Ratings of physical attractiveness within young,romantically engaged couples in Malaysia

This study examined the matching hypothesis, the positive illusions effect and the love is blind bias in young, romantically engaged couples in Malaysia. Each member of 58 young, romantically engaged heterosexual couples completed the Body Esteem Scale and items assessing physical attractiveness in relation to themselves and their partner. In support of the matching hypothesis, partners' perceptions of their own and their partner's facial and bodily attractiveness were significantly correlated. The positive illusions effect and the love is blind bias were also evident, with participants' ratings of partners being greater than both their own self‐ratings and their partner's self‐ratings of physical attractiveness. Although our findings suggest that these phenomena related to perceptions of physical attractiveness are evident across cultures, further studies are required.     

Parent–child warmth as a potential mediator of childhood exposure to intimate partner violence and positive adulthood functioning

Background and Objectives: Links between childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and adult functioning are clear, but less research has examined the potential underpinnings of this association, especially the long-term effects of the parent–child relationship on adult well-being. We hypothesized that (i) childhood exposure to IPV would be negatively related to parent–child warmth and positively related to symptoms of psychopathology during adulthood and (ii) the relationship between IPV exposure and positive outcomes in adulthood (i.e., high life satisfaction and low psychopathology) would be mediated by parent–child warmth. Design: Participants included 703 Swedish adults (20–24). Methods: Participants responded to a self-report survey assessing violence exposure, parental warmth in childhood, and current mental health and well-being. Using multivariate regression and path analysis, models of the relationships between IPV exposure, parent–child warmth, symptoms of psychopathology during adulthood, and life satisfaction were examined. Mediation models were considered exploratory. Results: IPV exposure was related to lower levels of parent–child warmth, higher levels of psychopathology symptoms, and lower life satisfaction. The relationship between IPV exposure and positive outcomes in adulthood was mediated by parent–child warmth. Conclusions: Warm parent–child interactions may play a key role in long-term positive functioning for those exposed to IPV during childhood.     

A Preliminary Investigation of the Relationship Between Emotion Dysregulation and Partner Violence Perpetration Among Individuals with PTSD and Alcohol Dependence

This study examines the link between emotion dysregulation and intimate partner violence (IPV) among 77 individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol dependence. Participants were recruited from a residential substance abuse treatment program as part of the eligibility screening for an institutional review board approved clinical trial examining the efficacy of an exposure-based intervention in individuals dually diagnosed with alcohol dependence and PTSD. Participants reported on PTSD symptoms, alcohol use disorder symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and physical and verbal aggression in their intimate relationships during the past year. Findings demonstrated that difficulties with emotion regulation are associated with physical and verbal IPV perpetration in a clinical sample. Although facets of emotion regulation emerged as significant predictors of IPV in the models, alcohol and PTSD symptom severity did not emerge as predictors of IPV. These findings suggest targeted emotion regulation skills training could benefit substance abusers who engage in IPV and that emotion dysregulation might be an important target for future research aimed at understanding elevated rates of IPV perpetration in mental health samples.     

‘My Husband is My Key to Paradise.’ Attitudes of Muslims in Indonesia and Norway to Spousal Roles and Wife-Beating

This article explores the influence of religious factors and values held by local societies, when Muslims develop their personal attitudes and perceived religious norms regarding spousal roles and wife-beating. It is based on qualitative interviews with 59 Muslims in Indonesia (N?=?35) and Norway (N?=?24). In addition, relevant Indonesian and Norwegian Muslim literature and web pages are examined. According to most Indonesian respondents, Islamic norms prescribe male leadership and allow the husband to beat a disobedient wife. This was regarded as crucial for the wife’s destiny after death. According to most Norwegian respondents, Islamic norms promote gender equality and oppose wife-beating. The sharp contrast between the perceived religious norms of Indonesian and Norwegian respondents may be caused by dissimilar cultural values in the two countries – values that influenced personal attitudes and thus the horizon of understanding where religion and authoritative text were interpreted. The reasoning of the respondents also sheds light on the importance of specific sacred texts when religious norms were developed individually. From a psychological point of view, the implementation of the egalitarian attitudes represented by numerous respondents may have positive effects for Muslim women living in patriarchal societies.     

The Relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and Suicidal Ideation among Young Chinese,Korean, and Vietnamese American Women

ABSTRACT

High depression and suicide rates are critical problems that have a significant impact on the lives of young Asian American women. Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a predictor of suicidality in general female samples, but no research study has examined the relationship between IPV and suicidality in a sample of 1.5 and second-generation Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese American women. We used data collected from 173 women (aged 18-35 years) who were screened for eligibility to participate in the development and efficacy study of Asian American Women’s Action for Resilience and Empowerment (AWARE). We measured the prevalence of (a) IPV, (b) lifetime suicidal ideation/intent, and (c) childhood abuse and tested the association between IPV and lifetime suicidal ideation/intent among study participants who completed the clinical screening assessments. The results indicated that seven out of 10 women in our sample experienced lifetime suicidal ideation/intent, psychological aggression was the most commonly reported form of IPV during the last six months, followed by sexual coercion, and history of physical and/or sexual partner violence had the most robust association with lifetime suicidal ideation/intent after controlling for demographic factors and childhood abuse. Our study suggests that suicide prevention and intervention programs for young 1.5 and second-generation Asian American women should not only address experiences of childhood abuse, but also incorporate culturally adapted behavioral health approaches to identify and target physical and sexual partner violence. Furthermore, any such programs need to integrate a systemic approach in addressing IPV within the context of various marginalized experiences of Asian American women.     

“Changing the Text”: Modeling Council Capacity to Produce Institutionalized Change

Collaboration is a ubiquitous approach to change, but is notoriously difficult and not definitively linked to desirable outcomes. Not surprisingly, the collaboration literature is replete with numerous facilitators and barriers to collaborative efforts. The current study aimed to develop a parsimonious model of factors influencing the success of collaborative efforts both internal and external to the council, including, (a) features of the council environment, (b) intermediate outcomes including the empowerment of members in the council context and the degree to which councils have generated social capital and (c) the extent to which collaborative efforts are occurring in a community context supportive of their aims. In particular, this study examines whether these factors affect the extent to which councils are positioned to achieve institutionalized change, or changes "in the text" that govern front line providers' (e.g., police, advocates) practices in the community response to intimate partner violence. Results suggest that perceived member empowerment, generation of social capital, and supportive community context are the most important predictors of the extent to which councils foster shifts in institutionalized change. Features of the council environment are only indirectly related to the degree to which institutionalized change is ultimately fostered as mediated by the generation of social capital. This suggests that the ability of members to act as change agents and the extent to which those in power support council efforts figure more prominently to facilitate or constrain council efforts than council functioning itself.     

An Ecological Analysis of Batterer Intervention Program Standards

Summary

Many states and local jurisdictions have drafted and implemented standards for batterer intervention programs. This article first presents a review of the arguments for and against the current standards. The author argues that the extant empirical research on batterer intervention is, at best, a limited source of knowledge for setting standards. The author then uses Bronfenbrenner's (1972, 1975) ecological framework to analyze existing standards, and to guide recommendations for future research on batterer intervention.     

Twenty-Five Years of Change in Working with Partner Abusers—Part I: Observations from the Trenches About Community and System-Level Changes

The past 2 ½ decades have witnessed explosive growth in research and practice in the area of intimate partner violence, especially regarding perpetrators. The author reflects on his observations of key community and systemic developments in the field of research and treatment with batterers. The author examines systemic changes that have facilitated growth in the field and examines related issues and controversies. The author calls for continued development of an empirical base to guide both theory development and practice standards. The author also calls for openness to change within the field so that new developments will lead to appropriate dialogue and debate, increased dissemination and translation of new research findings into formats that are useful to clinicians, and accountability and change in abusers.     

Maternal Intergenerational Transmission of Childhood Multitype Maltreatment

Previous research suggests that child maltreatment is transmitted across familial generations. However, extant studies focused exclusively on single maltreatment subtypes, instead of the more common experience of multitype maltreatment. This limitation is addressed in the first known study to examine the maternal intergenerational transmission of childhood multitype maltreatment among 104 mothers and their children. Findings demonstrated that mothers' childhood multitype maltreatment directly predicted their children's multitype maltreatment, instead of having indirect effects through maternal romantic attachment dimension, intimate partner violence, and psychological distress. Mothers' childhood multitype maltreatment was also related to intimate partner violence and anxious romantic attachment but unrelated to psychological distress. Our findings highlight the need for clinical attention to the long-term generational effects of diverse childhood traumas.