Domestic Violence Attitudes Research Articles

Validation of Scales for Researching Stakeholders' Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence in China.

Domestic violence (DV) is a significant concern within China. Currently, there are few standardized measurement tools to gauge Chinese stakeholders' perceptions and beliefs concerning DV. This research sought to validate tools to be used with such stakeholders. Factor analyses were utilized on cross-sectional, survey data from a purposive sample of 683 Chinese DV professionals working in four institutions in Guangdong. Analyses developed three scales for measuring DV Definitions, DV Attitudes, and DV Policing. The development of these scales is beneficial to advance the already growing research related to DV in China in ways that are relevant to the Chinese context.

Spatial clustering of domestic violence attitudes toward women in Ghana.

Violence against women is a global public health issue associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The United Nations defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life". There is paucity of data on the spatial distribution and predictors of violence against women in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to investigate the geographical distribution of attitudes toward wife beating in Ghana, a sub-Saharan African country, utilizing data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Participants from over eleven thousand households were surveyed on topics of demographics and justification of wife beating in at least one of five different scenarios. The identification of geographic clusters of men and women who endorsed wife beating was performed using Ripley K functions. The comparison of the spatial distributions of women and men justifying wife beating were performed using spatial relative risk surfaces. The spatial analysis indicated the presence of clusters in women and men's approval for wife beating compared to those who do not approve of wife beating, with a statistical significance level set at p < 0.01. Major spatial clusters of approval of wife beating were in the Northern region, for both men and women, and in the Upper West region of Ghana for the men participants. This is the first study to explore the geographical distribution of attitudes toward wife beating in Ghana, and revealed evidence of several regional heterogeneous clusters where wife beating was more commonly justified by both men and women. Targeted intervention for reducing the justification of wife beating in Ghana should be focused in these regions.

Examining the Intrapersonal, Interpersonal and Community Level Correlates of Access to Medical Care Among Women Employed by Sex Work in Southern Uganda: A cross-sectional Analysis of the Kyaterekera Study.

Women employed by sex work (WESW) experience significant gaps in accessing necessary healthcare services, leading to unmet health needs. Yet, there is a dearth of literature on the barriers to medical care access among WESW in Uganda. We used data from the Kyaterekera baseline to examine the correlates of access to medical care among WESW, defined as the ability of individuals to obtain the necessary healthcare services they require in a timely, affordable, and equitable manner. The Kyaterekera study recruited 542 WESW aged 18-58 years from Southern Uganda. We conducted a multilevel linear regression model to determine the intrapersonal (age, education level, marital status, HIV knowledge, and asset ownership), interpersonal (family cohesion and domestic violence attitudes), and community (community satisfaction, sex work stigma and distance to health facility) level correlates of access to medical care among WESW. Intrapersonal and interpersonal factors were associated with access to medical care among WESW. There was no significant association between community level factors and access to medical care. WESW with secondary education (β = 0.928, 95% CI = 0.007, 1.849) were associated with increased access to medical care. WESW with high asset ownership (β = -1.154, 95% CI= -1.903, -0.405), high family cohesion (β = -0.069, 95% CI= -0.106, -0.031), and high domestic violence attitudes (β = -0.253, 95% CI= -0.438, -0.068) were associated with decreased access to medical care. The findings emphasize the critical need for targeted family strengthening interventions to enhance family support for WESW and address domestic violence.

Effect of Gender Attitudes of Nursing Students on Dating and Domestic Violence Attitudes

Background: Violence and gender inequality duo stand out as a global-scale public health problem, not only because of their frequent prevelances but because of their important effects on youth health. Health workers and especially nurses play an important role in preventing violence&#x0D; Aim: This study aimed to examine the effect of gender attitudes of nursing students on their attitudes towards dating and domestic violence.&#x0D; Methods: This study used a descriptive and cross-sectional design.&#x0D; The sample consisted of a total 638 nursing students. Data were collected with Questionnaire Form, Gender Role Attitude Scale, Dating Violence Attitudes Scale and Domestic Violence Attitude Scale. Mann Whitney U, Kruskall Wallis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, Corrected Bonferroni was used.&#x0D; Results: Students attitudes of social gender roles was found to be high, whereas dating and domestic violence attitudes were found at a medium level. Gender roles attitudes nursing students have an effect on their domestic and dating violence attitudes.&#x0D; Conclusion: While there was a positive direction between gender attitudes and dating violence, there was a negative relationship between domestic violence attitudes.

Prevalence and predictors of HIV and sexually transmitted infections among vulnerable women engaged in sex work: Findings from the Kyaterekera Project in Southern Uganda.

Women engaged in sex work (WESW) have an elevated risk of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STI). Estimates are three times higher than the general population. Understanding the predictors of HIV and STI among WESW is crucial in developing more focused HIV and STI prevention interventions among this population. The study examined the prevalence and predictors of HIV and STI among WESW in the Southern part of Uganda. Baseline data from the Kyaterekera study involving 542 WESW (ages 18-55) recruited from 19 HIV hotspots in the greater Masaka region in Uganda was utilized. HIV and STI prevalence was estimated using blood and vaginal fluid samples bioassay. Hierarchical regression models were used to determine the predictors of HIV and STI among WESW. Of the total sample, 41% (n = 220) were found to be HIV positive; and 10.5% (n = 57) tested positive for at least one of the three STI (Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis and Trichomonas vaginalis) regardless of their HIV status. Older age (b = 0.09, 95%CI = 0.06, 0.13, p≤0.001), lower levels of education (b = -0.79, 95%CI = -1.46, -0.11, p≤0.05), fewer numbers of children in the household (b = -0.18, 95%CI = -0.36, -0.01), p≤0.05), location (i.e., fishing village (b = 0.51, 95%CI = 0.16, 0.85, p≤0.01) or small town (b = -0.60, 95%CI = -0.92, -0.28, p≤0.001)), drug use (b = 0.58, 95%CI = 0.076, 1.08, p≤0.05) and financial self-efficacy (b = 0.05, 95%CI = -0.10, 0.00, p≤0.05), were associated with the risk of HIV infections among WESW. Domestic violence attitudes (b = -0.24, 95%CI = -0.42, -0.07, p≤0.01) and financial distress (b = -0.07, 95%CI = -0.14, -0.004, p≤0.05) were associated with the risk of STI infection among WESW. Study findings show a high prevalence of HIV among WESW compared to the general women population. Individual and family level, behavioural and economic factors were associated with increased HIV and STI infection among WESW. Therefore, there is a need for WESW focused HIV and STI risk reduction and economic empowerment interventions to reduce these burdens.

The Relationship Between Nursing and Midwifery Students' Gender Role and Domestic Violence Attitudes and Life Values

Amaç: Bu araştırma ebelik ve hemşirelik öğrencilerinin toplumsal cinsiyet rol tutumları ile aile içi şiddete yönelik tutumları ve yaşam değerleri arasındaki ilişkiyi belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Yöntem: Araştırma tanımlayıcı tasarımındadır. Karadeniz bölgesindeki bir üniversitenin Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi’nde öğrenim gören toplam 801 ebelik ve hemşirelik bölümü öğrencisi örneklemi oluşturmuştur. Veriler tanıtıcı bilgi formu, Yaşam Değerleri Ölçeği, Aile İçi Şiddete Yönelik Tutum Ölçeği ve Toplumsal Cinsiyet Rol Tutum Ölçeği ile toplanmıştır. Verilerin analizi SPSS 22 programında tanımlayıcı istatistikler, Mann Whitney U testi, Kruskal Wallis testi, Bonferroni ikili karşılaştırma testi, Spearman korelasyon testi ile yapılmıştır. Bulgular: Öğrencilerin yaşam değerlerinin olumlu (11.49±2.39), aile içi şiddete yönelik olumlu tutumlarının düşük (22.37±7.63) ve toplumsal cinsiyet rol tutumlarının eşitlikçi (146.62±19.80) olduğu belirlenmiştir. Ebelik öğrencilerinin, üst sınıfların, kadın öğrencilerin ve şiddete maruz kalanların toplumsal cinsiyet tutumlarının eşitlikçi, aile içi şiddete yönelik olumlu tutumları düşük bulunmuştur. Ebelik ve kadın öğrencilerin yaşam değerleri diğerlerine göre daha olumludur. Öğrencilerin toplumsal cinsiyet rol tutumları yaşam değerleri ile pozitif, aile içi şiddete yönelik tutumlar ile negatif yönlü ilişkilidir. Sonuç: Elde edilen sonuçlar doğrultusunda toplumsal cinsiyet, yaşam değerleri ve aile içi şiddet konularının lisans müfredatlarında derinlemesine ele alınması ve mevcut derslerin içerik ve etkinliğinin değerlendirilmesi için yeni çalışmalar yapılması önerilmektedir.

Assessing cross-national differences in police officers' domestic violence attitudes

PurposeComparative research provides a mechanism to understand how justice systems throughout the world operate. McPhedran et al. (2017) conducted a comparative examination of police officer attitudes about domestic violence (DV) in the USA and Australia and reported fairly high levels of agreement among male and female officers within each country. The current study builds on these findings by examining officer attitudes toward DV among male and female officers cross-nationally. This was accomplished by examining whether American and Australian male and female officers agree with one another on a number of DV issues.Design/methodology/approachTwo-way ANOVA was used to examine the effect of two factors (gender and country) on law enforcement officer attitudes about DV.FindingsThe results suggest that male and female officers from the USA and Australia significantly differ on 14 of 24 attitudes about DV with the greatest number of attitudinal differences found between American and Australian male officers.Research limitations/implicationsScholars who conduct future research examining police officer attitudes about DV should use the instrument from this study as a springboard to develop an updated survey in terms of content and one that would be applicable to cross-national analyses. Methodological study limitations are described in depth in McPhedran et al. (2017).Originality/valueWhile gender differences in attitudes have received scholarly attention, questions remain regarding the degree to which attitudes align among male and female officers across different countries. The current study seeks to fill these gaps in knowledge by examining attitudes about DV between American and Australian law enforcement officers.

The effect of university students' violence tendency on their attitude towards domestic violence and the factors affecting domestic violence attitudes.

:Background:The aim of this study was to investigate the tendency of violence and the factors affecting their attitudes towards domestic violence in university students studying health sciences.Methods:The research was conducted with a total of 318 voluntary students studying in the senior year of nursing department in Faculty of Nursing, Ege University, Turkey and bearing the appropriate criteria for the participation and data were collected in the period June-July 2017. “Personal Information Form”, “Violence Tendency Scale (VTS)” and “Domestic Violence Attitude Scale (DVAS)” developed by the researchers have been used in data collection. Results:The research was conducted with a total of 318 students with average age of 22.41±1.49. Av-erage VTS scores of the students were found to be 28.13±6.28. The factor effective on violence tendency has been determined to be the student’s sex. DVAS of the students has been found to be 19.90±6.76. Conclusions:Violence phenomenon directed to youth was conducted on senior university students being a more developed group socially. However, young people’s exposure to violence was found high (42.8%). Nevertheless, their scores on violence tendencies and domestic violence attitude were ascertained low.

A cross-national comparison of police attitudes about domestic violence: a focus on gender

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold. The first goal is to conduct a cross-national examination of law enforcement officer attitudes about domestic violence (DV) by comparing officer attitudes in the USA to officer attitudes in Australia. The second goal is to examine law enforcement officer attitudes about DV using a gender lens to identify whether patterns in attitudes among male and female officers in the USA are similar to those among Australian male and female law enforcement officers.Design/methodology/approachThe current study involves a comparative analysis of DV attitudes in two different countries (the USA and Australia). Officers in the USA were asked to indicate their level agreement with 28 attitudinal statements about DV. The Australian survey adapted the Gover et al. (2011) instrument by including 24 of the 28 attitudinal statements. The survey followed a mixed-methods design with both quantitative and qualitative components. Bivariate analyses were conducted to determine whether attitudes varied by country and gender of the responding officers. Analyses of attitudinal questions and categorical variables (e.g. gender) were conducted using t-tests.FindingsAccording to survey data gathered from police officers in Colorado (USA) and Queensland (Australia), male and female officer attitudes within each country are more similar than different. When comparing the overall sample of American officer attitudes to Australian officer attitudes, they significantly differ about half the time.Research limitations/implicationsThe Australian survey had a considerably low response rate, and therefore it cannot be stated with certainty whether the responses given are truly representative of the views of Australian officers as a whole, although the demographic characteristics of the sample were comparable with the overall police population demographics. Another limitation is that not all demographic and background variables were collected by both surveys. For example, the US survey asked about officers’ ethnicity, while the Australian survey did not, and the Australian survey asked about how many DV jobs officers attended per month, while the US survey did not.Practical implicationsImproving knowledge about police attitudes towards DV can help to inform future policy or practice implementation, as well as training programmes and better overall responses to the pervasive and ongoing problem of DV internationally.Originality/valueThis is a unique and original piece of research as it is a partial cross-national replication of an existing survey. This work does have the potential for great impact in understanding and developing innovative law enforcement responses to DV. In developing such responses officer attitudes need to be considered and integrated into the response, as their opinions will guide the support of future interventions.

Am I My Sister’s Keeper? Linking Domestic Violence Attitudes to Black Racial Identity

This exploratory online investigation sought to examine the links between African American college women’s gender role attitudes, Black racial identity attitudes, and domestic violence attitudes toward African American women in heterosexual marital relationships where domestic violence occurs ( N = 192). Less sophisticated Black racial identity attitudes (i.e., pre-encounter and immersion-emersion) predicted greater self-reports of justifying domestic violence toward African American women and believing that African American women benefit from abuse. Pre-encounter and immersion-emersion attitudes also predicted less willingness to help victims. An Afrocentric worldview (i.e., internalization Afrocentricity) was positively predictive of believing that African American women benefit from domestic violence as well as greater willingness to help victims. Appreciating one’s African American identity and other racial and ethnic groups (i.e., internalization multiculturalist inclusive) predicted less justification, fewer reports that African American women benefit from abuse, and a greater willingness to help victims. Post hoc mediation analyses revealed that gender role attitudes and an investment in protecting African American male domestic violence perpetrators (i.e., Black male victimage and justification beliefs) mediated the link between internalization Afrocentricity attitudes and the belief that African American women benefit from abuse.

The Laws Have Changed, But What About the Police? Policing Domestic Violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Despite having received gender sensitivity and domestic violence (DV) education in the post-war reformation era, anecdotal evidence from across Bosnia and Herzegovina indicates that most police officers view DV as a private family affair and continue to hold negative attitudes toward women and DV victims. This study assessed these claims by examining gender and DV attitudes held by 137 Bosnian police officers. It was hypothesized that officers who received DV training would be less likely to hold sexist attitudes toward women or view DV as justifiable compared with untrained officers. Results, as well as policy implications and suggestions for future research, are presented.

Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence: A Cultural Perspective

This study examines the effect of acculturation on the attitudes held by Ethiopian Jews in Israel toward domestic violence (DV). The study findings revealed the following: Ethiopians who immigrated to Israel (n = 31) held more lenient attitudes toward DV than Israeli born Jews (n = 62), which supported the hypothesis that culture influences attitudes toward DV; in addition, Ethiopians born in Israel (n = 29) held attitudes closer to those of Israeli-born Jews who were not from Ethiopian origin, thus supporting the hypothesis that integration into the host country results in changes in DV attitudes. These are important findings due to the extremely high number of DV episodes among immigrant populations in general and Ethiopian Jews living in Israel in particular. This study may provide optimism in that it is probable that the younger generation will prove to be less violent than the first-generation immigrants. Perhaps one conclusion that can be drawn is the importance of expediting the integration process of the second-generation Ethiopian Jews in Israel.

Domestic Violence Beliefs and Perceptions Among College Students

This study builds on current research, investigating the relationships between sociodemographic variables and domestic violence attitudes and beliefs among college students. Data from the Relationship Characteristics Study conducted in 2001, which includes a sample of 1,938 college students, are used to replicate and extend the research of Carlson and Worden (2001, 2005), the developers of the attitudes and beliefs items. In addition, the research portends to analyze factors associated with domestic violence causation endorsement, physical and sexual abuse, stalking, and verbal abuse beliefs, including gender, race and ethnicity, university year, parents’ education, family income, parents’ marital status, and relationship status. Results are consistent with the rates reported by the item developers. Further, results demonstrate that sociodemographic variables are correlated with physical and sexual abuse and verbal abuse beliefs and causation endorsement.

Domestic Violence Beliefs and Perceptions Among College Students

This study builds on current research, investigating the relationships between sociodemographic variables and domestic violence attitudes and beliefs among college students. Data from the Relationship Characteristics Study conducted in 2001, which includes a sample of 1,938 college students, are used to replicate and extend the research of Carlson and Worden (2001, 2005), the developers of the attitudes and beliefs items. In addition, the research portends to analyze factors associated with domestic violence causation endorsement, physical and sexual abuse, stalking, and verbal abuse beliefs, including gender, race and ethnicity, university year, parents' education, family income, parents' marital status, and relationship status. Results are consistent with the rates reported by the item developers. Further, results demonstrate that sociodemographic variables are correlated with physical and sexual abuse and verbal abuse beliefs and causation endorsement.

Gender Role Attitudes, Religion, and Spirituality as Predictors of Domestic Violence Attitudes in White College Students

In this study we investigated gender role attitudes, religion, and spirituality as predictors of beliefs about violence against women in a sample of 316 White college students. Results indicated that gender role attitudes were the best overall predictor of domestic violence beliefs. Spirituality also contributed to the models for men and women. Implications and intervention strategies to address dating violence among college students are discussed.

Statewide Assessment of Response to Domestic Violence in Louisiana

ABSTRACTThe Louisiana statewide assessment of domestic violence attitudes and services was a cooperative effort between the Louisiana Community Policing Institute and the Criminal Justice Program at the University of Louisiana, Monroe. The research project included both surveys and focus groups from Louisiana's eight law enforcement planning districts. Results indicate that the response to domestic violence in Louisiana is generally inadequate. Furthermore, problems exist with respect to the definition of domestic violence among agencies. Finally, four basic barriers to successful intervention were identified, including lack of resources, lack of education and training, victims' lack of confidence in the system, and lack of a coordinated response to the problem. Recommendations are presented for overcoming these obstacles.

Survey of Domestic Violence Attitudes in a Rural Southeast Region

Survey of Domestic Violence Attitudes in a Rural Southeast Region