Langhinrichsen-Rolling’s Confirmation of the Feminist Analysis of Intimate Partner Violence: Comment on “Controversies Involving Gender and Intimate Partner Violence in the United States”

This article makes four major points in response to Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rolling’s (2010) review of the intimate partner violence literature. First, the evidence is clear that there is more than one type of intimate partner violence. Second, the feminists are right. Gender is central to the analysis of intimate partner violence, and the coercive controlling violence that most people associate with the term “domestic violence” is perpetrated primarily by men against their female partners. Third, different types of intimate partner violence have different causes, different developmental trajectories, and different consequences. They require different models to understand them. Finally, we need more qualitative research focused on the least understood types of intimate partner violence: violent resistance and situational couple violence.     

Women’s Income-generating Activity and Experiences of Economic Intimate Partner Violence in Rural Bangladesh

Sex Roles - Economic coercion is a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) that is distinct from but often co-occurs with physical, psychological, and sexual IPV. Women’s experiences of...     

Why Doesn’t He Just Leave Me Alone? Persistent Pursuit: A Critical Review of Theories and Evidence

An integrative review of three theories that explain why some individuals engage in persistent pursuit—coercive control theory, relational goal pursuit, and attachment theory—is presented. The meta-analytic evidence pointing to persistent pursuit as a gendered behavior is reviewed, and coercive control theory is used to explain gender differences. The strong conceptual and empirical overlap between coercive control as a form of intimate partner violence and persistent pursuit is examined. It is suggested that persistent pursuit measures do not adequately assess behaviors that may be used more commonly by women, such as use of physical attractiveness or gossip to damage one’s reputation. Given the promising empirical support for the theories, longitudinal and comparative evaluations, with new methods are needed.     

Internalized Homophobia and Intimate Partner Violence in Young Adult Women’s Same-Sex Relationships

This study examined the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV), internalized homophobia, and psychological maladjustment in a convenience sample of young adult women. Rates of psychological and physical abuse in women’s same-sex relationships were shown to be commensurate to previously reported rates of violence in the IPV literature; rates of sexual coercion were also ascertained. A relationship was found between Moral and Religious Attitudes Toward Lesbianism (MRATL), a dimension of internalized homophobia, and the perpetration of sexual coercion. As expected, internalized homophobia was connected to psychological maladjustment. In addition, both the perpetration of psychological aggression and physical violence were associated with emotional instability. The study findings are discussed within the current body of literature on IPV.     

Applying Differential Coercion and Social Support Theory to Police Officers’ Misconduct

The goal of this study is to test differential coercion and social support theory on police officers’ misconduct. Data from the Police Stress and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland, 1997–1999 are analyzed to test the propositions of the theory. Specifically, we test whether this theory can explain intimate partner violence (IPV) and problematic drinking perpetrated by police officers. Results indicated that two types of coercion (out of five) were significant in predicting IPV perpetration, while two alternate forms of coercion were significant in predicting problematic alcohol consumption. Anger was the only significant social–psychological deficit in predicting both dependent variables. Social support, mainly from family/friends and the department, only decreased the odds of problematic alcohol consumption. The current study provides further evidence that victimization continues to be one of the most consistent forms of coercion most likely to lead to criminal behavior.     

Profiles of Children’s Thinking About Violence in Families Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence remains a pervasive and common social problem. Evidence indicates that children witness many instances of intimate partner violence. However, the structure of children’s thinking about family violence is still not well understood. This research employed latent profile analysis to identify underlying latent profiles of children’s thinking about violence using the Attitudes and Beliefs About Violence Scale. The analysis identified two latent profiles mostly differentiated by children’s beliefs about whether or not victims of violence deserve to have violence inflicted upon them. Several covariates differentiated members of the two profiles. Suggestions for intervention and practice are included.     

Abused Women in South Africa who Kill their Intimate Male Partners: A Psychological Exploration

The aim of this study was to explore psychological risk factors that may precipitate the murder of a partner by an abused woman. In this article, the authors use multiple case studies and interviews with three women incarcerated for the murder of their partners. Four themes relating to intimate partner violence emerged from the interviews: 1) post-traumatic stress disorder, 2) coercive control, 3) substance abuse and 4) interrelational conflict. The study indicates psychological factors that may precipitate the murder of an intimate partner that should be taken into account when counselling abused women.     

Men’s Experience of Psychological Abuse: Conceptualization and Measurement Issues

In this paper the literature on men’s experience of psychological abuse (in the U.S.) is reviewed and the ability to conceptualize and measure such abuse is reconsidered. Scales used to measure psychological abuse based on the experiences of battered women are critiqued as inadequate as measures of psychological abuse of men. Although both men and women direct psychological abuse toward their partners, violence perpetrated by men and women is not necessarily the same. Adopting a gender role perspective on psychological abuse, we argue that women may use different strategies to hurt men including manipulation and gender role harassment, whereas coercive control paired with physical abuse may constitute one version of (male) intimate partner violence.     

Exposure to intimate partner violence and children's psychological adjustment,cognitive functioning,and social competence: A review

Research over the past 30 years has established that exposure to intimate partner violence poses significant risks to children's adjustment and functioning. It is also clear, however, that there is considerable variability in children's outcomes, and research in the past decade has increasingly focused on understanding this variability. This paper provides a review of recent research that examines relations between children's exposure to intimate partner violence and their psychological adjustment, cognitive functioning, and social competence. Emphasis is placed on studies that examine risk and protective factors for children's functioning in the context of exposure to intimate partner violence. In addition to highlighting strengths of recent studies, limitations of existing research and future directions are considered.     

A Phenomenological Study: Black Clergy Leaders’ Response to Violence against Women

Violence against women and religious participation are two phenomena that are pervasive across many African American communities. African American women experience intimate partner violence at a rate higher than the majority of racial groups in the United States. Although many African American women highly depend on their faith and church to navigate their experiences with intimate partner violence, scant attention has been given to the role that Black clergy leaders have in responding to intimate partner violence against women. The current study utilized phenomenological methodology to understand better Black American clergy leaders’ responses to intimate partner violence against women. Findings from clergy leaders’ narratives suggested that they serve primarily four roles when responding to intimate partner violence against women: spiritual advisor, pastoral care/counselor, compassionate leaders, and uninformed responders. Overall, these themes indicate that although African American clergy acknowledge the prevalence of intimate partner violence within their communities, and are trained in pastoral counseling, they lack knowledge and training to respond to intimate partner violence. Discussion centers on the need for clergy to be trained in the area of intimate partner violence response given their position within the church. The results in this study can help clergy leaders understand the basics of intimate partner violence and identify gaps in their practices with abused women.     

Repetitive Intimate Partner Victimization: An Exploratory Application of Social Learning Theory

The research literature on intimate partner violence (IPV) has documented a number of poignant facts that serve as the foundation for this study. First, IPV is prevalent, frequent, and often repetitive. Moreover, repetitive violence within an intimate relationship tends to escalate over time, both in its frequency of occurrence and in its severity. We also know that decisions to leave the relationship do not guarantee that the violence will end. In addition, the phenomenon of “mutual combatancy,” prevalent in many intimate partner relationships, suggests that both parties in this dyadic process co-share the roles of offender and victim. Finally, we know that targets of IPV, like their abusers, tend to disproportionately come from families-of-origin in which violence and aggression were directly and/or vicariously experienced. These facts suggest that one possible starting point for the exploration of repetitive intimate partner victimization (R-IPV) may derive from an inter-generational transmission, or cycle of violence theory, suggested more formally in social learning approaches to criminal and deviant behaviors. The present study examines the extent to which measures of Akers' social learning constructs are able to predict repetitive intimate partner victimization. Self-report data on intimate partner violence among a sample of college students reveal the social learning theory variables, differential association and differential reinforcement in particular, are able to predict both the prevalence and frequency of predict repetitive intimate partner victimization.     

Subjective Social Standing and Conflict Tactics Among Young Kenyan Men

Efforts to reduce intimate partner violence in sub‐Saharan Africa generally approach the issue through the lens of women's empowerment. These efforts include foci on women's relative power in the relationship, educational background, and earning potential. The social status of men has largely been ignored, reducing the potential to involve them in efforts to demote intimate partner violence. In this study we consider whether a man's perceived social status predicts conflict tactics, and whether these tactics are mediated by loneliness and collective self‐esteem from a community‐based sample in semi‐rural Kenya (n = 263). We find that men who reported lower perceived social status also reported significantly more frequent violent conflicts with their intimate partners. This association was significantly, and completely, mediated by lower collective self‐esteem and higher loneliness. There was no direct association between subjective social status and negotiation‐based conflict tactics, although there was an indirect association. Men with higher perceived social status reported higher collective self‐esteem, and men with higher collective self‐esteem reported more negotiation‐based conflict tactics. These findings inform efforts to reduce intimate partner violence by involving men, showing potential to reduce violence by building self‐esteem among men—particularly those with lower perceived social status.     

Immigration Policies and Immigrant Women’s Vulnerability to Intimate Partner Violence in Canada

This article explores Canadian immigration policies’ influence on immigrant and newcomer women’s vulnerability to intimate partner violence in Canada. Neoliberal policies’ influence on immigration policies and restructuring of the welfare state, the creation of structural conditions that increase immigrant and newcomer women’s vulnerability to intimate partner violence while restricting their access to services that can help them seek recourse from such abuse, are discussed. The underlying question raised and discussed in this article is whether cultural identity and distinctiveness could be used to rationalize exclusionary policies that are contrary to the ideals of multiculturalism in Canada.     

Associations of Emotional Abuse Types With Suicide Ideation Among Dating Couples

Numerous studies have demonstrated that coercive control is more strongly associated with suicidal ideation than other forms of intimate partner violence. However, a majority of these studies focused on samples of help-seeking women. This study examined whether coercive control remains the form of intimate partner violence most strongly associated with suicidal ideation within a sample of nonclinical dating couples. This cross-sectional, survey study on 104 dating couples examined the associations of coercive control (i.e., dominance/intimidation and restrictive engulfment) with suicidal ideation, while controlling for other forms of emotional abuse (i.e., hostile withdrawal and denigration), physical assault, and depressive symptoms. As expected, dominance/intimidation and depressive symptoms, but not denigration and physical assault, were associated with suicidal ideation. Contrary to our hypothesis, hostile withdrawal, but not restrictive engulfment, was associated with suicidal ideation. This study suggests that dominance/intimidation and hostile withdrawal are forms of emotional abuse that are pertinent to suicidal ideation in nonclinical dating couples.     

Understanding Gender and Intimate Partner Violence from an International Perspective

This paper reviews the international literature on intimate partner violence with a focus on gender differences in perpetration and victimization rates. A total of 35 studies from 21 countries are discussed that report prevalence or incidence rates of men’s and women’s involvement in physical and/or sexual aggression against an intimate partner. In addition, evidence on risk factors as well as consequences of intimate partner violence for men and women is presented. Conceptual and methodological differences between the studies and the lack of comparable databases within countries are discussed as limitations of the evidence, and perspectives for future research are outlined in the framework of cross-cultural psychology.     

Future Directions in Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Research

ABSTRACT

During the past 20 years, research on dynamics of intimate partner violence, risk factors, and treatment of intimate partner violence has flourished. However, research on the prevention of intimate partner violence is in its infancy. The current volume was developed in order to examine the state of the art in preventing intimate partner violence. To that end, this article offers a synthesis of recommendations for future research made by the authors in this volume and participants in the symposium on the prevention of intimate partner violence sponsored by the Department of Defense. A goal in compiling these recommendations is to foster more and better research into preventing intimate partner violence.     

Friends in Need: Bystander Intervention for Intimate Partner Violence in Beijing and Seoul

How and why friends respond to control intimate partner violence has seldom been studied in survey data, in cross-cultural comparisons, or outside the United States. Moreover, the study of such responses has been siloed in two different research streams. The concept of bystander intervention has been mainly studied in psychology, whereas informal social control has been used in sociology. We use comparative data from two East Asian cultures (China and South Korea) to hypothesize and test for relationships among totalitarian-style partner control, Confucian gender role norms, secrecy regarding intimate partner violence (IPV), and two types of bystander intervention. The data consist of random probability samples of married/partnered women from Beijing (n?=?301) and Seoul (n?=?459). Multilevel models with the combined data indicate that protective intervention is negatively associated with Confucian gender role norms. Punitive intervention is associated with IPV secrecy and totalitarian-style partner control. There were important differences between Beijing and Seoul. Although not significant in the combined Seoul and Beijing data, totalitarian-style partner control and neighborhood informal social control were associated with more protective intervention in the Beijing model, but not in the Seoul model. Totalitarian-style partner control and IPV secrecy were associated with punitive intervention in Seoul, but not in Beijing. Interestingly, punitive intervention was positively associated with neighborhood socioeconomic status. Lower social cohesion in Beijing may explain differences in perceived bystander intervention between the two cities. Interventions for IPV must be thoroughly grounded in a deep understanding of sociocultural factors influencing bystander intervention.

     

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.     

The Ecology of Intimate Partner Violence: Theorized Impacts on Women's Use of Violence

The aim of this paper is to describe the multiple factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) using the social-ecological framework developed by Heise (1998). This framework is used to categorize research findings from multiple disciplines according to the level of social organization at which they operate. Evidence-based strategies are then reviewed according to the sphere of influence in the social ecological model, as well as their place on the prevention continuum. Along the way, possible effects on women's use of IPV, and battered women's use of violence in particular, will be noted.     

Beyond Resilience: Glimpses into Women’s Posttraumatic Growth after Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Little focus is given to the pathways victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) use to move toward posttraumatic growth. A sample of 32 female participants was recruited through advertising in domestic violence shelters. Women were interviewed about their experiences with four main themes emerging from women’s narratives related to posttraumatic growth: deliberateness of action, ending the cycle for the children, a changed perspective on life, and alternative perceptions of social support. Opportunities for professions working with this population in a number of various of settings is presented to promote long-term changes for women affected by IPV.