Journal of Family Violence

The present study investigated the combined effect of trait anger and negative attitudes towards women (i.e., hostility towards women, calloused sexual beliefs) on frequency of physical aggression in premarital relationships. A total of 263 college-aged men who reported that they were either currently involved in a romantic relationship or had been involved in at least one romantic relationship during the past 12 months were recruited. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Conflict Tactics Scale-2, Trait Anger Scale, Hostility Towards Women Scale, and Hypermasculinity Inventory. Correlational analyses indicated that trait anger, hostility towards women, and calloused sexual beliefs were positively associated with frequency of physical assault. Further, hierarchical regression analyses indicated that both hostility towards women and calloused sexual beliefs moderated the relationship between trait anger and frequency of physical assault, such that in men who possess more negative attitudes towards women, higher levels of trait anger lead to increased physical assault. Results provide initial support for the role of trait anger in dating violence and suggest the existence of a subgroup among premaritally violent males who possess negative attitudes toward women and also possess a strong tendency to experience intense levels of anger.

The present study examined self-reported lifetime antisocial behavior, family of origin violence, and impulsivity/behavioral disinhibition of 73 men entering treatment for partner violence. Participants were designated as generally violent (GV) (n = 46) or partner only violent (n = 27), based on self-reported violence against non-intimate individuals during the year prior to intake. As hypothesized, GV men reported more conduct disorder/delinquent behaviors, lifetime antisocial behaviors, and family of origin violence. The GV men also reported more behavioral disinhibition, however, group differences on impulsivity only approached statistical significance. In addition, as hypothesized, GV men reported they were more psychologically abusive toward their intimate partners. However, contrary to expectations, the subgroups did not differ on reports of physical violence toward their partners. This study employed a fairly simple technique of dividing men into groups based on self-reports of violence over the past year, thereby producing subgroups that differed on a number of important characteristics that may have implications for treatment. An advantage of this technique is that it would be relatively easy for other treatment programs to apply.

The aims of the study were to assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA), and to validate it against external criteria of intimate partner violence. The Spanish version of the ISA was administered to 223 non-abused women and 182 victims of intimate partner violence. Internal consistency coefficients oscillated between 0.88 and 0.98. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis failed to replicate the original two-factor structure. Using Exploratory Factor Analysis, a two-factor solution was found: physical (ISA-P) and non-physical (ISA-NP), but the items included in each factor were slightly different from the original two subscales. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed an AUC value for the ISA global score of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.98–0.99), with the optimal cut-off of 12 for detecting intimate partner violence. The Spanish version of the ISA is a valid instrument for detecting intimate partner violence in a female population.

This paper draws on Matza’s (1964/1990) theory of deviance to propose that the father’s current abuse of the child moderates the relationship between father’s patriarchal beliefs and current perpetration of husband violence in South Korea. Drawing on Matza’s concept of neutralizing beliefs, the paper argues that child abuse potentiates patriarchal beliefs, allowing husbands to extend rationalizations for child abuse to rationalizations for wife abuse, resulting in an interaction effect. The paper tests this hypothesized interaction effect using data from a nationally representative sample of 585 South Korean men. The paper then tests a competing alternative hypothesis that any type of violence (including violence outside the family) by the father acts as a moderator. Support is found for the child abuse as moderator hypothesis but not for the competing hypothesis.

This article is a qualitative analysis of the ways in which young and old battered women perceive, understand and experience suffering from violence. The sample included 40 participants, composed of 17 elderly Israeli Jewish women, aged 60 to 84, and 23 younger women, aged 23 to 49. We collected data by in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with young and old battered women. Content analysis yielded several common themes: Suffering through isolation and control; enduring bodily pain; estrangement, alienation and loneliness in one’s own dwelling; time as a source of suffering; significant; others as a mirror of the self; enduring to emotional suffering; and accumulated life wisdom. These themes constitute the basis for the forthcoming analysis and discussion.

This study examines attitudes towards violence against women among the populace in Moscow, Russia using data drawn from the Moscow Health Survey. Information was obtained from 1,190 subjects (510 men and 680 women) about their perceptions of whether violence against women was a serious problem in contemporary Russia, and under what circumstances they thought it was justifiable for a husband to hit his wife. Less than half the respondents thought violence was a serious problem, while for a small number of interviewees there were several scenarios where violence was regarded as being permissible against a wife. Being young, divorced or widowed, having financial difficulties, and regularly consuming alcohol were associated with attitudes more supportive of violence amongst men; having a low educational level underpinned supportive attitudes among both men and women. Results are discussed in terms of the public reemergence of patriarchal attitudes in Russia in the post-Soviet period.

This paper investigates domestic violence against women, including definitions of ‘domestic violence;’ and investigates “Female Genital Mutilation.” Data for this paper are from three national household surveys in Kenya: ‘Demographic & Health Survey’ (2003), Afrobarometer (2003), and ‘Work, Attitudes, & Spending’ (2004). Previous research in many countries has found convincing evidence of a tendency for domestic violence to be less common in households where the respondent and/or spouse have more education. This paper adds a new factor: the respondent’s mother’s education also seems relevant to prevalence of GBV (perhaps because of childhood socialization). This pattern applies to both experience of violence, and attitudes to such violence. There also appears to be a strong link between ‘Female Genital Mutilation’ (female circumcision) and mother’s education level. In each case, more education is associated with less violence.

Youth sexual offending is a serious societal concern that impacts the well-being of multiple individuals, including caregivers. The current study used a mixed-methods design to examine the mental health consequences to parents of youth who have committed a sexual offence. Semi-structured interviews and self-report questionnaires were employed with 16 parents from 10 families in Canada. Seven themes emerged from our quantitative and qualitative analyses: immediate emotional impacts; perceived stress; mood difficulties; hopelessness; and coping strategies (avoidance, problem solving, social support). We also examined ongoing parenting challenges in addressing the repercussions of the offending behavior, as well as parents’ hopes for the future of their family. Overall, findings point to the necessity of providing intervention services to parents not only to help them meet the needs of sexual offending-affected children but also to ensure their well-being so that they are able to more effectively advocate for the children in their care.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent and serious public health problem. Alcohol use and misuse is one of the most well-known antecedents of IPV perpetration. However, minimal research examined whether alcohol use increases the risk for IPV perpetration among individuals who identify as a sexual minority (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, or another non-heterosexual identity [LGB+]). This is particularly concerning given that rates of IPV and alcohol use are as high, if not higher, in LGB+ populations relative to their heterosexual peers. In this article we provide a brief review of existing alcohol-related IPV research among LGB+ populations, advance an integrated model of alcohol-related IPV perpetration among LGB+ populations, and discuss avenues for future research on this topic. Our review identified limited research on alcohol-related IPV perpetration among LGB+ populations, with no longitudinal or event level research on this topic. Incorporating tenets of minority stress models with models of alcohol-related IPV (i.e., I3 and Alcohol Myopia Theory), we propose an integrated theory of alcohol-related IPV perpetration among LGB+ populations. Based on the limited information available in the literature, our integrated theoretical model suggests several avenues for future research on alcohol-related IPV perpetration among LGB+ populations. We discuss these future areas for research and the importance of incorporating sexual minority stress frameworks into these investigations.