Preventing Intimate Partner Violence: Towards a Framework for Supporting Effective Community Mobilisation

Community mobilisation is a promising new strategy for preventing intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in low‐income settings. However, little is known about the contextual factors (e.g. socio‐economic, cultural, historical and political conditions) that enable the effective mobilisation of communities for IPV prevention. This paper draws from the theoretical work of Campbell and Cornish (2010) on the relationship between context and community action in addressing HIV/AIDS to propose a framework for situating community mobilisation for IPV prevention in its surrounding symbolic, material and relational contexts. The framework is refined using empirical data from a case study of a gender‐based violence (GBV) prevention intervention in Rwanda, including interviews with members of government‐mandated GBV Committees and focus group discussions with members of two village communities (n = 35). A thematic analysis identifies various contextual factors needed to support community mobilisation for IPV prevention, including: broad symbolic understandings of what constitutes IPV; capacity to economically support women who choose to leave violent relationships; mechanisms for addressing the silence that often surrounds IPV; support from policy and government authorities; and opportunities to effectively challenge inequitable policy and legal frameworks. This framework is useful for policy‐makers and programme planners interested in IPV prevention in and by communities. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ethical Considerations for Clinicians Treating Victims and Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV), a subcategory of domestic abuse, is a prevalent national health concern that many clinicians will face during their careers. It is important that clinicians become aware of the numerous ethical considerations that are relevant to this population. The existing literature has not yet examined the ethical issues faced by clinicians working with IPV clients through the lens of the most recent American Psychological Association ethics code. This article provides a brief overview of the historical context and the current state of the literature pertaining to IPV. Then it examines the unique ethical challenges associated with the treatment of IPV clients through the American Psychological Association ethics code. Recommendations are provided throughout this article to help clinicians make ethical decisions, maximize the benefits their clients receive from therapy, and minimize violence risk.     

Self-reported posttraumatic growth predicts greater subsequent posttraumatic stress amidst war and terrorism

Background and objective: This study tested three alternative explanations for research indicating a positive, but heterogeneous relationship between self-reported posttraumatic growth (PTG) and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PSS): (a) the third-variable hypothesis that the relationship between PTG and PSS is a spurious one driven by positive relationships with resource loss, (b) the growth over time hypothesis that the relationship between PTG and PSS is initially a positive one, but becomes negative over time, and (c) the moderator hypothesis that resource loss moderates the relationship between PTG and PSS such that PTG is associated with lower levels of PSS as loss increases. Design and method: A nationally representative sample (N?=?1622) of Israelis was assessed at three time points during a period of ongoing violence. PTG, resource loss, and the interaction between PTG and loss were examined as lagged predictors of PSS to test the proposed hypotheses. Results: Results were inconsistent with all three hypotheses, showing that PTG positively predicted subsequent PSS when accounting for main and interactive effects of loss. Conclusions: Our results suggest that self-reported PTG is a meaningful but counterintuitive predictor of poorer mental health following trauma.     

Intergenerational Transmission of Violence: Shattered Subjectivity and Relational Freedom

This article considers a relational perspective regarding the intergenerational transmission of the trauma of violence. The psychoanalytic literature suggests that parents often transmit the trauma of violence to their children in the form of projected nameless dread and unmentalized states that interfere with the children's emotional needs and support. The offspring absorbs the trauma, which manifests itself in the form of disorganized attachment and in turn leads to the development of a predisposition toward cocoon-like dissociative states. This study considers two clinical cases that examine the interpersonal dynamics of dissociative processes. The therapist's reverie about his ancestors' survival of depersonalizing violence and Winnicott's concept of the survival and the use of the object help the therapist find his or her identity and gain the relational freedom needed to overcome the dissociative state, thereby becoming an alive subject who is able to help the child patient.     

Quest for Significance and Violent Extremism: The Case of Domestic Radicalization

In the present study, we applied the quest for significance model of radicalization to explain the use of political violence. According to the model, when people experience loss of personal significance (e.g., due to social rejection, achievement failures, or abuse) the motivation to restore significance may push them toward the use of extreme means. We tested this prediction in a sample of individuals who have committed ideologically motivated crimes in the United States (n = 1496). We found that experiences of economic and social loss of significance were separate and positive predictors related to the use of violence by perpetrators of ideologically motivated crimes. We also found evidence that the presence of radicalized others (friends but not family members) in the individuals' social network increased their likelihood of using violence.     

Moral approval of aggressive acts: A preliminary investigation

A questionnaire was used to investigate 1) the approval of various kinds of aggressive behaviour under different specified circumstances and 2) the arousal of feelings of aggression in imagined situations. In addition, an attitude test was presented which discriminated between the two highest of Kohlberg's levels of moral reasoning [1969]. The subjects were a very varied group of 83 adults (aged 17–68 years) from municipal evening courses in Finland. Aggression was most approved when it was given altruistic purpose. Self-defense was rated as the second highest justification for aggression. Aggression was found least legitimate when the reasons were emotional (drunk, rage). The justification of some types of aggressive behaviour were dependent on the conditions under which they occurred, whereas others appeared independent. Killing and torture were the most disapproved kinds of aggressive behaviour. Another's attack was the most powerful instigator of feelings of aggression, whereas frustration seemed relatively unimportant. Females approved of emotional expressions of aggression to a greater extent than did males. The moral test did not correlate with approval of aggression in general, but a couple of more specific predictions about the effects of level of moral reasoning on attitudes to socially sanctioned forms of aggression were tentatively confirmed.     

Exploring the role of sexual experiences in on‐again/off‐again dating relationships

As an important dimension of romantic relationships, sexual activity has received little attention in research on on‐again/off‐again (on–off) relationships. Study 1 assessed the prevalence and perceptions of sexual experiences in on–off relationships as compared to non‐cyclical relationships (those without a history of breakups and renewals); furthermore, current and post‐dissolution (PD) relationships were assessed. Findings showed that on–off partners were four times more likely to engage in sex after breakups than non‐cyclical partners (55 vs. 13%). Results also suggested that on–off partners' perceptions of PD sexual experiences were more satisfying, more compatible, and less stressful than were non‐cyclical partners'. Using longitudinal data, Study 2 showed that PD sex was linked with reconciling the relationship. Conclusions from these findings and future directions are discussed.     

Physical aggression toward teachers: Antecedents,behaviors, and consequences

School violence is a significant public health concern that occurs in many forms. Physical aggression can cause serious bodily injury and long-term negative effects, and both teachers and students experience significant rates of physical aggression. There are few studies examining teachers’ experiences of physical aggression. Studies that go beyond prevalence are limited, and we know little about the triggers and consequences that surround these incidents. This qualitative investigation used an antecedent-behavior-consequence (A-B-C) framework to understand how incidents of physical aggression directed toward teachers unfold. The sample included 193 elementary and secondary teachers who completed an anonymous, online survey and described events leading up to and following their experiences with physical aggression. Using conventional content analysis, we identified common antecedents, such as breaking up fights, discipline, and directives, and common consequences, such as student removal, school staff involvement, positive outcomes, and inaction. Further analyses revealed seven common A-B-C patterns among physical aggression incidents that are highlighted and discussed. Utility of the A-B-C framework for teacher-directed violence is described, along with implications for research, practice, and policy. Exploring the context surrounding incidents of physical aggression directed against teachers provides useful information for violence prevention and interventions.     

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.