Conjoint therapy and domestic violence: Treating the individuals and the relationship

Domestic violence is a common complaint encountered by counselling psychologists and other mental health professionals. Common psychological treatment practices separate perpetrators and victims into individual intervention modalities. However, there is some research that has been emerging that suggests in some cases a couples treatment approach may be a useful adjunct to existing treatments. The present paper examines research and considerations in making the decision to employ a conjoint approach to treating domestic violence issues.     

Gender differences in the intention to react to aggressive action at home and in the workplace

This study explored gender differences in escalatory tendencies, defined as individuals' intentions to react when faced with the prospect of potential aggression from others. The escalatory tendencies are based on an interaction unit of analysis, which is a proxy representation of behavioral intention from planned behavior theory. This study consists of a convenience sample of 264 male and female participants who were asked to report their escalatory tendencies following verbal and physical forms of aggression committed by various hypothetical offenders, including their intimate partner at home, as well as the men and women at work who are in higher, lower, or equal positions. The main findings support the assumptions that escalatory tendencies toward verbal aggression are higher than those toward physical aggression; that escalatory tendencies at work are higher toward lower status workers than toward those of higher status; that escalatory tendencies within the same gender are higher than between genders; and that women tend to escalate more against their spouses than do men. The findings emphasize the importance of studying aggression and escalatory tendencies in context. Aggr. Behav. 32:1–9, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Community violence victimization and aggressive behavior: the moderating effects of coping and social support

Exposure to community violence (CV) as a victim is an established risk factor for exhibiting later aggressive behavior. It is unclear, however, what factors may mitigate this relationship. This study tested the relationship of CV victimization to aggressive behavior, and the roles of coping style and perceived social support in moderating that relationship. Five hundred and fifteen 18–22‐year‐old men and women completed self‐report inventories on CV exposure, aggressive behavior, perceived support from family and friends, and coping strategies. From a prior study, factor analysis of the coping scales yielded three factors of (1) disengagement (i.e., using primarily avoidant strategies), (2) interpersonal (i.e., using primarily emotion‐focused strategies) and (3) problem‐focused (i.e., using primarily active/approach strategies) coping styles. Results indicated that high CV victimization, high disengagement (i.e., avoidant) and interpersonal (i.e., emotion‐focused) coping styles, and low perceived support from friends significantly predicted increased aggression scores. Significant moderating effects indicated that, as CV victimization increased in frequency, aggression scores were highest for those with low perceived friend support and high use of disengagement coping. Findings suggest that avoidant and emotion‐focused coping styles are risk factors, and perceived support from friends is a protective factor, for a putative “cycle of violence.” Aggr. Behav. 32:502–515. 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Direct and indirect bully‐victims: differential psychosocial risk factors associated with adolescents involved in bullying and victimization

The present study examined psychosocial risk factors that differentiated direct and indirect bully‐victims from bullies, victims and uninvolved adolescents. A total of 7,290 (3,756 girls) students (ages 13–18 yr) from a region of Southern Ontario, Canada, completed a number of self‐report measures to determine the relation between direct and indirect bullying and victimization and several psychosocial risk factors, including normative beliefs about antisocial acts, angry‐externalizing coping, social anxiety, depression, self‐esteem, temperament, attachment, parental monitoring and peer relational problems. ANCOVA and logistic regression analyses indicated that indirect bully‐victims and victims were similar in demonstrating greater internalizing problems and peer relational problems than indirect bullies and uninvolved participants. Furthermore, adolescents involved in indirect bullying (bullies, bully‐victims) reported a higher level of normative beliefs legitimizing antisocial behaviour and less parental monitoring (males only) than indirect victims and uninvolved participants. Only normative beliefs legitimizing antisocial behaviour distinguished direct bully‐victims and bullies from victims and uninvolved adolescents. Results illuminate the distinct characteristics of direct and indirect bully‐victims; theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 32:551–569. 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

家庭暴力的社会认知心理机制及其防范策略的研究

家庭暴力已成为一个世界性的社会问题,然而我国学者对家庭暴力的研究多集中在现象的描述,原因的探讨和完善立法等方面,因而从社会心理学角度探究家庭暴力的认知机制对揭示家庭暴力的实质具有重要意义。心理学研究指出家庭暴力的产生及其对子女的影响而导致的暴力轮回都是认知结构上的偏差所导致,所以从改变认知结构入手的认知行为疗法将是防止家庭暴力的直接和有效的策略。     

The many faces of lying

In this paper the author explores the psychic functions of lying and draws on Glasser's (1979) notions of self-preservative and sadistic violence to identify three selfobject configurations. Each of these is associated with specific anxieties to which the lie offers an apparent solution. The first configuration is sadistic lying. Here the intent is to attack and triumph over the duped other. The lie allows the object to be controlled and humiliated. This gratifies the self by reversing an earlier humiliation. The second and third configurations are both forms of self-preservative lying, where the lie may be best conceived as a symptom of hope (Winnicott, 1985). In the second configuration, the object is felt to be unavailable or inscrutable. The lie may be used to create an attractive self that will elicit the object's love, admiration and concern. In this way, the lie serves to eliminate doubt about the object's intentions towards the self. In the third configuration, the object is felt to be intrusive, and the dyadic relationship is overpowering. Here the lie can represent an attempt to insert a third into the relationship.     

Establishing the psychometric properties of the Self and Perceived-partner Authenticity in Relationships Scale-Short Form (AIRS-SF): Measurement invariance,reliability, and incremental validity

This article evaluates the psychometric properties of Self and Perceived-partner versions of the Authenticity in Relationships Scale (AIRS; Lopez & Rice, 2006). Two samples were collected. Sample 1 (N = 487) was comprised of romantically involved adults residing in the United States, recruited from the Amazon Mechanical Turk, who completed Self and Perceived-partner versions of the AIRS, along with a number of other self-report measures. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to establish measurement invariance across Self and Perceived-partner versions of the scale and eliminate non-essential items. The revised 12-item short-form (AIRS-SF) exhibited excellent reliability in the validation sample, as well as a holdout sample of romantically involved college students (N = 112). Multi-group path analysis provided additional evidence for the incremental validity of the AIRS-SF. Consistent with prior experimental work, the Perceived-partner AIRS-SF predicts relationship satisfaction and commitment through interpersonal trust, independent of attachment avoidance.     

Testing crossover effects in an actor–partner interdependence model among Chinese dual‐earner couples

The purpose of the present study is to examine the crossover effects from one partner's work–family interface (work–family conflict [WFC] and work–family enrichment [WFE]) to the other partner's four outcomes (psychological strain, life satisfaction, marital satisfaction and job satisfaction) in a sample of Chinese dual‐earner couples. Married couples (N = 361) completed a battery of questionnaires, including the work–family interface scale, the psychological strain scale, the life, marital, as well as job satisfaction scale. Results from the actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) analyses showed that wives' WFE was negatively associated with husbands' psychological strain, and positively associated with husbands' life, marital and job satisfaction. Furthermore, husbands' WFC was negatively related to wives' marital satisfaction, whereas husbands' WFE was positively related to wives' marital satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed, and future research directions were provided.