Violent Men In Intimate Relationships: An Analysis of Risk Markers1

In the family violence literature, a number of risk markers associated with men's use of violence against women have been identified. Using the 1975 National Family Violence Survey, a multivariate analysis was performed to examine which risk markers best differentiated among nonviolent men, verbally aggressive men, men who exhibit minor physical violence, and severely physically violent men. High levels of marital conflict, lower socioeconomic status, and greater exposure to violent role models in the home of origin emerged as primary correlates of levels of violence between intimates. Theoretical and research implications are discussed.     

Development of personality disorder symptoms and the risk for partner violence

In a community sample (N = 543) followed over 20 years, the authors studied associations among childhood family violence exposure, personality disorder (PD) symptoms, and adult partner violence. PD symptoms (DSM-III-R Clusters A, B, and C) in early adulthood partially mediated the effect of earlier childhood risks on the odds of perpetrating partner violence. The authors tested whether stability of PD symptoms from adolescence to the early 20s differs for individuals who later perpetrated partner violence. Cluster A ("Odd/Eccentric") symptoms declined less with age among partner violent versus nonviolent men and women. Cluster B ("Dramatic/Erratic") symptoms were more stable through late adolescence in partner violent men, compared with nonviolent men and violent women. Cluster C ("Anxious") symptoms were most stable among partner violent men.     

The Relation Between the Two Factors of Psychopathy and Intimate Partner Aggression

Psychopathy is a personality disorder that has emerged as a correlate of antisocial, impulsive, and violent behavior, including intimate partner violence (IPV). In the current study, we sought to explore the complex relationship between two factors of psychopathy and IPV perpetration. The Fearlessness-Dominance Factor I (PPI-I) assesses the affective-interpersonal traits of psychopathy, whereas the Impulsive-Antisociality Factor II (PPI-II) assesses the behavioral-lifestyle traits of psychopathy. Data from 114 couples was utilized in the current study. When using male self-report of IPV, all forms of violence were significantly correlated with PPI-I. No male self-report or female-report of any of the forms of violence were significantly correlated with PPI-II. Hierarchical regression was utilized to study the impact of psychopathy factors in predicting physical violence while controlling for demographic variables. In predicting women’s report of men’s violence, the addition of psychopathy factors to the model explained significantly more of the variance (F = 2.71; p < .05) above and beyond demographic variables. The addition of psychopathy factors to the model predicting men’s self-reported physical violence was also significant (F = 4.78, p < .001). These results suggest that individuals high in PPI-I may be at higher risk of IPV perpetration compared to those high in PPI-II.     

A longitudinal examination of the relation between co‐offending with violent accomplices and violent crime

Although the idea that youthful offenders are affected by the company they keep is widely accepted, evidence in support of this idea is based primarily on reports provided by offenders and their peers. As an alternative to relying on reports of criminal behavior, a method that may overestimate the role that peers play in criminal behavior, the current research on co‐offending uses court records to identify and track over time individuals who are known to commit crimes together. The present investigation is the first co‐offending study to track patterns of violent criminal behavior (over an 18‐year period) among a sample of urban offenders and their accomplices. The study tests whether violence “spreads” from violent offenders to those inexperienced in violence. Results indicate that nonviolent offenders who commit their first co‐offense with violent accomplices are at increased risk for subsequent serious violent crime. Findings suggest that lessons of violence can be learned “on the street,” where knowledge is passed along through impromptu social contexts, including those in which offenders commit crimes together. Aggr. Behav. 28:97–108, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

When a man hits a woman: moral evaluations and reporting violence to the police

We use experimental data from a nationally representative sample to examine whether gender and the victim's relationship to the offender affect attitudes about the seriousness of the offense and whether the offense should be reported to the police. We find that respondents are particularly likely to condemn men's assaults on women, and to favor reporting them. The pattern appears to reflect both greater moral condemnation of men's assaults on women and the belief that the victims of these assaults are in greater danger. In general, moral judgments and attitudes toward reporting do not depend on the gender, age, level of education, or political ideology of the respondent. Condemnation of men's violence against women, and support for police intervention when it occurs, are apparently widespread across different segments of the population. Aggr. Behav. 35:477–488, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

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.     

Assaultive behavior personality and personal space

Eysenck's Psychoticism, Extraversion and Neuroticism (PEN) Inventory was used to explore the role of personality variables in augmented personal space required by assaultive offenders. For both violent (n = 20) and nonviolent (n = 20) subjects personal space was greatest from a rear approach. Neither personality scores nor nature of offense alone predicted personal space needs; however personal space was significantly elevated in all directions for assaultive offenders with high scores on the psychoticism scale of the PEN Inventory.     

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.     

Dating Violence Perpetration: The Predictive Roles of Maternally versus Paternally Perpetrated Childhood Abuse and Subsequent Dating Violence Attitudes and Behaviors

This study investigated both young men's and young women's perpetration of physical, sexual, and psychological forms of dating violence, examining predictors of violence including maternally or paternally perpetrated forms of various types of child maltreatment, as well as attitudes toward dating violence and dating violence victimization. Results of hierarchical linear regressions found that childhood experiences of maternal neglect predicted men's physical perpetration, and childhood sexual abuse predicted women's sexual perpetration and men's psychological perpetration. Further, positive attitudes toward dating violence predicted women's physical, psychological, and sexual perpetration, as well as men's sexual perpetration, and experiences of dating violence victimization were the strongest predictors of most forms of dating violence perpetration, particularly among women. Implications for future research and prevention initiatives are discussed.     

Theological and Ethical Reflections on Men and Violence: Toward a New Understanding of Masculinity

Abstract

This paper explores the reasons why men express violence against women, children and other men, suggesting that men's violence represents one of the darkest features of masculinity. The way men are socialized and conditioned requires and produces violent behaviors that are destructive to men themselves as well as to women, children, and the earth. The author proposes the need to re-envision masculinity to enable men and women to create communities in which people are encouraged to participate in ‘adventurous partnering for peace’.     

Hostile masculinity,sexual aggresion,and gender-biased domineeringness in conversations

This study assessed the ability of certain variables to predict which men would be more domineering in conversations with a woman and/or with a man. The variables included men's self-reported sexually aggressive behavior and several components comprising a personality profile labeled “Hostile Masculinity.” As expected, these variables successfully predicted domineering behavior toward the female but not toward the male. These findings supported theories hypothesizing that men's desire to control women and men's antisocial behavior toward them are due to specific rather than to general factors (i. e., evolutionary and feminist theorizing). © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Prevalence of Types of Perpetration: Gender and Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence Within a Prison Sample in Singapore

It has been reported in Western research on intimate partner violence (IPV) that there are similar rates between males and females (Filbert, 2010). The objective of this study was to compare male and female prisoners from Singapore on rates of IPV as well as the Johnson (2006) types of IPV. Women (n = 75) self-reported higher rates of physical IPV perpetration in the past year (64.0%) than (n = 75) did men (46.1%). Women reported similar rates of IPV for themselves and their partners in the past year (64.0%), while men reported slightly more physical IPV for themselves (46.1%) than they did for their female partners (41.3%). In line with Johnson (2006), rates of intimate terrorism were calculated between 5% and 7% for themselves and their partners, with little variation due to gender. Violent resistance (VR) was calculated at between 2.1% and 7%, with more female than male VR reported for women. Much higher rates of situational couple violence was calculated for both males and females, ranging from 53.3% to 66.7% in the past year, while mutual violent control was significantly lower, ranging from between 14.8% to 20.0%, with data being discussed in relation to patriarchal and family violence perspectives. We concluded that the rates of IPV between males and females were very similar as were the types of IPV. Further research with other cultures should be encouraged for comparison with Western samples.     

Personality Traits Increasingly Important for Male Fertility: Evidence from Norway

We study the relationship between personality traits and fertility using a survey of Norwegian men and women born from 1927 to 1968 (N = 7017 individuals). We found that personality relates to men's and women's fertility differently; conscientiousness decreases female fertility, openness decreases male fertility and extraversion raises the fertility of both sexes. Neuroticism depresses fertility for men, but only for those born after 1956. The lower male fertility in younger cohorts high in neuroticism cannot be explained by partnership status, income or education. The proportion of childless men (at age 40 years) has increased rapidly for Norwegian male cohorts from 1940 to 1970 (from about 15 to 25 per cent). For women, it has only increased marginally (from 10 to 13 per cent). Our findings suggest that this could be partly explained by the increasing importance of personality characteristics for men's probability of becoming fathers. Men that have certain personality traits may increasingly be avoiding the long‐term commitment of having children, or their female partners are shunning entering this type of commitment with them. Childbearing in contemporary richer countries may be less likely to be influenced by economic necessities and more by individual partner characteristics, such as personality. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology     

The prediction of violent and nonviolent criminal behavior in a methadone maintenance population

The utility of traits associated with Antisocial Personality Disorder in making risk assessments of violent and nonviolent crimes was examined in 254 subjects sampled from a methadone maintenance population. A factor analysis of a number of baseline measures resulted in five factors measuring hostility, insecure attachment, impaired reality testing, antisocial personality, and empathy. These factors were used in logistic regression analysis to predict charges for violent and nonviolent crimes over a 2-year period. Individuals with high scores on the antisocial personality factor had an increased risk of both violent and nonviolent criminal charges. Individuals with low scores on the empathy factor were at high risk for violent crimes. In an analysis using the factor components rather than the factors, the measures of perspective-taking and a socialization were associated with violent criminal charges, and the measure of psychopathy, but not antisocial behavior, was associated with nonviolent criminal charges. The results support the use of measures of personality traits in addition to measures of a history of antisocial behavior in making violence risk assessments in substance-dependent patients. The DSM construct and diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder may be enhanced by greater emphasis on personality traits associated with antisocial behavior.     

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 relative severity of acts of physical violence in heterosexual relationships: An item response theory analysis

This study evaluated the structure of an expanded version of the physical violence scale of the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS). A community sample of 1,092 randomly selected men and women reported on perpetration and receipt of 14 violent acts in their relationships. Item response theory analyses indicated that the violence items were unidimensional for recipient and perpetrator reports of men's and women's violence. There was convergence between severity of acts as reported by perpetrators and recipients for both men's and women's violence. Results indicated that adding together the number of different acts endorsed to form a total score is appropriate for both men's and women's violence. Total scores were strongly related to likelihood of injury, supporting the validity of CTS‐type measures to assess severity of violence.     

Assessing Violence Risk Among Female IPV Perpetrators: An Examination of the B-SAFER

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global problem and one in which frontline assessment and management falls primarily to police. Although IPV is often conceptualized as a male-perpetrated crime, evidence substantiates female IPV perpetration and increased arrest rates, raising important issues for police. This article examines police use of the Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk (B-SAFER; Kropp, Hart, & Belfrage, 2005, 2010), a violence risk assessment tool for IPV. The B-SAFER was used to assess and manage 52 women arrested for IPV. When compared to Belfrage and Strand (2008), who examined men arrested for IPV in the same sample, women possessed fewer risk factors. Risk factors were related to summary risk judgments, although differences existed between genders and risk judgments were not related to management recommendations. Results suggest that risk factors, in addition to those in the B-SAFER, are required to assess risk for female IPV.     

Testosterone,aggressiveness, and antisocial personality

Testosterone levels were examined in prisoners convicted of violent crimes (n = 13), in men previously convicted of violent crimes but currently not in prison (n = 15), in nonviolent alcoholics (n = 15), and in randomly selected control males (n = 16). Morning, afternoon, and evening testosterone levels were assessed after a minimum alcohol abstinence period of 24 hr. Violent and nonviolent men did not differ in plasma total testosterone level on any sampling occasion. In violent men, however, testosterone levels were significantly correlated with hostility, as measured by the Derogatis Symptom Check List. Most violent men were diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASP) [DSM‐III‐R; 301.70], and the unweighted ASP symptom count also correlated significantly with testosterone levels in these subjects. We suggest that individuals whose life histories involve numerous antisocial behaviors tend to have high testosterone levels even when interpersonal violence is excluded. This, however, does not eliminate the possibility that males who are characterized by high hostility may also have elevated testosterone levels. Violent predisposition and antisocial conduct beginning in early adolescence predict adult aggressive behaviors, which are augmented by power‐related alcohol expectancies and alcohol abuse. Aggr. Behav. 25:113–123, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.