Walking the Walk or Just Talk?: A Global Examination of Men’s Intentions to Take Violence Preventative Action

Given the increasing prominence of both bystander-based approaches to gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and of proactively engaging men and boys to join efforts to end GBV, understanding the factors that support men’s antiviolence bystander behavior is important. This study examined correlates of willingness to engage in violence preventative bystander behavior in a global sample of 299 adult men engaged in GBV prevention events or work. Participants came from over 50 countries and provided data via an online, anonymous survey available in English, Spanish, and French. Path analysis was used to model participants’ willingness to engage in a variety of violence-preventative behaviors in the future, with variable selection guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and by research implicating gender-related attitudes in bystander willingness and behavior. Findings suggest that bystander willingness was supported by past bystander behavior, self-efficacy to engage in bystander behavior, positive beliefs about the contributions of antiviolence involvement, and by an awareness of male privilege. Social network support for GBV prevention work, and support for gender equity were not significant correlates of bystander willingness in the full path model. These findings held across participants from the Global North and Global South, suggesting that self-efficacy, an awareness of male privilege, and positive attitudes toward antiviolence work are factors which may support men’s violence preventative actions across broad regional contexts.     

Factors Mediating and Moderating the Relationship between Abuse and Commitment

This study explored the effect of intimate partner violence on relationship commitment. The investment model was used to test mediators and moderators between abuse and commitment in a community sample of women. Analyses showed that relationship satisfaction mediated this relationship for physical and psychological abuse, but revealed no significant effect of implicit relationship beliefs. Results could help clinicians understand more deeply the experiences of victims and why they might remain committed to an abusive partner.     

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.     

Gist perception requires attention

Four experiments (240 subjects) explored gist perception without attention using the Mack and Rock (1998) cross task. Twelve scenes were flashed under conditions of inattention, divided, and full attention. Subjects described what they saw on critical trials in which a scene was flashed with the cross. In Experiments 3 and 4 subjects also chose the scene from a four scene array. In Experiment 4 the critical scenes were shown twice in the inattention condition. Overall, only 17% reported gist in the inattention condition, 65% did so with divided, and 82% did so with full attention. In Experiment 4 most subjects remained inattentionally blind to the scenes even though they were shown twice, conditions which fostered repetition priming, and we found a suggestion of negative priming. The results of all 4 experiments indicate that gist requires attention.     

Perceived training intensity and work effort: The moderating role of perceived supervisor support

This study explored the relationships between perceived training intensity, perceived supervisor support, and work effort. The results from a cross-lagged study across a 10-month time span among 323 employees at a Norwegian power supply company revealed a nonsignificant relationship between perceived training intensity and self-reported work effort. Moderation analyses revealed a negative relationship for employees reporting low levels of perceived supervisor support. These findings suggest that line managers are of vital importance for maintaining employees’ work efforts in settings where competence-related stress is prevalent. Among several potential implications for practice, we encourage managers to engage in supportive behaviour, particularly under stressful working conditions.     

Intimate Partner Violence and Poverty in the Context of Botswana

The study aimed at exploring pathways of intimate partner violence and poverty. The sample consisted of 30 women (aged 18 to 54 years) who had experienced intimate partner violence. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews and analysed thematically. The results revealed that intimate partner violence was related to a lack of financial resources and stable income, financial dependency on the perpetrator, lack of child support, and intergenerational exposure to violence and poverty. The findings suggest that experiences of poverty and intimate partner violence are largely intertwined.     

A criminological assessment on South African women who murdered their intimate male partners

This study aimed to unravel the offence-specific factors to murder by females of their intimate male partners. Participants were 15 South African women prison inmates serving sentences for murdering their male partners (age range from 22 years to 62 years). The majority (80%) of the sample were Black. Data were collected with in-depth one-on-one interviews with sentenced females and analysed from a criminological perspective according to reoccurring themes that emerged from the data. Results indicate availability of hit men and cultural consultation with sangomas or traditional African healers, substance abuse and experience of abuse to be associated with intimate male partner murders by females. Participants seemed to have also been driven to murder by jealousy, in regard to extramarital affairs by partners, and also to be acting in self-defence when the murder occurred. The females’ unique life histories explained their particular pathways to murder.     

Loneliness: Lost in the Landscape of Meaning

The present study is an examination of sex differences in the sources of annoyance that partners in close relationships might experience as a result of each other's behavior. To test hypotheses derived from S. E. Cross and L. Madson's (1997) self-construal theory and from D. M. Buss's (1989) evolutionary psychology-based model, men and women of varying ages and educational levels were asked to rate how annoyed they would be with each of 13 potentially annoying behaviors of their intimate partner. Results were consistent with self-construal theory in that relationship-threatening behaviors were more annoying to women than to men and autonomy threatening behaviors were more annoying to men than to women. Results were also consistent with evolutionary psychology in that aggressive behaviors were more annoying to women than to men and sexual withholding was relatively more annoying to men than to women. Sex differences in annoyance with relationship-threatening, autonomy-threatening, and reproductive strategy behaviors were independent of age and education level, although these factors did affect respondents' annoyance when partners were unemotional, sloppy, or pleased with their own appearance. Results showed that sources of annoyance in intimate relationships should not only be studied from an evolutionary perspective but from the perspectives of social, personality, and developmental psychology as well.     

Exploring Women's Perspectives of Overcoming Intimate Partner Violence: A Phenomenological Study

Research in occupational therapy with women overcoming Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) focuses primarily on role acquisition; however, a broader lens in which to understand recovery may support more client-centered practice. The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the perspectives of women overcoming Intimate Partner Violence. Six women, residents at a domestic violence shelter, volunteered to participate in this phenomenological study. Relationships, Starting Over, Spirituality, and Expansion of Self emerged as major themes with an overarching theme of Forward Movement as the women continued on their journey in recovery.