Dynamics Of Domestic Violence Research Articles

Rethinking Custody Evaluation in Cases Involving Domestic Violence

This article was prompted by the publication of “Assessing Allegations of Domestic Violence,” by Gould, Martindale and Eidman (2007). It critically reviews the family court response to domestic violence cases, highlighting evidence that most partner abuse consists of coercive control rather than physical assault alone. After outlining what is known about the prevalence and dynamics of domestic violence in the custodial context, I summarize findings from studies of the family court response, contrast this response with public expectations and the response by other courts and institutions, and argue that the failure to provide protective remedies is systemic rather than the result of individual factors or a lack of information. Basic reforms are required in assessment, adjudication, and accountability in these cases if the family court is to retain its legitimacy as an arbiter of family matters in disputed cases.

On Navigating Custody & Visitation Evaluations in Cases With Domestic Violence: A Judge's Guide

In 2006, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges issued a revised and improved edition of Navigating Custody & Visitation Evaluations in Cases with Domestic Violence: A Judge's Guide, which now focuses on safety for victims and their children. This new edition explains the dynamics of domestic violence, that parental alienation syndrome and parental alienation have been discredited, and why psychological tests are largely useless and unreliable in domestic violence cases. The guide, however, is still too optimistic about the success of batterer programs. The guide is sometimes misleading and gender biased as it uses gender neutral language and because what men and women do differs and usually affects them differently.

Helping Child Victims of Family Violence through School Personnel: An Evaluation of a Training Program

ABSTRACT This study sought to evaluate the effects of a domestic violence training program for school professionals. The training was presented in 18 locations throughout rural Western New York. The training included information about the dynamics of domestic violence, the effects on children, interventions, and community resources. Pretest and posttest surveys (N = 644) were used to monitor changes in knowledge and attitudes regarding domestic violence. Dependant samples t-tests, repeated measures ANOVA, and descriptive analyses were used to examine the results. The training helped dispel myths about domestic violence and increase attendees' confidence in their abilities to identify and help children affected by domestic violence. The data identified a lack of understanding of school safety policies and procedures.

Violence Against Women: Experiences of Women in Mauritius

This study aimed at studying the dynamics of domestic violence. This qualitative study explores the experiences of women who have been victims of domestic violence. The data were derived from 6 Focus Group Discussions with 30 victims. The discussion revealed that the principal causes of violence were unequal power relations, sexual abuse and extra-marital affairs, jealousy and isolation, poverty and dependence on partner, alcohol and drugs abuse. The findings reveal that the factors that trigger violence against women are closely intertwined. Gender & Behaviour Vol.3 2005: 383-395

Lesbian Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Service barriers of lesbian domestic violence survivors were identified from the perspectives of six service providers using qualitative interviews. Constant comparative methods identified service barriers including: Systemic barriers (laws and policies of criminal/justice system, social and cultural attitudes, and theories regarding domestic violence dynamics), institutional barriers (ambiguous and inconsistent policy, assigning lesbian clients to specific staff members, lack of commitment to serving lesbians, and using heterosexist language), and individual barriers (attitudes/actions of lesbian survivors, heterosexual female clients, staff members, and police/court officers). Participants expressed motivation to serve lesbian survivors and indicated the potential to influence institutional policies and practices.

Sexual Harassment and the Cultures of Childhood

ABSTRACT Sexual harassment is increasingly recognized as a common problem for schoolchildren. Four out of five 8th through 11th graders have experienced some form of sexual harassment in their school lives. Of the girls who experience harassment, 38% report that they were first harassed in 6th grade or before (AAUW, 2001). We propose that children construct a peer-based «school society» where attitudes and behaviors are strongly connected to peer group influence and concerns about social status. School-based peer sexual harassment emerges from a climate of tense, unequal social relations between boys and girls during middle childhood, accelerating into adolescence. One unexplored possibility is that some boys with high social status among their peers may engage in or encourage harassment of girls. Next, we turn to a distinct social context embedded within the school society: relationships of abuse between boy and girl peers. We explore how the dynamics of domestic violence apply to sexual harassment between peers, illustrating themes from narratives of child sexual harassment victims derived from interviews and legal cases. We also use these narratives to examine the institutional responses to sexual harassment by school authorities, identifying the parallels to domestic violence legal solutions. Our discussion emphasizes how school service providers can better appreciate and react to the social and relational context of boys' harassment of girls.

Training Clergy

Abstract Domestic violence is a pervasive problem in our society that affects people at all levels. Places of worship are often viewed as safe places to obtain information, therefore clergy can play an important role in identifying and assisting domestic violence victims. During implementation of our rural health network domestic violence training, the lack of training for clergy was identified. Training and materials were developed specifically for clergy. Training objectives were: to understand the nature and dynamics of domestic violence; develop assessment skills in identifying victims; discuss potential overt and covert messages which contribute to domestic violence; discuss collaboration with healthcare, mental health and domestic violence advocates; become acquainted with available community resources; and describe how the faith community can bring healing to domestic violence victims and their families. Education and inclusion of clergy in domestic violence training adds to efforts made to improve the community's overall response to domestic violence.

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

Reinterpreting strength and safety in a socio-cultural context: Dynamics of domestic violence and experiences of women of Japanese descent

Despite the proliferation of research on domestic violence and child abuse in the U.S. over the last two decades, experiences of women of color remain seriously understudied. This community-based study of women of Japanese descent elucidates multiple, interlocking ways in which socio-cultural factors influence their responses to partners' violence, while exposing tensions between the constraints and benefits of culture. The constraints affect physical and emotional well-being as women are pressured to endure violence. Defying cultural proscriptions has its cost, potentially depriving a woman of her cultural integrity and her support system. This article reevaluates current social policy and programs in light of this tension, calling for a new approach that acknowledges culture as a source of strength and support, while recognizing its contribution to women's vulnerability to violence.

The Impact of Federal and State Laws on Children Exposed to Domestic Violence

Until recently, few federal and state laws specifically addressed the needs of children in families in which there is domestic violence. Yet, many laws, particularly in the areas of domestic violence, family law, child welfare, welfare reform, and immigration, can have profound effects on the well-being of these children. The growing understanding by legislators and policymakers of the potential harms of domestic violence to children has resulted in recent years in statutory changes, particularly at the state level. However, laws that are enacted and implemented with inadequate knowledge of the complex dynamics of domestic violence and the unique issues battered parents and their children face may have unintended negative consequences for the children these laws are designed to protect. Collaboration across public and private social service agencies and domestic violence training for court personnel are examples of efforts that can bridge this knowledge gap and increase the likelihood that the protective intent of the laws is carried out in practice. This article analyzes current and proposed federal and state civil laws to better understand their potential impact on children affected by domestic violence. A companion article by Lemon in this journal issue examines court decisions related to these laws.

Domestic Violence, Personal Control, and Gender

DEBRA UMBERSON University of Texas KRISTIN ANDERSON Drew University* JENNIFER GLICK Brown University** ADAM SHAPIRO University of North Florida*** Research on perpetrators of domestic violence suggests that acts of violence may result .from feelings of low control. Research on victims suggests that domestic violence may undermine feelings of control. Using a national sample, we consider how domestic violence is related to control. We find that individuals who have initiated violence against a partner do not differ from individuals who have nonviolent relationships in feelings of control. However, experiencing violence at the hands of a partner has significant adverse effects on a sense of control for women, but not for men. This suggests that violence, even when both the man and woman participate, is more detrimental to the self-perceptions and well-being of women than of men. Key Words: domestic violence, marital conflict, mastery, control. wife abuse. National surveys indicate that at least 28% of couples experience physical violence at some point in their relationship and 16% of couples experience violence in a given year (Straus & Gelles, 1986). The consequences of domestic violence are substantial-in terms of physical injury, psychological and emotional distress, suicide, and substance abuse among victims (Stark & Flitcraft, 1991). Much of the research on domestic violence addresses etiological questions: Why do some people perpetrate acts of domestic violence, and why do so many victims remain in abusive relationships? These questions are generally addressed in two very separate literatures that are concerned with either the victims or the perpetrators of domestic violence and that ignore any overlap between these two groups. The victim literature focuses on social and psychological factors that lead individuals-typically women-to remain involved in abusive relationships (Bowker, 1983: Walker, 1984). The perpetrator literature focuses on social and psychological factors that lead individuals-typically men-to abuse their domestic partners (Dutton, 1988; Hamberger & Hastings, 1986; Stets, 1988). A central theme in both literatures is that feelings of control play an important role in the dynamics of domestic violence. The victim literature suggests that victims of domestic violence experience an increasingly diminished sense of control that leads to powerlessness and helplessness-psychological conditions that disenable individuals from leaving abusive relationships. The perpetuator literature suggests that perpetrators of domestic violence are characterized by a reduced sense of control or a high need for control that plays a role in triggering violent episodesviolent episodes that may enhance control. The study presented here draws on theoretical and empirical work in psychosocial epidemiology to explore how control is related to domestic violence in a national sample. We consider both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence in our analysis. In light of theoretical and research evidence that domestic violence is a different phenomenon for men and women (Johnson, 1995; Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Neidig, & Thorn, 1995), we also consider how the association of control and domestic violence may differ for men and women. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND PERSONAL CONTROL The term, personal control, developed in previous theoretical and empirical work (e.g., Mirowsky & Ross, 1989, 1990; Rosenfield, 1989; Turner & Noh, 1983), refers to the belief that one's own intentions and behaviors can impose control over one's environment (Umberson, 1993, p. 578). This general concept has been similarly labeled personal efficacy (Kohn, 1972) and mastery (Pearlin, Lieberman, Menaghan, & Mullen, 1981). The obverse of control is revealed in Wheaton's (1980) measure of fatalism. …

Domestic violence, gender, and perceptions of justice

This study investigated reactions to a hypothetical scenario describing a domestic dispute that ended in violence. In the scenario either the husband or the wife was the perpetrator of the physical violence, the violence either occurred under stress or after deliberation, and the perpetrator was subsequently jailed for 2 years. Results from 220 participants (109 males, 111 females) from metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, showed significant main effects of stimulus person. Participants were more negative to the husband than to the wife in regard to responsibility for the offense, deservingness of the penalty, seriousness of the offense, perceived harshness of the penalty, reported positive affect, and reported sympathy. These main effects were qualified by interaction effects involving stimulus person (husband, wife) and situation (stress, deliberation), and stimulus person and gender of participant. The results suggested that there were different patterns of belief about the dynamics of domestic violence as well as a degree of in-group or same gender favoritism when female participants responded to the scenario involving the wife.

Reading the Body Imperiled: Violence against Women in Maria de Zayas

Maria de Zayas's Novelas amorosas (1637) and Desengakos amorosos (1647) portray myriad acts of violence against women. Zayas's employ of the female body as the focal point of the texts coincides with Foucault's interpretation of the use of the body in the seventeenth century as the site for the reproduction of truth. Additionally, contemporary theories on violence against women highlight parallels between the dynamics of domestic violence and Zayas's representation of violence against women. Two of the novellas of the Desengados amorosos, Mal presagio casar lejos and El verdugo de su esposa, are particularly scathing in their critique of the patriarchy.

Violence in the Lives of the Racially and Sexually Different

This paper explores the dynamics of domestic violence in groups whose intimate experiences are most impacted by public forms of abuse and powerlessness, specifically heterosexual men of color and homosexuals of all races. Pertinent to analysis are considerations of visibility and invisibility and the concepts of power and privilege. We suggest that feminist family therapy should view the public dimensions of abuse as a starting point for treatment conceptualization.

THE VIOLENT FAMILY

This article focuses on the lawyer‐client relationship when there is domestic violence. Explained are the dynamics of domestic violence, its often hidden nature and cycle. The article also describes the characteristics to look for and provides profiles of the abused and the abuser.

Violent Men, Violent Couples: The Dynamics of Domestic Violence.

Violent Men, Violent Couples: The Dynamics of Domestic Violence.

Violent men, violent couples: The dynamics of domestic violence : by Anson Shupe, William A. Stacey, and Lonnie R. Hazlewood. Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Company (125 Spring Street, Lexington, Massachusetts 02173), 1987, 152 pp., hardover—$20.00.

Violent men, violent couples: The dynamics of domestic violence : by Anson Shupe, William A. Stacey, and Lonnie R. Hazlewood. Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Company (125 Spring Street, Lexington, Massachusetts 02173), 1987, 152 pp., hardover—$20.00.