Psychology and violence against women

Risk Markers for Male Perpetration of Sexual Assault on College Campuses: A Meta-Analysis

Sexual assault (SA) on college campuses remains a prominent public health issue. This meta-analysis focuses on identifying all potential risk markers for college male SA perpetration. Using standard search procedures, a total of 25 studies yielding 89 unique effect sizes were included in the study. Significant risk markers were related to hegemonic masculinity (e.g., peer approval of SA, rape myth acceptance, sexist beliefs, hostility towards women), other forms of dating violence perpetration (e.g., physical and psychological dating violence perpetration), and the college party culture (e.g., binge drinking, alcohol and substance use, frequency of hook-ups). Psychological dating violence victimization, athletic team membership, race/ethnicity, relationship status, and religiosity were not significant risk markers for SA perpetration. Findings support potential benefits of SA prevention efforts prioritizing peer education/student leaders modeling SA disapproval, challenging hegemonic masculinity, healthy relationship and sexual education, as well as alcohol and substance use awareness.

"Women as Troublemakers": The Hard Sociopolitical Context of Soft Bipolar Disorder in Iran

Gender differences in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders, with higher prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders among women, have been the focus of much debate. In Iran, the adoption of the construct of Bipolar Spectrum Disorder (BSD) and of the concept of "soft bipolarity" has been associated with a large gender difference in rates of diagnosis. This paper discusses the gendered meanings of the diagnosis of BSD in Iran. In this qualitative study, we conducted 25 in-depth semi-structured interviews with prominent psychiatrists and university professors (7 female and 18 male) at six different universities in Iran and 37 in-depth semi-structured interviews with patients (23 female and 14 male, 18-55 years of age) who had received bipolar spectrum disorder diagnosis and treatment, excluding Bipolar I. Findings suggest that the high rate of diagnosis of bipolar spectrum disorder (i.e., subthreshold or soft bipolar disorder) among women in Iran is influenced by gender, sociocultural, political, and economic factors, as well as the diagnostic practices of biomedical psychiatry. The dominant biological psychiatry system in Iran has led many psychiatrists to frame sociopolitically and culturally rooted forms of distress in terms of biomedical categories like soft bipolarity and to limit their interventions to medication. This bioreductionist approach silences the voices of vulnerable groups, including those of women, and marginalizes discussions of problematic institutional and social power. To understand the preference for biomedical explanations, we need to consider not only the economic interests at play in the remaking of human identity in terms of biological being and the globalization of biological psychiatry, but also the resistance to addressing the sociocultural, political, and economic determinants of women's mental suffering in particular contexts.

Reported Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence among Adolescent Girls: Motivations and IPV Victimization

Background: Studies on intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration by girls and women have found self-defense is a common motivation. Current items—namely the abbreviated items from the Conflicts Tactics Scale (CTS)—used to measure IPV perpetration may be counting these girls/women as perpetrators when they are victims of IPV. The purpose of this study was to assess adolescent girls’ IPV perpetration, including (a) motivations and (b) factors associated with reports of adolescent girls’ perpetration of IPV using standard abbreviated CTS measures. Methods: This study utilized cross-sectional survey data collected from 159 participants in an urban Southern California clinic in 2016–2018. Demographic variables—age, ethnicity, current school enrollment, living situation and born in the U.S.—were analyzed with chi-square or independent t-tests. Frequency analyses were used to quantify motivations for IPV perpetration. Crude and adjusted logistic regression models assessed key variables associated with female adolescents’ IPV perpetration: victimization, drug use, alcohol day, binge drinking, depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation. A final multivariate model further adjusted for IPV victimization. Results: The average age of participants was 17 years old, and the majority of participants were Hispanic. Primary motivations for adolescent girls’ IPV perpetration included self-defense. Adolescent girls who reported IPV perpetration had significantly greater odds of victimization [95% CI = 4.31–32.07], drug use [95% CI = 1.14–6.99], binge drinking [95% CI = 1.08–6.87], and suicide ideation [95% CI = 1.13–10.62]. These findings remained significant in models adjusted for significant demographics. In the final multivariate regression model adjusted for IPV victimization, none of these factors remained significantly related to adolescent girls’ IPV perpetration. Conclusions: Findings establish a connection between victimization, self-defense, and adolescent girls’ IPV perpetration. These findings add to existing literature suggesting that the CTS measures of perpetration may encompass both IPV victimization and perpetration when used with populations of girls and women.

Strategic analysis of intimate partner violence (IPV) and cycle of violence in the autobiographical text -When I Hit You

Objectives

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a globally recognized societal problem that requires intensive research to raise public awareness.

Aim

Accordingly, the purpose of the study is to analyze IPV at the physical, psychological, and social aspects of abuse.

Method

The methodology of the study correlates IPV to the personal experiences of notable Indian writer, Meena Kandasamy, according to the autobiographical account of her abusive married life in the award-winning novel When I Hit You, which depicts the horrible treatment of women by their perpetrators within a closed sphere. To substantiate, the selected autobiographical work is compared with Lenore Edna Walker’s prominent Cycle of Violence theory, which best describes why women become victims and also the abuser’s tactics in controlling the women in a violent relationship.

Results

The study’s findings suggest that IPV, a serious global problem, requires government intervention and severe legal enforcement to protect women’s lives from the clutches of the abuser.

"You Want to Catch the Biggest Thing Going in the Ocean": A Qualitative Analysis of Intimate Partner Stalking

This study employs a qualitative phenomenological exploration of the "lived" experiences of male intimate partner stalking (IPS) perpetrators serving a custodial sentence in the United Kingdom for an offense related to intimate partner violence (IPV). The purpose of this study is to capture the nature and complexity of the experiences of the pathway to IPS from the perspective of the perpetrator. The study seeks to provide a unique understanding of how IPS perpetrators attribute meaning to their behavior, illuminating the underpinning cognitive characteristics and emotions that play a role in their behavior. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven men with a history of IPS behavior. The resultant transcripts were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Five superordinate themes reflecting participants' experiences were identified: (a) "The quest for attention and affection creating connection,"(b) "Conflicted identity and extremes of self," (c) "My life, a film set," (d) "Gameplaying: One step ahead," and (e) "Severed connections, changing the Gameplay." The findings are presented in relation to the existing literature and theoretical frameworks which seek to explain stalking perpetration. The analysis provides a greater understanding of men who have engaged in IPS behavior, demonstrating how hearing the perspective of the perpetrator has value in informing theory and intervention. The study has provided valuable insight into the cognitive characteristics of this population and a rich understanding of the profiles of men who have engaged in IPS behavior. Implications for forensic practice, policy, and research are outlined, and recommendations for future research and overall limitations are discussed.

Contributions From Psychology to Effectively Use, and Achieving Sexual Consent

Psychology related to areas such as gender, language, education and violence has provided scientific knowledge that contributes to reducing coercive social relationships, and to expanding freedom in sexual-affective relationships. Nonetheless, today there are new challenges that require additional developments. In the area of consent, professionals from different fields, such as law, gender, and education, are in need of evidence differentiating human communication that produces consent, and those conditions that coerce. Up to now, consent has been focused on verbal language, for example, “no means no,” or “anything less than yes is no.” Despite the fact that focusing consent on verbal language is a very important part of the problem, it does not solve most of the issues currently raised, like the famous case of “La Manada” in Spain. This article presents the most recent results of a new line of research, which places the problem and the solution in communicative acts, not only in speech acts. Even though there might be a “yes” in a sexual-affective relationship, there might not be consent, and it is indeed a coercive relationship if that “yes” has been given in a relationship determined by institutional power or by interactive power. Institutional power may occur if whoever made the proposal for the relationship is a person in charge of the process of selecting personnel in a company, and one of the candidates is the person who receives the proposal. Interactive power may occur if whoever makes the proposal is situated in an equal or inferior position in the company to the person receiving it, but the former threatens sextortion the latter. The potential social impact of this research has been already shown in the cases analyzed for this study.

Family Violence, Sibling, and Peer Aggression During Adolescence: Associations With Behavioral Health Outcomes

Bullying and sibling aggression can appear as similar behavior, though the latter is comparatively understudied. Aligned with the Theory of Intergenerational Transmission of Violence, research suggests that exposure to family violence increases an individual's risk for perpetrating violence in their own future relationships. Additionally, Problem Behavior Theory suggests that engaging in one problem behavior (e.g., bullying) increases the likelihood of engaging in other problem behavior (e.g., substance use). In Phase 1, this study of middle school students from the U.S. examined how exposure to family violence predicted membership in latent classes of bullying and sibling aggression perpetration (N = 894, sampled from four middle schools). In Phase 2, we used mixture modeling to understand how latent classes of family violence, sibling aggression, and bullying predict future substance use, mental health outcomes, and deviance behavior later in high school. Results yielded four profiles of peer and sibling aggression: high all, high sibling aggression, high peer aggression, and low all aggression. Youth who reported witnessing more family violence at home were significantly more likely to fall into the sibling aggression only and high all classes, compared to the low all class. Phase 2 results also yielded four classes: a high all class, a sibling aggression and family violence class, a peer aggression class, and a low all class. Individuals in the high all class were more likely to experience several unfavorable outcomes (substance use, depression, delinquency) compared to other classes. This study provides evidence for pathways from witnessing violence, to perpetrating aggression across multiple contexts, to developing other deleterious mental and behavioral health outcomes. These findings highlight the negative impact family violence can have on child development, providing support for a cross-contextual approach for programming aimed at developing relationships skills.

Intimate Partner Violence and its Escalation Into Femicide. Frailty thy Name Is "Violence Against Women"

Violence against women is a disabler of dignity, liberty, and rights of the person, with murder being its extreme form for silencing the individual. Despite psycho-criminological research providing evidence that violence can happen across cultures, sexes, and societies, other findings show that some forms of violence i.e. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), which involves more frequently women as victims, is not rare in contemporary society. The aim of this study is to analyze the violence against women, and how it escalates up to the point in which it aggravates into femicide. In order to carry out this study, data from both the Turin Archive of the Institute of Legal Medicine (1970-1997), and the Archive of the Central Morgue (1998-2016) were collected. The interest was to focus on those women who were killed in Turin, between 1970 and 2016, by a male with whom they were involved in a more or less intimate relationship (e.g., matrimonial, sexual, friendship, professional, etc.). Collateral information was also gathered from forensic files that reported sufficient details about the criminal events. The sample was composed of 275 women killed by violence in Turin, Italy, by 260 males. This research was based on two questions: Is murder the worst possible scenario of a long-lasting abusive relationship? Are we witnessing a shift in how violence now happens, becoming perhaps less striking than murder, but not less painful from the victim's point of view? These findings show that escalation into femicide featured more likely within an intimate and affective relationship between victim and perpetrator; they also show that when the perpetrator knew the victim, it was more likely that an overkilling took place. When victims sustained multiple injuries that went beyond those necessary to cause their death, one is in front of an overkilling. These results also suggest that motives behind intimate partner femicide could account for a differential degree of violence, so that the longer and closer the relationship was between victim and perpetrator, the higher the risk of IPV escalating into femicide, and of femicide being executed with extreme and severe force.

Acceptance of Dating Violence Scale: Checking its psychometric properties

Abstract Violence by intimate partners is a cause of concern in several countries, including Brazil. Although some instruments that measure this phenomenon have been found, the Acceptance of Couple Violence Scale (ACVS) has proven to be a brief measure with satisfactory psychometric properties. For this reason, we have sought to investigate its psychometric properties in Brazilian samples. The ACVS was subjected to two studies. Study 1 indicated a two-factor structure with satisfactory internal consistency. Study 2 showed that a three-factor structure, which is in agreement with the original study, is more plausible than one- and two-factor models, with its reliability varying from 0.61 to 0.80. In addition, a correlation was found between the factor of female violence and social desirability, which suggests that future studies should take this variable into account. It was concluded that the ACVS is a valid and precise measure and that it may be used in future studies.

Feminist Theory, Feminist Psychology: A Bibliography of Epistemology, Critical Analysis, and Applications

A selection of recent (post-1980) works on feminist theory and method, this bibliography includes literature from psychology and other social sciences, feminist studies, and philosophy of science. The first of its four sections concerns epistemology and metatheory. The second lists works that offer reformulations or critical analyses of key concepts in gender studies; many of these are grounded in social constructionist and feminist standpoint epistemologies. The third section cites writings that illustrate the potential of new epistemological stances or exemplify new ways of working. The last section lists related bibliographies. (232 entries.)

Feminist Contributions to Health Psychology

A brief review of health psychology shows that the early leadership began what has come to be a major alternative to traditional medical models of diagnosis and treatment. Numerous women were involved with these implementations and changes in the field. Many of the key developments within health psychology—for example, behavioral prevention, compliance, coping, health promotion, locus of control, and social support–reflect essentially feminist principles that emphasize the legitimate authority and significance of the individual. Feminist principles of equity and inclusiveness are also represented in emerging concerns that the health needs of many underprivileged groups deserve more focused attention, and, additionally, that entirely new areas of health can be profitably examined within the framework of health psychology.

Female Survivors of Dating Violence and their Social Networks

This study embeds dating violence in context. It examines how 130 young adult female survivors of dating violence involved members of their social network in the experience of abuse, how network members responded to them, survivors' satisfaction with these responses and the reasons some network members were not informed. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a questionnaire. Results indicate that the responses of network members serve a supportive and a supervisory function; and these responses are interpreted within a feminist gender analysis framework Implications for prevention and education programs are discussed.

Gender Differences and Gender-Related Constructs in Dating Aggression

This study examined frequency and severity of physical, symbolic, and psychological aggression between college men and women in 85 heterosexual dating relationships and the extent to which gender role constructs predicted reports of aggression. Although there were no differences on self-reports of perpetration, men reported higher victimization levels than women and higher physical and psychological victimization levels than perpetration levels, whereas women reported higher symbolic perpetration levels than victimization levels. As a result, averaging reports from both partners suggested that women in existing college dating relationships are more aggressive than men. For both genders, stereotypically negative masculine (i.e., instrumental) characteristics were the best predictors of aggressive acts. Perpetrators’ positive masculinity and femininity predicted self-reports of decreased aggression that were not confirmed by their partners. Whereas men’s traditional attitudes about the male role predicted greater male aggression, women’s less traditional attitudes predicted increased severity of female physical aggression.

The Role of Counseling Psychology in Preventing Male Violence Against Female Intimates

Counseling psychology has a unique and important role to play in the reduction and elimination of interpersonal violence. This article provides a context for furthering preventative efforts within counseling psychology specifically aimed at ending and/or mitigating the effects of male violence against women. A brief discussion of social and cultural considerations in prevention is presented. Suggestions for involvement at five levels of prevention (stopping male violence from ever occurring; delaying the onset of abusive behavior; reducing the impact of men’s violence; strengthening knowledge, attitudes, and behavior promoting healthy relationships; and supporting institutional policies that promote healthy relationships) are provided. Future directions in training, funding, research, and employment for the counseling field are suggested.

Social Construction of Women as Legitimate Victims of Violence in Chinese Societies

Analyses of focus group discussions show that Chinese conceptions of women as legitimate victims of violence are constructed through representations of men as sick or being controlled by their impulses and of women as sex objects or naggers who trigger men's impulses or potential for violence. As women's behaviors are seen as precipitating factors, men are thus excused from their acts of violence and do not have to shoulder full responsibility for their violent behaviors. However, some young and educated Chinese reject various cultural myths, oppose victim-blaming explanations, and disrupt pro-violence social scripts

Twenty Years of Feminist Counseling and Therapy

This article summarizes the history and current status of feminist counseling and psychotherapy. It describes the formation and development of feminist therapy during the 1970s, compares early commitments with aspects of change and maturation during the second decade, and reviews areas of agreement and disagreement during the 1980s and early 1990s. Initial feminist efforts resulted in the creation of an overarching philosophical framework for feminist psychotherapy. The second decade was marked by rapid expansion and the application of feminist therapy to diverse populations and problems as well as the integration of feminist philosophy with mainstream psychotherapeutic systems. Feminist therapists developed more complex models of personality, diagnosis, and ethical behavior and engaged in the examination and revision of early commitments. This review draws on the literatures of both social work and psychology and discusses the contribution of counseling psychologists to feminist therapy. It also addresses theoretical issues, research, training needs, and the role of advocacy and activism in feminist therapy.

Coping and Violence Exposure as Predictors of Psychological Functioning in Domestic Violence Survivors

This study examines the differential effects of adult and childhood physical and psychological abuse, abuse-specific coping, and psychological adjustment in battered women seeking emergency shelter. Multivariate regression analyses confirmed the devastating impact of psychological abuse (childhood and concurrent) on battered women’s adjustment. The results corroborated prior research suggesting a cumulative vulnerability to psychological victimization in a substantial proportion of residents. Unexpectedly, frequency of physical violence was unrelated to women’s distress. The study argues that modes of coping traditionally considered adaptive (e.g., engaged, proactive) may be unsafe for battered women and children. The multifaceted nature of survivors’ coping choices is discussed.

Type and Severity of Abuse and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Reported by Women Who Killed Abusive Partners

This study investigated the type, severity, and frequency of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms experienced by battered women prior to killing male partners. Eighteen women were assessed for frequency and severity of lifetime PTSD symptoms and type of abuse endured. Correlations were performed between clusters of PTSD symptoms and composites of violent experiences. It was found that before killing male partners, these battered women suffered moderate to high levels of PTSD symptom frequency and severity, except for an inability to recall important aspects of the trauma. Significant canonical correlations were found between the frequency and severity of PTSD symptoms and the severity of types of abuses inflicted.

Toward a Feminist Understanding of Women and Power

Both psychologists and feminists believe power is an important and ubiquitous concept, yet its definition and scope eludes both groups. In this introduction to a special issue on women and power, we suggest three points to help organize and interpret research in the area. First, definitions of power should center around the distinction between “power-over,” the domination and control of one person or group over another, and “power-to” or personal empowerment. Second, power can be analyzed at different levels—societal, organizational, interpersonal, and individual—and, importantly, these levels interact. Third, power differences frequently underlie what appear to be gender differences in behavior; as society is currently configured, power and gender are never independent. Although the articles in this special issue often ask more questions than they answer, the present volume adds a feminist perspective to the psychological study of power.

Investigating Three Explanations of Women's Relationship Aggression

This study investigated explanations of women's partner aggression in a sample of 358 women. Women completed measures of physical aggression, control, and fear. Three explanations of women's partner aggression were explored: (a) that its use is associated with fear, (b) that it is reciprocal, and (c) that it is coercive. Each explanation received partial support, with multivariate analysis showing that collectively they explained significant proportions of the variance in women's self-reported use of physical aggression toward their male partners. These results indicate that women's physical aggression toward male partners cannot be understood using a unitary explanation.

Toward an Applied Aboriginal Psychology

This essay discusses some impediments to, and prospects for, the development of applied Aboriginal psychologies from the perspectives of cross-cultural and cultural psychology. Aboriginal psychologies are said to differ from mainstream scientific psychology in terms of their research priorities, world views, problems to be addressed, methodologies, ideological commitments, and perceived usefulness. Aboriginal and nonaboriginal people's perceptions of mainstream psychology and psychologists and of priority community needs are reported to provide evidence for such differences.

The interactive effects of PTSD, emotion regulation, and anger management strategies on female-perpetrated IPV

Research supports a relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration, and theory implicates emotion regulation and anger management skills as probable moderators to that relationship (Chemtob, Novaco, Hamada, Gross, & Smith, 1997). However, no study has investigated these interactive relationships with female-perpetrated physical IPV. Therefore, this study examined the interactive effects of PTSD symptoms, emotion regulation, and anger management skills on female-perpetrated physical IPV. Female community members (N = 254) completed measures of PTSD symptoms, emotion regulation strategies, anger management skills during partner conflict, and IPV perpetration. Results indicated two-way interaction effects between emotion regulation and both PTSD symptoms and negative partner attributions. In addition, PTSD symptoms, emotion regulation, and escalating strategies marginally interacted to predict female-perpetrated IPV. Implications of these results for future research and interventions are discussed.

Testing predictions from the male control theory of men's partner violence

The aim of this study was to test predictions from the male control theory of intimate partner violence (IPV) and Johnson's [Johnson, M. P. (1995). Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 282-294] typology. A student sample (N = 1,104) reported on their use of physical aggression and controlling behavior, to partners and to same-sex non-intimates. Contrary to the male control theory, women were found to be more physically aggressive to their partners than men were, and the reverse pattern was found for aggression to same-sex non-intimates. Furthermore, there were no substantial sex differences in controlling behavior, which significantly predicted physical aggression in both sexes. IPV was found to be associated with physical aggression to same-sex non-intimates, thereby demonstrating a link with aggression outside the family. Using Johnson's typology, women were more likely than men to be classed as "intimate terrorists," which was counter to earlier findings. Overall, these results do not support the male control theory of IPV. Instead, they fit the view that IPV does not have a special etiology, and is better studied within the context of other forms of aggression.

A systematic qualitative review of risk and protective factors for sexual violence perpetration

The current review summarized results of 191 published empirical studies that examined the risk and protective factors for sexual violence perpetration. Studies in the review examined factors for perpetration by and against adolescents and adults, by male and female perpetrators, and by those who offended against individuals of the same sex or opposite sex. Factors associated with child sexual abuse (CSA) perpetration were not included. In all, 2 societal and community factors, 23 relationship factors, and 42 individual-level factors were identified. Of these 67 factors, consistent significant support for their association with SV was found for 35, nonsignificant effects were found for 10, 7 factors had limited or sample-specific evidence that they were associated with SV but were in need of further study, and 15 demonstrated mixed results. The factors identified in the review underscore the need for comprehensive prevention programs that target multiple risk and protective factors as well as factors that occur across the social ecology. Moreover, we identified two domains of factors--the presence and acceptance of violence and unhealthy sexual behaviors, experiences, or attitudes--that had consistent significant associations with SV but are not typically addressed in prevention programs. Therefore, SV prevention may also benefit from learning from effective strategies in other areas of public health, namely sexual health and youth violence prevention.

Depressive and posttraumatic symptoms among women seeking protection orders against intimate partners: relations to coping strategies and perceived responses to abuse disclosure

This investigation examined the relationship of abuse-specific coping strategies and perceived responses to abuse disclosure to symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress among 131 women seeking a protection order against an intimate partner. Disengagement, denial, and self-blame coping strategies, as well as blaming of the participant by others, were associated with greater depressive and posttraumatic symptoms. None of the strategies of coping or responses to abuse disclosure were negatively related to depressive or posttraumatic stress symptoms. Findings suggest that mental health providers may find it useful to address these negative styles of coping while public education campaigns should target victim blaming.

A Systematic Review of Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Violence

A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence was conducted. Inclusion criteria included publication in a peer-reviewed journal, a representative community sample or a clinical sample with a control-group comparison, a response rate of at least 50%, use of a physical or sexual violence outcome measure, and control of confounding factors in the analyses. A total of 228 articles were included (170 articles with adult and 58 with adolescent samples). Organized by levels of a dynamic developmental systems perspective, risk factors included: (a) contextual characteristics of partners (demographic, neighborhood, community and school factors), (b) developmental characteristics and behaviors of the partners (e.g., family, peer, psychological/behavioral, and cognitive factors), and (c) relationship influences and interactional patterns. Comparisons to a prior review highlight developments in the field in the past 10 years. Recommendations for intervention and policy along with future directions for intimate partner violence (IPV) risk factor research are presented.

Male perpetrators, the gender symmetry debate, and the rejection-abuse cycle: implications for treatment

This review article examined the gender symmetry debate in light of recent research relating to the feminist and family research perspectives on intimate partner violence, providing a context for rethinking perpetrator programs. The concept of coercive control is considered as an explanatory factor in an attempt to integrate the feminist and family research perspectives. The limited effectiveness of perpetrator programs is examined. Research highlighting potential factors that could improve the effectiveness of perpetrator programs is introduced, followed by a discussion of the rejection-abuse cycle, one attempt to incorporate current research into a more inclusive program. The rejection-abuse cycle identifies a pattern of perpetrator behavior, which links rejection, threat to self, defense against threat, and abuse. Finally, suggestions for changing perpetrator programs are elaborated, incorporating past research, which would make them appropriate for both male and female perpetrators. These implications are contextualized within a meta-theory to provide greater clarity for the development of future perpetrator programs.

Behind the silence of harmony: risk factors for physical and sexual violence among women in rural Indonesia

BACKGROUND

Indonesia has the fourth largest population in the world. Few studies have identified the risk factors of Indonesian women for domestic violence. Such research will be useful for the development of prevention programs aiming at reducing domestic violence. Our study examines associations between physical and sexual violence among rural Javanese Indonesian women and sociodemographic factors, husband's psychosocial and behavioral characteristics and attitudes toward violence and gender roles.

METHODS

A cohort of pregnant women within the Demographic Surveillance Site (DSS) in Purworejo district, Central Java, Indonesia, was enrolled in a longitudinal study between 1996 and 1998. In the following year (1999), a cross-sectional domestic violence household survey was conducted with 765 consenting women from that cohort. Female field workers, trained using the WHO Multi-Country study instrument on domestic violence, conducted interviews. Crude and adjusted odds ratios at 95% CI were applied for analysis.

RESULTS

Lifetime exposure to sexual and physical violence was 22% and 11%. Sexual violence was associated with husbands' demographic characteristics (less than 35 years and educated less than 9 years) and women's economic independence. Exposure to physical violence among a small group of women (2-6%) was strongly associated with husbands' personal characteristics; being unfaithful, using alcohol, fighting with other men and having witnessed domestic violence as a child. The attitudes and norms expressed by the women confirm that unequal gender relationships are more common among women living in the highlands and being married to poorly educated men. Slightly more than half of the women (59%) considered it justifiable to refuse coercive sex. This attitude was also more common among financially independent women (71%), who also had a higher risk of exposure to sexual violence.

CONCLUSIONS

Women who did not support the right of women to refuse sex were more likely to experience physical violence, while those who justified hitting for some reasons were more likely to experience sexual violence. Our study suggests that Javanese women live in a high degree of gender-based subordination within marriage relationships, maintained and reinforced through physical and sexual violence. Our findings indicate that women's risk of physical and sexual violence is related to traditional gender norms.

Does sexual selection explain human sex differences in aggression?

I argue that the magnitude and nature of sex differences in aggression, their development, causation, and variability, can be better explained by sexual selection than by the alternative biosocial version of social role theory. Thus, sex differences in physical aggression increase with the degree of risk, occur early in life, peak in young adulthood, and are likely to be mediated by greater male impulsiveness, and greater female fear of physical danger. Male variability in physical aggression is consistent with an alternative life history perspective, and context-dependent variability with responses to reproductive competition, although some variability follows the internal and external influences of social roles. Other sex differences, in variance in reproductive output, threat displays, size and strength, maturation rates, and mortality and conception rates, all indicate that male aggression is part of a sexually selected adaptive complex. Physical aggression between partners can be explained using different evolutionary principles, arising from the conflicts of interest between males and females entering a reproductive alliance, combined with variability following differences in societal gender roles. In this case, social roles are particularly important since they enable both the relatively equality in physical aggression between partners from Western nations, and the considerable cross-national variability, to be explained.

Observed Initiation and Reciprocity of Physical Aggression in Young, At-Risk Couples

The present study examined sex differences in initiation of physical aggression as observed during discussion tasks and in the likelihood of a similar response from the partner. In addition, patterns for men and women in the prevalence of aggression initiation and partner reciprocation across 4 time points spanning approximately 9 years from late adolescence through the mid-20s are examined, as well as overall associations with reported aggression and injuries. Findings indicated that the young women were more likely than the men to initiate physical aggression at late adolescence, but by the mid-20s in early adulthood there were no significant sex differences in initiation rates. The average rates of reciprocation across the 4 time points appeared to be similar for men and women. Women and men appeared more likely to report injuries if the couples observed physical aggression involved mutual aggression in their interactions.

Examining the correlates of engagement and disengagement coping among help-seeking battered women

This study examined several potential correlates of engagement and disengagement coping, including abuse-related factors, socioeconomic and social coping resources, and childhood trauma variables among a sample of battered women (N = 388). Relationship abuse frequency, particularly psychological aggression, and peritraumatic dissociation were the strongest positive predictors of the use of disengagement coping. Social coping resources, including tangible support and appraisals of social support and belonging, were associated with higher engagement coping and lower disengagement coping. A positive association was also found between interparental domestic violence and disengagement coping, and negative associations were found between both childhood physical and sexual abuse and engagement coping. Results suggest that coping strategies used by battered women are multidetermined and deserve further exploration.

Using curriculum design principles to improve health education for adolescent girls

Learning and teaching are main concepts within health contexts, but curriculum theory is generally overlooked in the design of health education. In this paper, we describe the curriculum development component of a health research study designed to develop and present educational interventions for adolescent girls. Through the use of these interventions, we encouraged the girls to recognize and address potential health compromises in their dating relationships. By blending our disciplinary approaches of nursing and education to address the challenges of this research, we developed a curriculum that would effectively meet the needs of the participants. To do this, we assessed humanistic, social reconstructionist, technological, and academic curriculum approaches to determine that our approach is one of social reconstruction. We then considered teacher-centered, learner-centered, and problem-centered curriculum designs, choosing both learner and problem centered, and analyzed six dimensions of these designs. We describe these approaches, designs, and dimensions of curriculum considering pedagogical issues, criteria for evaluation, and appropriateness to educational health intervention programs.

Characteristics of spousal homicide perpetrators: a study of all cases of spousal homicide in Sweden 1990-1999

BACKGROUND

In Sweden 20 000 cases of assault against women are reported to the police every year.

METHOD

All data on the perpetrators of spousal homicide in Sweden between 1990 and 1999 were investigated (n = 164). A control group of all other perpetrators of homicide in Sweden during the same period, i.e. cases of homicide not committed in the context of spouse violence (n = 690) was used. All verdicts, as well as all material in the police investigations, including interviews with all of the police investigators, were analysed. Copies of police examinations of the suspects, and forensic reports from the autopsies, were also examined. Data on all registered criminality were collected from the National Police Register, and in cases where the perpetrators had been subject to forensic psychiatric examinations, those reports were obtained from the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine. In addition, the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version scores were rated from the forensic psychiatric examinations.

RESULTS

There was a four times higher suicide rate among the spousal homicide perpetrators (24%, n = 40) compared with the perpetrators in the control-group (6%, n = 39, chi-squared = 55,42 df = 1, p < 0.001). Consequently, suicidal ideation must be considered as an important risk factor for spousal homicide. In 79% of the cases the spousal homicide perpetrators were subject to forensic psychiatric examinations. All except 5% were diagnosed with at least one psychiatric diagnosis, and 34% were sentenced to forensic psychiatric treatment. If it is assumed that the psychiatric morbidity was high in the 24% of the perpetrators who committed suicide, then 80% of all perpetrators of spouse homicide during the study period can be characterized as mentally disordered. 'Psychopathic' perpetrators, who generally are over-represented in most violent criminality, were comparatively uncommon. Only seven (4%) in the study group met the diagnostic criteria for psychopathy as measured with the PCL:SV.

DISCUSSION

The group of spouse killers studied here fits the dysphoric/borderline group of spouse assaulters. This is a group that may benefit from treatment. Perhaps police officers could help identify this kind of spouse assaulter before a fatality occurs.

A psicologia feminista e a violência contra as mulheres na intimidade: a (re)construção dos espaços terapêuticos

O presente documento constitui uma reflexão crítica sobre os pressupostos gerais das metodologias feministas aplicados ao exercício da Psicologia especificamente em contextos terapêuticos. É feita uma breve alusão ao enquadramento histórico que esteve subjacente à emergência da Psicologia feminista, bem como aos princípios que estiveram na base do desenvolvimento de novas e inovadoras práticas terapêuticas dirigidas, sobretudo a mulheres, numa lógica de intervenção feminista. Ao advogar o princípio da emancipação feminina, totalmente adverso ao regime patriarcal, os/as psicólogos/as feministas assumem a sua opção pela não neutralidade da ciência psicológica e das suas práticas e politizam os espaços terapêuticos onde se movimentam. Esta tomada de posição é particularmente significativa nas situações de violência, uma vez que possibilita que as vítimas vejam validadas as suas experiências pessoais.

Intimate terrorism and common couple violence. A test of Johnson's predictions in four British samples

This study sought to both replicate and considerably extend the findings of Johnson (1999) that there are two distinct subgroups of physical aggression within relationships: intimate terrorism and common couple violence. The present sample consisted of women residing at Women's Aid shelters and their partners (N=86), male and female students (N=208), men attending male treatment programs for domestic violence and their partners (N=8), and male prisoners and their partners (N=192). Respondents completed measures on physical aggression, injuries sustained, escalation of physical aggression, and controlling behaviors. Cluster analysis was employed to categorize relationships as either intimate terrorism or common couple violence. Frequency analysis showed broad support for Johnson's findings.

Physical aggression and control in heterosexual relationships: the effect of sampling

This study investigated the proposition by Johnson (1995) that there are distinct patterns of physical aggression within relationships, characterized as common couple violence and patriarchal terrorism. The present samples comprised students (N = 113), women from a domestic violence refuge (N = 44), and male prisoners (N = 108). Participants completed measures of physical aggression, controlling behavior, fear of injuries, and injuries. Reports of these measures were entered into a Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA). With the exception of self-reported use of controlling behavior, the variables showed univariately significant differences between the groups. The DFA produced two significant functions which together correctly classified 75% of cases. These results support the view that there are distinct patterns of aggressive relationships corresponding to those identified by Johnson (1995).