Perpetrators Of Domestic Violence Research Articles

Serotonin, testosterone and alcohol in the etiology of domestic violence

In a previous study we administered the panicogenic agent sodium lactate to a select group of perpetrators of domestic violence and comparison groups. Results of that study showed that perpetrators exhibited exaggerated lactate-induced fear, panic and rage. In this current study, we compared the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and testosterone obtained from perpetrators of domestic violence and a group of healthy comparison subjects. All subjects were assessed for DSM-III-R diagnoses. Perpetrators with alcohol dependence (DV-ALC) ( n=13), perpetrators without alcohol dependence (DV-NALC) ( n=10) and healthy comparison subjects (HCS) ( n=20) were clinically assessed using the Spielberger Trait Anxiety, Brown–Goodwin Aggression Scale, Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory and Straus Conflict Tactics. Following an overnight fast and bed rest, subjects received a lumbar puncture to obtain CSF concentrations of 5-HIAA and testosterone. Perpetrators scored significantly higher on measures of aggression than HCS. DV-NALC had significantly lower concentrations of CSF 5-HIAA and higher Straus Conflict Tactics (CT) physical violence scores than DV-ALC and HCS. DV-ALC had significantly higher concentrations of CSF testosterone than DV-NALC. DV-ALC also had significantly higher Straus CT physical violence scores than HCS. DV-NALC and DV-ALC differed on 5-HIAA concentrations, testosterone concentrations, Straus CT physical violence scores and alcohol dependence. These results suggest that DV-NALC and DV-ALC groups could have different biological mechanisms mediating domestic violence.

Are Current State Standards for Domestic Violence Perpetrator Treatment Adequately Informed by Research?

Summary An empirical review and critique of existing state standards for batterer programs in the domestic violence field appeared timely, given the current debate about their status and utility. Although there has been a considerable amount of polemic discussion of the topic, relatively limited data have been reported. The present article surveyed the content of standards developed in 30 states within the United States. Five categories of interest were examined including: (1) the minimum length of treatment specified; (2) specification of treatment orientation, methods, and content; (3) preferred or allowable modalities of treatment; (4) whether research findings were mentioned or endorsed as a basis for development of treatment standards; and (5) methods for developing and revising standards. A related area, the minimum education required for providers, was also included as an area of interest to further describe the current pool of practitioners targeted for regulation. An analysis of the content of these standards was then performed with regard to existing peer-reviewed research in the field. The results are discussed in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of current standards, the areas in which further research is needed, and specific recommendations regarding steps that might be taken to improve existing efforts.

Domestic violence as a women’s health issue— panel discussion

in the evolution of domestic violence. Third, mental health providers and systems have let us know that they could be an important intermediary in this work. Physicians may be more familiar and more comfortable referring to colleagues whom they know and understand, and the new focus on depression screening in primary care certainly has fueled that familiarity with mental health professionals. However, although it may lead to or coexist with a mental health diagnosis, domestic violence is not a mental health diagnosis. We need new ways of identifying and diverting domestic violence and sexual assault survivors who present in the context of community mental health care. Anticipating my next point, I suspect that when we do that very well, we will realize some of the important cost savings that our managed care partners need to care about. Fourth, managed care companies told us that they need to see the evidence. Could we show them that health care intervention for early domestic violence screening and referral would save dollars and result in improved outcomes? To close, I want to leave you with a couple of reminders. We’ve talked about smoking and pregnancy. Domestic violence may be involved. We’ve talked about addiction. We’ve talked about child abuse. Domestic violence may be involved there as well. Sexually transmitted diseases have been an important focus of this conference, as well as contraceptive failures and abortion. Here too, the inability to negotiate the use of condoms in a sexual relationship may be linked to coercive control by an intimate partner. All of these may be linked with domestic violence. We’ve discussed medical noncompliance. At the Partnership, we have seen situations where a woman’s partner tells her “You don’t need to take that. You don’t need to fill that prescription,” and those meds are going down the toilet—not because the woman herself is flushing them, but because her partner is. Finally, there’s the link between depression and domestic violence. With so many of the women’s health concerns that we’ve talked about, domestic violence is something that should always be at the forefront of our thinking.

Calculating Number of Offenses and Victims of Juvenile Sexual Offending: The Role of Posttreatment Disclosures

This research was designed to compare data obtained from agency records at three treatment programs for juvenile male sex offenders with information available from clinicians once youth and their families had been in treatment for at least 6 months. Results revealed that over the course of treatment, youth and their families disclosed information about additional victims and offenses, physical and sexual abuse of the offenders, and several aspects of a violent and sexualized family environment. Over half the boys reported additional victims or additional offenses or both. There were significant increases in the number of reports of physical abuse, witnessing of domestic violence, living in a sexual environment, maternal sexual victimization, maternal victimization of domestic violence, and fathers being perpetrators of domestic violence. These data clearly support the hypotheses of the study and have important implications for both clinical practice and future research in this area.

Domestic violence and substance use

Objectives: To compare the incidence of domestic violence in substance-using women and non–substance-using women in a diverse obstetrics and gynecology clinic. Methods: We analyzed abuse assessment screens obtained from 107 women during a 2- week period from January 21, 1998, through February 4, 1998. The incidence of abuse was compared with the incidence in 14 women in a substance abuse clinic during the same period. Prenatal care nurses and physicians assessed the study participants using a structured interview. Results: In the non–substance-use group, 7% of the obstetric patients and 5% of the gynecologic women were abused during the preceding year. Also, 1% of the obstetric patients were abused while pregnant, and 3% were forced to have sex within the past year. In the substance-use group, none of the gynecologic patients reported abuse, whereas 15% of the obstetric patients were abused during the past year, 7% were abused while pregnant, and 15% were forced to have sex within the past year. Conclusion: Women who are substance users are more likely to be victims of domestic violence than non–substance users. Pregnant women are at increased risk for forced sex. The most common perpetrators of domestic violence are boyfriends or ex-boyfriends. These findings are similar to those of other studies with different demographics. The results underline the importance of identifying women who are substance users and their risks for domestic violence at every encounter and of providing them with appropriate interventions.

Domestic Violence Web Site Offers Free CME Credits

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Professional NewsFull AccessDomestic Violence Web Site Offers Free CME CreditsLynne LambergLynne LambergSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:5 Jan 2001Physicians can broaden their knowledge of domestic violence and earn two continuing medical education credits at no charge in an online course at www.dvcme.org.The curriculum explores the nature and dynamics of domestic violence; screening, assessment, and documentation; presentations and assessment in the clinic; safety planning; referrals; legal aspects of domestic violence; child victims of domestic violence; and the perpetrator. Men and women who have survived domestic violence discuss their experiences in video and audio reports.The course was developed for the American Medical Women’s Association with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice. Its codirectors are psychiatrist Marjorie Braude, M.D., of Los Angeles and emergency medicine specialist Peggy Goodman, M.D., of Greenville, N.C. Psychiatrist Carole Warshaw, M.D., of Chicago serves as a consultant. Course contents are adapted from manuals of the Family Violence Prevention Fund.About 100 physicians have completed the course since its launching in December 1999, Braude said, and 12,000 people have reviewed sections of the site. They include medical students and residents, social workers, police officers, and others working with victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. The Web site is linked to and recommended by the American Society of Emergency Physicians, the American Pediatric Society, and the American Medical Association.Psychiatrists may be especially interested in Unit 3, which aims to help users in various specialties assess behavioral, psychological, and substance abuse presentations. This section notes, for example, that some symptoms that psychiatrists and mental health professionals are trained to describe as manifestations of psychological illness are normal responses to repeated physical and psychological attack. “One should be very reserved about assigning psychiatric diagnoses to describe these behaviors,” the text cautions.“A woman who is living in a situation of repeated and often unanticipated physical pain and injury, as well as emotional abuse, often feels depression, anxiety, and experiences disturbed sleep,” it states. “Many women may also be experiencing an acute traumatic response, as well as PTSD from their past episodes of trauma. Some women may dissociate from parts of the experience. A woman may try to numb the pain and fear with substance abuse. All or part of her behavioral symptoms may leave when she acquires safety.”The study guide describes how psychiatric concepts and treatments can be used to help victims recover.Plans are under way, Braude said, to add more case material and make the site more interactive. “A Web site,” she said, “is always a work in progress.”Information on domestic abuse is available from the National Domestic Violence Hotline by phone at (800) 799-7233 and on the Web at www.ndvh.org; and the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence by phone at (800) 537-2238. ▪ ISSUES NewArchived

Dissociative Experiences in Partner-Assaultive Men

Dissociative experiences, dissociative symptoms, and violence-specific dissociation (dissociative experiences that occur during the perpetration of domestic violence) were evaluated in a sample of 47 domestic abuse perpetrators. As predicted, childhood trauma (physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessed abuse) was correlated with a range of dissociative experiences and symptoms in this population. General measures of dissociative experiences and symptoms were correlated with reports of violence-specific dissociation. General dissociation and violence-specific dissociation also had significant correlations with the frequency and severity of domestic violence perpetration. The findings suggest that dissociative coping mechanisms may play an important role in the etiology of severe domestic violence, further supporting the need for treatment strategies that ameliorate long-term effects of childhood trauma exposure in this population.

The perpetrators of domestic violence.

There has been little useful research in recent years into those who perpetrate domestic violence. Domestic violence is always anchored in a social context in which the aspirations of men and women are dealt with unequally. The majority of perpetrators of domestic violence are men. Perpetrators are often young, troubled, unemployed, and of low self-esteem; they have often experienced abuse (of various types) themselves. However, these factors do not justify their abusive behaviour. General practitioners and other health workers have a responsibility to broach the subject of domestic violence with both perpetrators and victims. They are in a key position to break the silence that allows it to continue. Programs for stopping domestic violence can be effective for those who are motivated to change their behaviour and see the programs through to completion.

Men at Work to End Wife Abuse in Quebec

Examining how men respond to the social problem of domestic violence may further our understanding of how woman abuse is defined and affected by the activities of groups making claims in relation to it. This article is a critical case study of how abusive men's programs in a Canadian province organized to advance their agenda for acceptance of an unprecedented men's network of generic services, based on men's identity politics. The authors note a continuing historical trend of individualizing woman abuse with this separate, uncoordinated development of resources for domestic violence perpetrators. Examining its implications, the authors conclude that homosocial men's projects must work in tandem with battered women's advocates and their resources, and include a number of principles in the politics of masculinities to guide them in their work.

Lactate-induced rage and panic in a select group of subjects who perpetrate acts of domestic violence

Background: Perpetrators of domestic violence frequently report symptoms of autonomic arousal and a sense of fear and/or loss of control at the time of the violence. Since many of these symptoms are also associated with panic attacks, we hypothesized that perpetrators of domestic violence and patients with panic attacks may share similar exaggerated fear-related behaviors. To test this hypothesis, we employed the panicogenic agent sodium lactate to examine the response of perpetrators to anxiety/fear induced by a chemical agent. Methods: Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, we infused 0.5 mol/L sodium lactate or placebo over 20 min on separate days to a select group of subjects who perpetrate acts of domestic violence and two nonviolent comparison groups. We compared their behavioral, neuroendocrine, and physiologic responses. Results: Lactate administration elicited intense emotional responses in the perpetrators of domestic violence. Perpetrators evidenced more lactate-induced rage and panic and showed greater changes in speech, breathing, and motor activity than did nonviolent control subjects. There were no significant differences between the groups for any neuroendocrine or physiologic measure. Conclusions: These results are consistent with our hypothesis that some perpetrators of domestic violence have exaggerated fear-related behavioral responses.

Exploring the Counselor's Experience of Working With Perpetrators and Survivors of Domestic Violence

Based on notions of vicarious trauma, burnout, and countertransference, the purpose of this study was to explore the impact on counselors of working with domestic violence (DV) clients. Eighteen counselors with high case loads of DV clients participated in a semistructured interview. They described classical symptoms of vicarious trauma, and reported changes in cognitive schema, particularly in regard to safety, world view, and gender power issues. Specific challenges of DV work included changes in counseling practice to meet the unique needs of DV clients, difficulties with confidentiality, fear for clients' safety, feelings of isolation, and powerlessness. The majority reported symptoms of burnout, but used a range of strategies for dealing with their adverse effects including monitoring client caseloads, debriefing, peer support, self care and political involvement. The implications of these findings for the training of DV counselors are discussed as are recommendations for best practice in DV counseling agencies.

A Review of Domestic Violence Risk Instruments

The problem of domestic violence has been well documented with respect to its social, psychological, and economic costs. Proactive arrest and sentencing policies have resulted in an increasing, and in some cases, overwhelming number of spousal batterers being processed through the criminal justice system. Scarce correctional and treatment resources necessitate that difficult decisions be made about the management of domestic violence perpetrators. In an effort to make better decisions, many jurisdictions have adopted a risk assessment approach. Spousal assault risk assessment now serves to inform those making decisions about sentencing (e.g., community release vs. incarceration), treatment placement, and supervision intensity. With these developments, researchers and clinicians have begun to discuss the appropriate content and process of spousal assault risk assessment. There have been a number of efforts in recent years to develop theoretically and scientifically sound risk assessment instruments and procedures. This article attempts to review state-of-the-art instruments in this rapidly expanding field.

Effects of Parental Substance Abuse on Current Levels of Domestic Violence: A Possible Elaboration of Intergenerational Transmission Processes

Research conducted on the intergenerational transmission of domestic violence has framed much of its inquiry from within the context of social learning theory. Although consistently significant, the effect size of social learning-derived intergenerational transmission variables is often small. This study was undertaken in an effort to broaden the theoretical basis of intergenerational transmission of family violence by assessing if incorporating parental substance abuse variables with exposure to violence in family of origin would increase the predictive power of a multiple regression model. Subjects (N = 74) were men in treatment for domestic violence. Paternal substance abuse was found to exert effects on respondents' violent behavior comparable to those from exposure to family of origin violence. Findings supported a need to broaden theoretical views of the etiology of domestic violence perpetration.

Domestic violence and primary care. Attitudes, practices, and beliefs.

To assess the attitudes and beliefs of the primary care provider team (physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and medical assistants) toward the identification and management of abused patients and perpetrators of domestic violence (DV). Survey of the health care team using a confidential questionnaire. Five primary care clinics with 240 providers at a large urban health maintenance organization. The response rate was 86% (206 respondents). Fifty percent of clinicians and 70% of nurses/assistants believed that the prevalence of DV in their practice was 1% or loss; 1 in 10 clinicians and nearly half of nurses/assistants had never identified an abused person; 45% of clinicians never or seldom asked about DV when examining injured patients; and all participants were much less confident in asking about DV than about smoking or consuming alcohol. Twenty-five percent believed the abused person's personality led to the violence; 28% believed they did not have strategies to help abused persons; and 20% were concerned for their personal safety in discussing DV. Only 10% believed they had management information, but 77% had not attended any educational programs on DV in the past year. This study provides important information about current knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of health care providers toward the diagnosis and management of DV. This information should prove useful to all who attempt to design clinical strategies and educational programs to address this issue.

Alcohol and violence

Research indicates a strong relationship between drinking and violent crime. Aggression and heavy drinking may be associated in the same people, therefore it is instructive to see how the development of violence interacts with the development of drinking across the lifespan. A developmental pathway is traced across the lifespan, indicating how certain individual characteristics independently increase the likelihood of both drinking and violence, and how the ways certain individuals interact with their social environment increase the likelihood of both drinking and violence. Attention is paid to the pharmacological and cognitive effects of alcohol in relation to aggressive behaviour. In tracing a developmental pathway, the risk factors for alcohol-related violence are identified, indicating appropriate targets for prevention and intervention. Since generally violent men form one subgroup of perpetrators of domestic violence, this subgroup being more severely violent and characterized by being themselves abused as children, having witnessed parental violence and having high rates of substance use, and because witnessing or experiencing violence breeds the next generation of perpetrators of domestic violence, it is important to break the cycle by recognizing and changing violent individuals, as well as preventing further damage to their offspring. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Alcohol and violence

Research indicates a strong relationship between drinking and violent crime. Aggression and heavy drinking may be associated in the same people, therefore it is instructive to see how the development of violence interacts with the development of drinking across the lifespan. A developmental pathway is traced across the lifespan, indicating how certain individual characteristics independently increase the likelihood of both drinking and violence, and how the ways certain individuals interact with their social environment increase the likelihood of both drinking and violence. Attention is paid to the pharmacological and cognitive effects of alcohol in relation to aggressive behaviour. In tracing a developmental pathway, the risk factors for alcohol-related violence are identified, indicating appropriate targets for prevention and intervention. Since generally violent men form one subgroup of perpetrators of domestic violence, this subgroup being more severely violent and characterized by being themselves abused as children, having witnessed parental violence and having high rates of substance use, and because witnessing or experiencing violence breeds the next generation of perpetrators of domestic violence, it is important to break the cycle by recognizing and changing violent individuals, as well as preventing further damage to their offspring. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Intergenerational Transmission of Dating Aggression as a Function of Witnessing Only Same Sex Parents vs. Opposite Sex Parents vs. Both Parents as Perpetrators of Domestic Violence

The present study examined the association between witnessing interparental violence as a child, and the risk for perpetrating and being the victim of dating aggression as an adult, in an undergraduate sample. Specifically, this study tested a modeling hypothesis whereby witnessing a same sex parent vs. an opposite sex parent exclusively in the aggressor role would be more highly associated with risk for perpetrating dating aggression. Similarly, observing a same sex parent vs. an opposite sex parent as exclusively a victim of marital aggression would be associated with risk for being a victim of dating aggression. A same sex modeling effect was found for perpetration of dating aggression. Respondents who witnessed only their same sex parent perpetrate physical marital aggression were at increased risk for perpetrating physical dating aggression, whereas respondents who witnessed only their opposite sex parent perpetrate were not. A same sex modeling effect, however, was not found for being a victim of dating aggression. Rather, risk for victimization by dating aggression was associated only with witnessing bidirectional marital violence. Implications of these results, limitations of the present study, and ideas for future research are discussed.

Are There Religious Variations in Domestic Violence?

Religious variations in domestic violence remain understudied. Arguments are developed linking aspects of religious affiliation, practice, theology, and couples' religious (dis)similarities with domestic violence. These relationships are then examined via gender-specific models of data from the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH-1). The authors find that regular attendance at religious services is inversely associated with self-reported perpetration of domestic violence for men and women. Denominational homogamy (i.e., same-faith vs. mixed-faith relationships) has little bearing on the likelihood of abuse. Other forms of religious dissimilarity do appear to heighten the risk of abuse. In particular, men who hold much more conservative theological views than their partners are especially likely to perpetrate domestic violence. The implications of these and other findings are discussed, and several promising directions for further research are identified.

Working with perpetrators of domestic violence to protect women and children: a partnership between Cheshire Probation Service and the NSPCC

Domestic violence is increasingly becoming recognized as a serious social problem with an enormous cost to society. While historically services have been established for women survivors, it is only recently that programmes designed to address men's violence towards women have become established, led predominantly within the criminal justice sector. This paper describes one such programme established in partnership between Cheshire Probation Service and the NSPCC. It identifies a number of factors considered to be essential in its successful implementation, including the importance of working in partnership, a sound and shared theoretical basis, the provision of a parallel support package for women and children and ongoing programme evaluation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Not-So-Obvious Psychology of Domestic Violence Perpetrators: The Personality Reviewed

The Not-So-Obvious Psychology of Domestic Violence Perpetrators: The Personality Reviewed