Dispositional, demographic, and social predictors of trajectories of intimate partner aggression in early adulthood

Hostile Masculinity, Male Peer Support for Violence, and Problematic Anger: Linking Childhood Abuse to Men's Partner Violence Perpetration

Child abuse and masculinity have been linked to intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. However, there is a lack of work examining multiple aspects of masculinity as links between early abuse experiences and men's IPV perpetration. Grounded in notions of gendered power and patriarchy, this study aimed to examine hostile masculinity, male peer support for violence against women, and problematic anger as aspects of masculinity connecting childhood victimization and men's violence against women. Structural equation modeling results demonstrated that childhood adversity was indirectly related to IPV perpetration via the proposed factors. However, various patterns emerged based on the type of childhood abuse experienced. Practice-based implications are offered.

A systematic review of the co-occurrence of self-harm and aggression: Is dual harm a unique behavioural construct?

Introduction

Dual harm is the co-occurrence of self-harm and aggression during an individual's lifetime. It is unclear whether sufficient evidence exists for dual harm as a unique clinical entity. This systematic review aimed to examine whether there are psychological factors that are uniquely associated with dual harm when compared to those who have engaged in sole harm (self-harm alone, aggression alone) and no harmful behaviours. Our secondary aim was to conduct a critical appraisal of the literature.

Methods

The review searched PsycINFO, PubMed, CINAHL, and EThOS on September 27, 2022, resulting in 31 eligible papers that represented 15,094 individuals. An adapted version of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was used to assess risk of bias and a narrative synthesis was conducted.

Results

The included studies assessed differences in mental health problems, personality, and emotion related factors between the different behavioural groups. We found weak evidence that dual harm is an independent construct with unique psychological characteristics. Rather, our review suggests that dual harm results from the interaction of psychological risk factors that are associated with self-harm and aggression.

Discussion

The critical appraisal identified numerous limitations within the dual harm literature. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are provided.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=197323, identifier CRD42020197323.

Intimate partner violence among adolescents: Prevalence rates after one decade of research

INTRODUCTION

Intimate partner violence research and intervention strategies have grown substantially over the last two decades. However, little research has examined whether the intimate partner prevalence has changed or remained stable over time in Spain. Moreover, few studies have analyzed whether intimate partner violence prevalence rates among genders and age groups have fluctuated similarly or not.

METHOD

The aim of this study was to analyze the trends observed in intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization rates among adolescents in three sample cohorts from Spain interviewed in 2006, 2010, and 2016 (4591 Spanish adolescents; 53.6% girls and 46.2% boys). ANCOVA was used to compare the population means between the cohorts: sex, age, and the type of intimate partner violence, for example, verbal, physical, and sexual.

RESULTS

The results showed a significant decrease in intimate partner violence rates from 2006 to 2016, which was more noticeable within the first half of this decade. Throughout the decade, the girls perpetrated more verbal and mild physical assaults, while the boys perpetrated more sexual assaults. However, these results suggest a clear bidirectional intimate partner violence dynamic between the genders. Additionally, late adolescence reported a higher prevalence of aggressions.

CONCLUSIONS

The results highlight the need to adapt current prevention strategies considering the differences in the intimate partner violence trajectories based on sex and age, with the aim of regaining the marked rate of decline in aggression observed up to 2010.

The inter-connections between self-harm and aggressive behaviours: A general network analysis study of dual harm

Dual harm is the co-occurrence of self-harm and aggression during an individual's lifetime. This behaviour is especially prevalent within criminal justice and forensic settings. The forms of aggression that should be included in the definition of dual harm have not yet been established. This study aimed to use network analysis to inform an evidence-based definition of dual harm by assessing the relationship between self-harm and different forms of aggressive behaviour in young people (N = 3,579). We used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Results revealed low correlations between the variables, leading to sparse network models with weak connections. We found that when separated into their distinct forms, aggressive acts and self-harm are only weakly correlated. Our work provides preliminary evidence to assist in understanding and managing dual harm within clinical and forensic settings and informs recommendations for future research.

Characteristics of Childhood Family Violence Experiences in Spanish Batterers

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) constitutes a major public health problem worldwide. The existing links between childhood family violence experiences and perpetration of IPV during adulthood suggest that violence is transmitted across generations. The aims of this study were to provide new insights into characteristics of the history of childhood family violence in a sample of Spanish convicted male batterers and to examine what typology of batterer (specialist or generalist) is more likely to have had different types of childhood experiences of violence in the family context. Participants were 740 men convicted of IPV whose ages ranged from 18 to 71 years old (M = 39.74; SD = 10.01). Of them, 305 men were classified as specialist batterers, and 391 men were classified as generalist batterers. Participants completed a questionnaire made ad hoc regarding family of origin violence and sociodemographic aspects. Results showed that, in comparison with generalist batterers, specialist batterers had higher likelihood of having experienced child abuse or maltreatment during their childhood, having experienced physical punishment and child neglect, having their father as the aggressor of such experienced situations of abuse, or maltreatment. Likewise, specialist batterers had higher likelihood of having been witnesses of family violence, having witnessed physical and psychological violence in the family, having witnessed their mother and siblings being the victims and their father being the aggressor when family violence occurred. This study emphasized the need for identifying children exposed to direct and indirect family violence because they could be a vulnerable group for future IPV perpetration. Moreover, variables related to childhood family violence must be considered when developing intervention treatment programs focused on male specialist batterers.

Effect of Parameterization on Statistical Power and Effect Size Estimation in Latent Growth Modeling

The difference between groups in their random slopes is frequently examined in latent growth modeling to evaluate treatment efficacy. However, when end centering is used for model parameterization with a randomized design, the difference in the random intercepts is the model-estimated mean difference between the groups at the end of the study, which has the same expected value as the product of the coefficient for the slope difference and study duration. A Monte Carlo study found that (a) the statistical power to detect the treatment effect was greater when determined from the intercept instead of the slope difference, and (b) the standard error of the model-estimated mean difference was smaller when obtained from the intercept difference. Investigators may reduce Type II errors by comparing groups in random intercepts instead of random slopes to test treatment effects, and should therefore conduct power assessments using end centering to detect each difference.

Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Psychopathy: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of an intimate partner and is a widespread, international public health crisis. An important proximate risk factor for IPV perpetration is the presence of psychopathic traits but there has not been a systematic review of the research linking psychopathic traits to IPV perpetration. We identified 43 studies using 13,476 participants (9,024 men and 4,452 women) across 10 countries that met our search criteria that led to the following conclusions. First, psychopathy was associated with IPV perpetration with medium effect sizes, even after accounting for various distal and proximate risk factors. Second, the different dimensions of psychopathy did not consistently differ in their prediction of IPV perpetration. Third, within individuals with a history of IPV perpetration, psychopathy did not relate to the frequency or severity of partner violence. Fourth, a few studies have tested the associations among child abuse, psychopathy, and IPV, with one study reporting that the combination of child abuse and psychopathic traits led to especially high risk for IPV perpetration. Lastly, we conclude by making recommendations for how future research and interventions should consider psychopathy to reduce the societal burden of IPV.

New Approaches for Estimation of Effect Sizes and their Confidence Intervals for Treatment Effects from Randomized Controlled Trials

Although Cohen's d and the growth modeling analysis (GMA) d from linear models are common standardized effect sizes used to convey treatment effects, popular statistical software packages do not include them in their standard outputs. This article demonstrated the use of statistical software with user-prescribed parameter functions (e.g., Mplus) to produce d for treatment effects from both classical analysis and GMA--along with their associated standard errors (SEs) and confidence intervals (CIs). A Monte Carlo study was conducted to examine bias in the SE and CI for GMA d obtained with Mplus and found that both estimates were more accurate when calculated by the software with the standard bootstrap than with the delta method, but the delta method estimates were less biased than respective estimates from extant post hoc equations. Thus, users of many statistical software packages (including SAS, R, and LISREL) should obtain d or GMA d and associated CIs directly. Researchers employing less versatile software--and meta-analysts including ds and GMA ds in their syntheses of treatment effects--should continue to use the conventional post hoc equations. Biases in SEs and CIs for effect sizes obtained with them are ignorable and point estimates of d and GMA d are the same whether obtained directly from the software or with post hoc equations.

Time-Varying Effect Sizes for Quadratic Growth Models in Multilevel and Latent Growth Modeling

Multilevel and latent growth modeling analysis (GMA) is often used to compare independent groups in linear random slopes of outcomes over time, particularly in randomized controlled trials. The unstandardized coefficient for the effect of group on the slope from a linear GMA can be transformed into a model-estimated effect size for the group difference at the end of a study. Because effect sizes vary non-linearly in quadratic GMA, the effect size at the end of a study using quadratic GMA cannot be derived from a single coefficient, and cannot be used to estimate effect sizes at intermediate time points with backwards extrapolation. This article formulates equations and associated input commands in Mplus for time-varying effect sizes for quadratic GMA. Illustrative analyses that produced these time-varying effect sizes were presented, and Monte Carlo study found that bias in the effect sizes and their confidence intervals was ignorable.

Intimate Partner Violence and Child Custody Evaluation: A Model for Preliminary Clinical Intervention

Intimate partner violence is defined by the World Health Organization as “any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological, or sexual harm to those in the relationship” and it refers to a specific relationship dynamic. In recent decades, an increasing number of studies have focused on this phenomenon, considering its exponential growth over time. Many studies have focused on risk factors for violence within the couple relationship. This paper specifically analyses the association between violence and separation or divorce. Although many interventions have been developed over the years, the effectiveness of extant interventions on violent behaviors is not yet empirically supported. Since clinical experience allows to affirm that both partners can be involved in treatment for intimate partner violence especially during mandated proceedings, the present study focuses on domestic violence in separated couples involved in a child custody evaluation process. In this case, literature supports the need for individualized assessment in order to promote the best intervention according to the specific conditions of each partner, whether the battered one or the perpetrator. However, little research has been done on child custody evaluation in the presence of violent couples. The aim of the present study is to present a model of couple clinical intervention with a separated violent couple in the context of a child custody evaluation. This model can be defined as relational-intergenerational and its main aim is to understand the exchange between familial generations and to search for factors that safeguard and care for family relations. Furthermore, according also to the therapeutic assessment approach, there is an intrinsic connection between assessment and “family transformative potential.” This paper presents the specific working methodology underlying this model, through the description of a single clinical case. In particular, the proposed model provides a multi-dimensional assessment comprising three levels: individual, evaluating parents' history through representations, thoughts, and feelings; interpersonal, investigating the different relations; discussion and dialogue with the parental couple about findings.