Measuring Myths about Domestic Violence: Development and Initial Validation of the Domestic Violence Myth Acceptance Scale

The past 2.5 decades have seen explosive growth in research and practice in the area of intimate partner violence (IPV), especially of perpetrators. In the present paper, the author reflects on his observations of key developments in the field and examines research that has increased our understanding of batterers, who they are, and how we might best work with them to end IPV. Issues and controversies that surround batterer treatment and research with batterers are also examined. The author calls for continued development of an empirical base to guide theory development and practice standards, as well as increased dissemination and translation of research into formats that are useful to clinicians.     

Some Must Die

The transplantation and procurement of human organs has become almost routine in American society. Yet, organ transplantation raises difficult ethical and psychosocial issues in the context of “controlled” death, including the blurring of boundaries between life and death, self and other, healing and harming, and killing and letting die. These issues are explored in the context of the actual experiences of organ donors and recipients, brain death, the introduction of non‐heartbeating donor protocols, and the increasing reliance on living donors. The author draws on a thematic analysis of the way that organ transplantation is presented in the media, films, and science fiction and on his clinical experience as a psychiatrist working with transplant patients, their families, and the nurses and physicians who care for them.     

Fostering a “Group Ethos”: Truth or Dare!

A group ethos permeates the two Special Issues of Group dedicated to the future of group psychotherapy in the 21st century. This ethos is elaborated through a parable, an integration of authors' conclusions, and a brief exploration of the myths and basic assumptions about group leadership and followership that characterized the 20th century. A new basic assumption is proposed for the 21st. BaC suggests that members are drawn to groups for the unconscious collaboration necessary to discover something between them, as yet untold—something that may hold the key to their own fates and to the human condition.     

Cigarette graphic warning labels increase both risk perceptions and smoking myth endorsement

Objective: Cigarette graphic warning labels elicit negative emotion, which increases risk perceptions through multiple processes. We examined whether this emotion simultaneously affects motivated cognitions like smoking myth endorsement (e.g. ‘exercise can undo the negative effects of smoking’) and perceptions of cigarette danger versus other products.

Design: 736 adult and 469 teen smokers/vulnerable smokers viewed one of three warning label types (text-only, low emotion graphic or high emotion graphic) four times over two weeks.

Main outcome measures: Emotional reactions to the warnings were reported during the first and fourth exposures. Participants reported how often they considered the warnings, smoking myth endorsement, risk perceptions and perceptions of cigarette danger relative to smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes.

Results: In structural equation models, emotional reactions influenced risk perceptions and smoking myth endorsement through two processes. Emotion acted as information about risk, directly increasing smoking risk perceptions and decreasing smoking myth endorsement. Emotion also acted as a spotlight, motivating consideration of the warning information. Warning consideration increased risk perceptions, but also increased smoking myth endorsement. Emotional reactions to warnings decreased perceptions of cigarette danger relative to other products.

Conclusions: Emotional reactions to cigarette warnings increase smoking risk perceptions, but also smoking myth endorsement and misperceptions that cigarettes are less dangerous than potentially harm-reducing tobacco products.     

How Ambivalent Sexism Toward Women and Men Support Rape Myth Acceptance

The goal of this study was to determine how ambivalent sexism toward women and men are both associated with rape myth acceptance. The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance scale, Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, and Ambivalence toward Men Inventory were completed by 409 participants. Hostile sexism toward women positively correlated with rape myth acceptance. For benevolent sexism toward women, complementary gender differentiation was positively associated with rape myth acceptance whereas protective paternalism was negatively associated. Benevolent sexism toward men, but not hostile sexism, positively correlated with rape myth acceptance. Further, for female participants higher maternalism toward men corresponded with higher rape myth acceptance. These findings suggest that sexist beliefs toward both women and men are important for understanding the support of rape myths.     

The Blameworthy Victim: Domestic Violence Myths and the Criminalization of Victimhood

Prior research shows that individual perceptions of victims play an integral role in the societal response to domestic violence, as well as victims' responses to their own victimization. However, little research has specifically examined individual perceptions of domestic violence victims who remain in abusive relationships. This study begins to fill the void in the literature by examining college students' attitudes toward battered women. Specifically, the study considers whether students adhere to common myths associated with battering and if myths lead college students to view domestic violence victims as “blameworthy.” The study relies on a sample of 370 university students attending a large Southern metropolitan university. Findings indicate that students moderately support domestic violence myths and that myth promotion is associated with support for increased criminal justice penalties such as prosecution of mothers and approval of delayed police response in cases of repeat victimization. Implications for policy, theory, and practice are provided.     

《周易》三才之道的神话意蕴

“三才”一词始见于《易传》,但“三才”观念在远古神话就已诞生,从原始墓葬可见之．三才之道中数字“三”具有“圣数”(Sacret Number)或“神秘数字”(Mystic Number)之属性,“三才”之“才”则代表着原始、初始之意．“才”又有“存在”之意,天地是一个存在的“场”,人是“在场”之物,人生天地间,必有内忧外患,故《周易》一书饱(?)浓重的忧患意识．古时王者多具有巫师的职能,巫是沟通天人之中介,故从贯通三才之道的“王”入手,揭示王/巫合一的神话属性,从而阐发天、地、人生生不息的“三才”观之神话意蕴．     

Group Therapy in Israel

This paper is an analysis of the group therapy and the group work phenomena in Israel as a microcosm of the Israeli society and culture. We discuss the structure of Israeli society and its features, identify the key norms and myths that express the social unconscious, and pinpoint events that mark critical points of change. Drawing on these, the paper then describes some examples of the influence of Israeli identity on participants' and group therapists' behavior, and on current training programs.     

Pre- and Postintervention Factor Analysis of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale

The effects of a bystander education intervention program on the factor structure underlying a rape myth acceptance scale were examined using exploratory factor analyses on secondary data. The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale was administered to college students at a northwestern university both before (n = 363) and after (n = 352) receiving a bystander education program. Results from exploratory factor analyses showed changes in the factor structure from pretest to posttest. This suggests some instability in the factor structure of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale. These pre–post intervention differences in the rape myth acceptance factor structure suggest researchers use caution in using and interpreting scores based on the IRMA without regard to participants’ prevention program status.