence experience and approval of the use of violence to settle conflicts between nations. It is concluded that the amount of violence experienced in childhood by members of a society is one of the factors contributing to the development and maintenance of cultural norms supporting the use of violence in face-to-face situations.     

Integrating Multiple Intersecting Identities: A Multicultural Conceptualization of the Power and Control Wheel

For the past three decades intimate partner abuse has received growing attention as a major social problem with its roots in socially structured systemic inequalities. However, much of the intimate partner abuse literature lacks adequate attention to issues of diversity, and more specifically fails to address how structural underpinnings beyond gender shape women's experiences of intimate partner abuse. The primary purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of considering how various systems of oppression (e.g., heterosexism, agism, ableism, racism, spirituality/religion, classism, and sexism) shape the experiences of victims of intimate partner abuse. In particular, we address how these personal, cultural, and structural identities may individually or in combination influence women's experiences of intimate partner abuse. The literature on diverse identities and intimate partner abuse is reviewed, and a revised version of the commonly used Power and Control Wheel is presented, called the Multicultural Power and Control Wheel. Directions for future research and implications for practice are proposed with the hopes of initiating a dialogue among researchers and clinicians as to the most effective ways to serve victims of IPA.     

The Contextual Role of Depression within Couples Experiencing Partner Violence

Despite previous research suggesting a link between intimate partner violence (IPV) and depression within romantic relationships, few studies have examined the role of depression in couples experiencing violence. Using dyadic data of 129 heterosexual couples seeking couples therapy for high conflict including physical IPV, depressive symptoms were evaluated as a moderator in the association between psychological and physical IPV. Results indicated that moderate and high reports of women's depressive symptoms provided a context, while men's psychological abuse toward them moved from low to high, for women to be more physically abusive toward their partners. Further, low reports of women's depressive symptoms provided a context, while men's psychological abuse toward them moved from low to high, for women to be less physically abusive toward their partners. Better understanding the role of depression and how it may offer a context for physical violence assists helping professionals in holistically addressing violence within romantic relationships.     

Intergenerational transmission of violent behavior in adolescent males

The purpose of this study was to examine the intergenerational influence of experiencing parental violence on the expression of violent behavior in adolescent males and to attempt to assess the importance of psychological mechanisms in this transmission. Sixty-five consecutive male admissions to a Young Offenders Unit and 25 male high school boys were administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Culture-Free-Self-Esteem Inventory, an intelligence test, and a violence questionnaire. Violent behavior in adolescence was found to be associated with experiencing paternal violence. This transmission was also found to be associated with higher levels of psychotic symptomatology. Violent behavior in adolescence was not found to be associated with maternal violence experienced or parental violence witnessed or with low self-esteem, externalizing defences, or internalizing defences. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

An Interactional Perspective on Coping with Intimate Partner Violence: Counterattack,Call for Help,or Give in and Obey Him?

This research reports on an investigation of if and how help-seeking women perceived that they had coped in intimate partner violence situations. Within a cross-sectional design, a representative sample of 157 help-seeking women in Norway was interviewed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results indicated that exposure to psychological, physical, and sexual intimate partner violence, respectively, did elicit different coping strategies in one and the same woman. There were also significant differences between women who perceived they had effective coping strategies and those who did not. This research suggests that a multivariate design within an interactional perspective could inform and enhance our understanding of coping strategies in intimate partner violence situations as complex, heterogeneous, and dynamic phenomena.     

Differential reactions of men and women to realism,physical damage,and emotionality in violent films

Community college students rated brief segments of violence from films selected to represent a variety of approaches to the depiction of violence. Men and women differed substantially on these sequences, men seeing them as more enjoyable, amusing, realistic, and emotional. Men also showed less inclination to restrict showing of such sequences to children, on television, or by X-rating. While no sex differences appeared in ratings of suffering or overall appraisals of violence, women' enjoyment ratings declined precipitously for the films rated as depicting more suffering, while those of men did not. However, both men and women saw more violence in sequences emphasizing suffering of characters, even when this ran counter to actual physical damage depicted. For men, enjoyment of these violent media excerpts and self-reports of recent physical violence were essentially unrelated, while women showed highly significant positive relations for the two variables. These findings suggest that the dynamics of violence for men and women may be different enough to make differential analysis by sex an especially productive research tactic.     

Family of Origin Violence Predictors of IPV by Two Types of Male Offenders

The aim of this study was to determine the role of family of origin violence in predicting intimate partner violence (IPV). Male participants were divided into generally offending and family-only groups according to whether their violence occurred exclusively within intimate partner and family contexts or toward others outside the family as well. Results showed that exposure to family of origin violence affected IPV differently between the two groups of offenders. For generally offending offenders, exposure to family of origin violence significantly predicted IPV above and beyond demographic factors, alcohol and drug use, and bidirectional aggression. For family-only offenders, witnessing father-initiated violence toward the mother had a significant influence on their violent behavior toward their intimate partners. Clinical implications of these findings are addressed.     

An Ounce of Prevention: A Model for Working with Couples At-Risk for Battering

Literature on preventing spousal battering before it starts is virtually non-existent. This article describes a prevention of abuse program that targets couples at-risk for battering. At-risk couples and the process of engaging them in couples counseling are described. The prevention model is based on a Bowenian approach that focuses on partner differentiation and reducing emotionality and promoting rational thinking. It is assumed that increasing differentiation decreases the risk of spousal battering. The various techniques used to facilitate differentiation are presented as well as a case example illustrating a successful prevention of abuse experience.     

THE BLACK SISTERHOOD

No abstract available for this article.     

Domestic Violence Service Providers’ Technology Readiness and Information Needs

Technology-based applications hold promise as effective, efficient means of disseminating research- and practice-based information to professionals whose work relates to domestic violence. Other related uses of technology in the field have grown, including safety planning to address technology-related risks to victims and software programs being integrated into domestic violence agencies. However, to date, the levels of technology readiness and technology-related information needs of these professionals have received minimal research attention. This study involved a national survey of 471 professionals whose work addresses domestic violence. The findings demonstrate differences in professionals’ technology readiness based on key demographic and professional characteristics. They also reveal the most frequently noted information needs within this professional field. Implications for future research and practice are provided.     

The Blameworthy Victim: Domestic Violence Myths and the Criminalization of Victimhood

Prior research shows that individual perceptions of victims play an integral role in the societal response to domestic violence, as well as victims' responses to their own victimization. However, little research has specifically examined individual perceptions of domestic violence victims who remain in abusive relationships. This study begins to fill the void in the literature by examining college students' attitudes toward battered women. Specifically, the study considers whether students adhere to common myths associated with battering and if myths lead college students to view domestic violence victims as “blameworthy.” The study relies on a sample of 370 university students attending a large Southern metropolitan university. Findings indicate that students moderately support domestic violence myths and that myth promotion is associated with support for increased criminal justice penalties such as prosecution of mothers and approval of delayed police response in cases of repeat victimization. Implications for policy, theory, and practice are provided.     

Children Exposed to Domestic Violence and Child Abuse: Terminology and Taxonomy

Three definitional issues regarding children exposed to domestic violence are examined. First, the multiple ways in which a child can be exposed to violence is discussed. A taxonomy of 10 types of exposure is proposed. Nine key characteristics of domestic violence, as they relate to children and children's exposure, are then outlined. The third issue addressed concerns why children who are exposed to domestic violence can be considered victims of child maltreatment. These children, by nature of their experience in the home, are psychologically maltreated and are also at high risk for physical abuse and some risk for sexual abuse. Empirical questions concerning these definitions and taxonomies and their interrelations are discussed.     

Direct and indirect effects of family violence on child-to-parent violence / Efectos directos e indirectos de la violencia familiar sobre la violencia filio-parental

Abstract

This study analyses the impact of family violence on adolescent maladjustment and child-to-parent violence in a community sample. It also explores a possible mediating effect of adolescent behavioural and/or emotional problems in the relationship between family violence and child-to-parent violence. The sample included 485 adolescents of both sexes, with an age range of 12 to 18 years. Two structural equation models are presented in the data analysis. The results support previous findings indicating that all forms of family violence appear to contribute to adolescent maladjustment. Moreover, indirect effects of family violence on child-to-parent violence through behavioural and emotional problems were found. The implications of these results are discussed.     

The many faces of lying

In this paper the author explores the psychic functions of lying and draws on Glasser's (1979) notions of self-preservative and sadistic violence to identify three selfobject configurations. Each of these is associated with specific anxieties to which the lie offers an apparent solution. The first configuration is sadistic lying. Here the intent is to attack and triumph over the duped other. The lie allows the object to be controlled and humiliated. This gratifies the self by reversing an earlier humiliation. The second and third configurations are both forms of self-preservative lying, where the lie may be best conceived as a symptom of hope (Winnicott, 1985). In the second configuration, the object is felt to be unavailable or inscrutable. The lie may be used to create an attractive self that will elicit the object's love, admiration and concern. In this way, the lie serves to eliminate doubt about the object's intentions towards the self. In the third configuration, the object is felt to be intrusive, and the dyadic relationship is overpowering. Here the lie can represent an attempt to insert a third into the relationship.     

Predicting Bidirectional Intimate Partner Violence: Demographic and Historical Factors That Influence Initiating Threats or Use of Violence by IPV Victims

Using data from the National Violence Against Women Survey, this study explored the role of gender and other demographic and historical factors that influence initiating threats or use of violence among a sample of intimate partner violence (IPV) victims—an element of bidirectional violence. For this study, involvement in a relationship marked by bidirectional violence was defined as an affirmative response to this question: Were you the first person to use/threaten physical force? after respondents self-identified as IPV victims. The hypothesized model to predict initiating threats or use of violence among male victims was not significant, but marital status, income, employment status, and childhood victimization experiences did significantly predict female behavior. Age, race, education, alcohol use, drug use, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were not useful in explaining model variance for men or women. The rates of perpetration were equivalent for males and females; however, these findings suggest that gender is still an important context to consider when theorizing about bidirectional IPV.     

“The Test of a Civilization Is the Way that It Cares for Its Helpless Members”: Violence Against Older Women

Violence against women is a major health risk nationally and internationally. However, despite its impact, violence against older women remains an understudied area. Abuse of older women is frequently unrecognized unless encompassed under “elder abuse.” The purpose of this article is to (1) provide a summary of current research on violence against older women, (2) describe methodological biases in research on violence against older women, (3) discuss methodological biases that have kept the problem of violence against older women hidden from view, and (4) propose new directions for feminist research, advocacy, and therapy.