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.     

Influence of rock videos on attitudes of violence against women

144 undergraduate men viewed rock videos which contained content that was erotic-violent, erotic-nonviolent, nonerotic-violent, or nonerotic-nonviolent. Exposure to nonerotic-violent rock videos resulted in significantly higher Adversarial Sexual Beliefs scores and ratings of negative affect. These and other findings are discussed in terms of Bandura's concept of emotional incompatibility and the frustration-aggression model.     

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.     

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.     

Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: new procedures and recommendations

Mediation is said to occur when a causal effect of some variable X on an outcome Y is explained by some intervening variable M. The authors recommend that with small to moderate samples, bootstrap methods (B. Efron & R. Tibshirani, 1993) be used to assess mediation. Bootstrap tests are powerful because they detect that the sampling distribution of the mediated effect is skewed away from 0. They argue that R. M. Baron and D. A. Kenny's (1986) recommendation of first testing the X --> Y association for statistical significance should not be a requirement when there is a priori belief that the effect size is small or suppression is a possibility. Empirical examples and computer setups for bootstrap analyses are provided.     

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.     

Using full matching to estimate causal effects in nonexperimental studies: examining the relationship between adolescent marijuana use and adult outcomes

Matching methods such as nearest neighbor propensity score matching are increasingly popular techniques for controlling confounding in nonexperimental studies. However, simple k:1 matching methods, which select k well-matched comparison individuals for each treated individual, are sometimes criticized for being overly restrictive and discarding data (the unmatched comparison individuals). The authors illustrate the use of a more flexible method called full matching. Full matching makes use of all individuals in the data by forming a series of matched sets in which each set has either 1 treated individual and multiple comparison individuals or 1 comparison individual and multiple treated individuals. Full matching has been shown to be particularly effective at reducing bias due to observed confounding variables. The authors illustrate this approach using data from the Woodlawn Study, examining the relationship between adolescent marijuana use and adult outcomes.     

The relationship of sexual attitudes,attitudes about women,and racial attitudes in white males

A questionnaire measuring sexual attitudes, attitudes about women, and racial attitudes was administered to 350 White male college students. Sexual attitudes characterized by sexual guilt, emphasis on personal and social control of sexual expression, and depersonalization of sex were significantly positively correlated (p<.001) with attitudes that typified women in terms of traditional masculine—feminine stereotypes and good (nonsexual)—bad (sexual) dichotomies. These stereotyped and dichotomous attitudes about women and constricted and depersonalized sexual attitudes were both significantly positively correlated (p<.001) with negative racial attitudes. The implications of these results and other research suggested by this investigation are discussed.This report is based on a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree at Michigan State University, 1973. The author would like to express appreciation to Dozier W. Thornton for continued guidance and assistance as dissertation advisor. In addition, the author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Donald L. Grummon, Andrew M. Barclay, and Jeanne E. Gullahorn, all of whom served on the dissertation committee.     

Ethics in violence against women research: the sensitive, the dangerous, and the overlooked

Traditional disciplinary guidelines are inadequate to address some of the ethical dilemmas that emerge when conducting research on violence against women and girls. This article is organized according to the ethical principles of respect for persons, privacy and confidentiality, justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. In the article, I describe dilemmas involved in cross-cultural research, research on children, informed consent, voluntariness, coercion, deception, safety, mandated reporting, and dissemination. In the article, I include examples from qualitative and quantitative studies in many nations. I also offer suggestions for researchers and institutional review boards.     

Acceptability of dating violence among late adolescents: the role of sports participation, competitive attitudes, and selected dynamics of relationship violence

This study uses a vignette-based survey design to examine the relationship between both respondent-level and case-level characteristics and the acceptability of violence in dating relationships. Measures of sports participation, competitiveness, and the need to win (respondent characteristics) were administered to 661 male and female late adolescents. Participants also rated the acceptability of violence portrayed in a series of couple interaction vignettes varying along three dimensions: initiator act, recipient reaction, and initator-recipient gender combinations (case characteristics). Results from a multilevel analysis show that with regard to respondent characteristics, only the need to win is related (positively) to the acceptability of dating violence, not sports participation or competitiveness. With regard to case characteristics, recipient reaction has the strongest relationship, suggesting that how a victim of violence reacts may be a more important predictor (negative relationship) of the acceptability of dating violence than the initial act of violence. Overall, case characteristics explain three times more variation in the acceptability of dating violence than respondent characteristics (30% vs. 10%).     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Moral variables before and after a court‐mandated psychological treatment of men convicted of violence against their partners: Evolution and relationship with sexist attitudes

Assuming that some moral variables can play a role in explaining intimate partner violence (IPV) and its treatment, this study explores the evolution of the relationship between some moral variables, which have recently been connected to IPV, and sexist attitudes in 160 men convicted of violence against the partner. The general hypothesis is that the moral variables can change during psychological treatments, and therefore be intervention targets, because they are related to more traditional variables in the field of IPV, such as sexist attitudes. To test this idea, we took pretreatment and posttreatment measures on moral variables (moral absolutism and moral foundations) and sexist attitudes (benevolent and hostile sexism) and analyzed their relationships and their changes after the completion of a prescribed psychological treatment. The results showed that (a) the moral variables were significantly correlated with the sexist attitudes before and after the treatment; (b) the men convicted of violence against the partner held with less certainty their general beliefs about morality and their particular beliefs about the binding moral foundations (in‐group, authority, and purity) after the unspecific psychological treatment; and (c) their moral absolutism before the treatment predicted the remaining sexist attitudes after the treatment. Practical implications can be drawn to better understand this kind of prevalent violence and eventually to improve the psychological treatments.