Explanations For Intimate Partner Violence Research Articles

Intimate Partner Violence: A Multinational Test of Cultural Spillover Theory.

Cultural spillover theory asserts that the prevalence of socially legitimate violence to attain ends for which there is widespread social approval is part of the explanation for the prevalence of illegitimate violence. This study was a test of the cultural spillover theory as it applies to intimate partner violence (IPV). Based on data from the International Dating Violence Study (IDVS) in 32 countries, we tested the proposition that agreement with socially approved forms of violence "spills over" into violence against an intimate partner. Two versions of an index to measure legitimate violence were constructed: (a) An individual-level legitimate violence index based on the beliefs and behavior of 14,252 university students in 32 nations in the IDVS and (b) a nation-level legitimate violence index consisting of the mean of the student scores on the legitimate violence index for each of the 32 nations in the IDVS. We used the revised Conflict Tactics Scales to obtain the data on physical violence and injuries inflicted by the students in the IDVS. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypothesized relation of the individual student legitimate violence index to IPV. Socioeconomic status, limited disclosure scale, respondent's age, and length of the relationships were included as covariates. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to further investigate the associations between legitimate violence index obtained from the aggregated student data and the nation-level IPV, controlling for the gross domestic product (GDP) index and limited disclosure scale. Both individual- and nation-level analyses consistently supported cultural spillover theory's explanation of IPV. The association between legitimate violence and IPV at both levels of analysis was stronger for women than men, which is consistent with some previous studies. The results suggest that reducing legitimate violence can make an important contribution to reducing IPV.

Testing the Validity of an Internal Power Theory of Interpersonal Violence.

The assertion that the motive behind battering is "power and control" is commonly accepted. Indeed, the most commonly cited "theory" behind Batterer Intervention Programs, a primary criminal justice system response to domestic violence, is that domestic violence offenders are motivated by their need to obtain "power and control." However, this theory has not been fully developed or empirically tested. Researchers have argued for the need to turn attention back to developing better theoretical models with clear conceptualizations and operationalizations of the power construct. Wagers articulated such a theory and introduced a "super construct" called internal power. This article seeks to further develop and empirically test Wagers's theory. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to examine the viability of the internal power construct, and structural equation modeling is used to test the relationship between the internal power factor and self-reported interpersonal abusive behaviors. Findings indicate internal power is a viable construct that warrants further exploration and offer preliminary support for internal power theory as an explanation of intimate partner violence.

A New Principle-Based Explanation of Intimate Partner Violence and Its Prevention

At present, no peer-reviewed intervention has been shown to clearly and consistently prevent intimate partner violence (IPV), or reduce its recurrence. We propose that the limited effects of current IPV interventions reflect the field’s absence of fundamental principles that account for all psychological experience. We further posit that the principles that explain people’s psychological lives have been uncovered. We briefly describe these principles, and delineate the process from exposure to the principles to improved mental health, and improved behavior. Then we use the logic of these principles to offer a formula to measure people’s propensity for IPV, and provide the missing components in IPV prevention.

Electrodermal Activity in Couple Therapy for Intimate Partner Violence

The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which intimate partner violence (IPV) is discussed in couple therapy, what the participants say about it and how, and how the participants’ electrodermal activity (EDA) is activated during these discussions. We studied four couples for whom IPV was an issue in dialog with their therapists. We used thematic analysis and examined the differences in EDA (measured as skin conductance responses, SCRs) between the participants. We found that although IPV was discussed relatively little in therapy, when the topic arose the victims took an active part in the discussion. We also found that the main themes were descriptions of IPV, explanations for IPV and the consequences of IPV, and that most of the SCR peaks occurred during talk on these themes. Moreover, differences were observed between participants in the frequency of peaks, therapists manifesting more peaks than clients. However, the overall proportions of the peaks were rather small, and no difference in mean SCR was found between victims, perpetrators or therapists. These results indicate that victims are not afraid to speak about IPV and that therapists are able to deal with it; however, dealing with IPV in therapy merits more attention. Moreover, our results showed that the participants experienced talking about IPV differently, an observation that should be taken into account in the therapy process.

A dyadic analysis of the role of preference disconfirmation in the explanation of intimate partner violence

A dyadic analysis of the role of preference disconfirmation in the explanation of intimate partner violence

Accounting for intimate partner violence perpetration. A cross-cultural comparison of English and Brazilian male substance users' explanations.

Introduction and AimsThis paper describes how substance use features in the accounts of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators in treatment in England and Brazil. The aim of the research was to better understand cross cultural constructions of IPV perpetration amongst men in treatment for substance use.Design and MethodsSemi‐structured interviews were conducted with 40 men in community substance use treatment in Sao Paolo, Brazil and London and the South East of England who had reported IPV perpetration in a questionnaire survey. A thematic, narrative analysis was carried out of men's explanations for IPV perpetration.FindingsThree types of narratives were distinguished: (i) disputes, centred on substance use, that escalate to IPV perpetration; (ii) IPV perpetration that is explained by uncharacteristic loss of control, as a result of intoxication; and (iii) IPV perpetration provoked by a perceived betrayal, in which substance use is incidental. In all types of accounts hegemonic principles of male and female roles and behaviour provided a context for and make IPV perpetration explicable.Discussion and ConclusionsSubstance use and IPV are culturally constructed and contextually defined. Understanding the meaning‐making of substance using IPV perpetrators has implications for the treatment of both substance abuse and IPV. [Radcliffe P, d'Oliveira AFPL, Lea S, dos Santos Figueiredo W, Gilchrist G. Accounting for intimate partner violence perpetration. A cross‐cultural comparison of English and Brazilian male substance users' explanations. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;36:64–71]

Adults' Explanations for Intimate Partner Violence During Childhood and Associated Effects.

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is known to challenge children's optimal development. This study sought to associate participants' beliefs about IPV held during childhood with their adjustment as adults, and to compare their beliefs from childhood to their beliefs in early adulthood. A nationally representative sample of 703 Swedish young adults reported on their past and present beliefs about the causes of their parents' IPV. Standardized measures assessed their mental health (anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress symptoms) and the quality of their relationships as adults. The most common explanations for IPV were that the perpetrator suffered from physical or mental illness, had relationship problems, or was distressed. Participants were less likely to blame themselves for IPV or to believe that the perpetrator was cruel when they were adults, compared to their reports of themselves as children. Women were more likely to attribute mental or physical illness as the cause of the perpetrator's IPV. Childhood beliefs that the perpetrator was debilitated (from mental illness or substance abuse) and cruel (took pleasure in violence and/or despised the child) were associated with greater mental health problems and poorer relationship quality in adulthood. Evaluation of children's harmful beliefs about IPV could be useful in adapting intervention services aimed at ameliorating negative personal causal attributions.

An Empirical Test of Target Congruence Theory on Intimate Partner Violence

ABSTRACTThe purpose of the current study was to test target congruence theory as an explanation of intimate partner violence. Specifically, the effects of target vulnerability, target gratifiability, and target antagonism were examined for their effects on intimate partner violence against women. To do this, data collected in 2009 from a sample of 1,452 respondents to the Canadian General Social Survey were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Overall, the results suggest support for the theory, particularly for the concept of target gratifiability, and for target vulnerability to a lesser degree. As the first study to apply the theory to intimate partner violence, findings suggest that target congruence may be a valuable theoretical perspective in understanding victimization risk.

Partner Dependency and Intimate Partner Abuse: A Sociocultural Grounding of Spousal Abuse in Ghana

While sociocultural scholarship has attempted an ecological explanation of intimate partner violence, it has largely been criticized for ignoring dispositional factors of both perpetrators and victims. Dependent personality and attachment-related emotional problems have been implicated in the extant literature as major intrapsychic processes involved in the perpetration and victimization of partner abuse, particularly in Western societies. These studies largely rely on a cultural background of individualism as a social representation to explain the behaviour of both victims and perpetrators of dependency and attachment-related spousal violence as a form of a psychopathology. This article discusses partner dependency and jealousy-motivated spousal violence as socioculturally situated, dependent on contextual and relational conditions of meaning embedded in the communal society of Ghana. It highlights Ghanaian communal personality, gendered socialization and meaning systems of marriage as salient sociocultural features for conceptualizing partner dependency and emotional-related spousal violence.

Violence against women in intimate relationships: Explanations and suggestions for interventions as perceived by healthcare workers, local leaders, and trusted community members in a northern district of Vietnam

This study explored professionals' and trusted community inhabitants' explanations of the violence between intimate partners and their suggestions for preventive activities. It was performed in a rural district in northern Vietnam. A total of 20 men and 20 women were strategically selected for focus-group discussions and the analyses followed the procedure for qualitative thematic content analysis. It was pointed out that violence against women was not discussed openly in the community and women subjected to violence kept silent and avoided seeking help in order not to reveal what was happening in the family. The informants perceived the violence as an interplay between individual and family-related factors and sociocultural norms and practices where Confucian ideology exerted a strong influence. When it came to prevention, there was a strong belief in educating the people and in enforcing policy and law. As described by the informants, traditional attitudes to gender roles and women's power disadvantage are found to be behind most of the explanations for intimate partner violence. Collaboration between sectors at local level, between the health sector and other bodies, and with community leaders as spokesmen would help to improve openness and reduce society's tolerance of violence against women. The mass media also have an important role to play.

Rethinking domestic violence

1 The History of Spouse Assault 2 Nested Ecological Theory 3 Measurement and Incidence of Abuse 4 Theories of Wife Assault: Psychiatric Contributions 5 Feminist and Sociobiological Explanations for Intimate Partner Violence 6 The Gender Debate and the Feminist Paradigm 7 The Domestic Assault of Men 8 Victims, Causes, and Effects 9 The Social Psychology of the Perpetrator 10 Subtypes of Perpetrators 11 The Cycle of Violence and the Abusive Personality 12 Relationship/Interactionist Explanations 13 The Failure of Criminal Justice Intervention Policy 14 Risk Assessment 15 Treatment Policy Issues 16 Treatment: The Next Step 17 Rethinking the Response to Domestic Violence.