Self-regulatory failure and intimate partner violence perpetration.

Five studies tested the hypothesis that self-regulatory failure is an important predictor of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Study 1 participants were far more likely to experience a violent impulse during conflictual interaction with their romantic partner than they were to enact a violent behavior, suggesting that self-regulatory processes help individuals refrain from perpetrating IPV when they experience a violent impulse. Study 2 participants high in dispositional self-control were less likely to perpetrate IPV, in both cross-sectional and residualized-lagged analyses, than were participants low in dispositional self-control. Study 3 participants verbalized more IPV-related cognitions if they responded immediately to partner provocations than if they responded after a 10-s delay. Study 4 participants whose self-regulatory resources were experimentally depleted were more violent in response to partner provocation (but not when unprovoked) than were nondepleted participants. Finally, Study 5 participants whose self-regulatory resources were experimentally bolstered via a 2-week training regimen exhibited less violent inclinations than did participants whose self-regulatory resources had not been bolstered. These findings hint at the power of incorporating self-regulation dynamics into predictive models of IPV perpetration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotion regulation and intimate partner violence in newlyweds.

Is the inability to regulate negative emotions a risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV)? To address this question, the authors asked 72 newlywed couples to report their levels of negative affect every day for 7 days and examined whether variability in those reports was associated with the IPV self-reported to have been perpetrated over the previous year. Although main effects of variability in both husbands' and wives' negative affect did not reach statistical significance, variability in husbands' negative affect significantly interacted with wives' reports of IPV to account for husbands' IPV, even after overall levels of husbands' negative affect, marital satisfaction, and chronic stress were controlled. Specifically, whereas variability in negative affect was unrelated to IPV among husbands with wives who reported no IPV, such variability was positively associated with the IPV perpetrated by husbands with wives who also reported having perpetrated IPV during the previous year. Although preliminary, these results support theories suggesting that the ability to regulate negative emotions may help intimates avoid perpetrating IPV, particularly when faced with a partner's IPV perpetration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impelling and inhibiting forces in the perpetration of intimate partner violence.

The huge corpus of research identifying risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) has outpaced theoretical models explaining how these risk factors combine to exert their effects. This report presents a 2-stage process model investigating how a previously nonviolent interaction between intimate partners escalates to IPV. The first stage examines whether at least one partner experiences strong violence-impelling forces, which lead the individual to experience action tendencies toward IPV. The second examines whether the partner experiencing violence-impelling forces suffers from weak violence-inhibiting forces, which would otherwise serve to override such action tendencies. This model extends previous research by emphasizing the importance of inhibitory processes in IPV and by imposing a new conceptual structure on the identified IPV risk factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Additional adverse events among women exposed to intimate partner violence: Frequency and impact.

Objective: To assess additional adverse life events that women exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) may have endured and to ascertain whether, and in what ways, problems in adjustment are related more to IPV or to IPV plus other adverse life events. Method: Predictors of the effects of exposure to adversities were investigated in this study of 104 women exposed to severe IPV who reported conflict tactics, adverse life events, as well as symptoms of distress. Results: The majority of participants experienced additional adversities (86%). Significant differences were found between those exposed to IPV-only and those exposed to IPV plus other adverse events in terms of IPV frequency and current symptoms of distress. Women with IPV plus other adverse events had twice as many physical assaults and 4 times as many sexual assaults from an intimate partner compared to IPV-only women. The number of adverse events contributed significantly to variance in trauma symptoms over and above that of exposure to IPV alone. Women exposed to additional events had approximately twice as many avoidance and physiological arousal symptoms as IPV-only women. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest a variety of implications for IPV treatment and interventions. Specifically, the role that additional interpersonal violence, especially sexual violence, plays in the expression of distress may relate to the type of service offered to the survivor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of drug use in a conceptual model of intimate partner violence in men and women arrested for domestic violence.

In a previous study, alcohol problems in perpetrators and their partners contributed directly and indirectly to intimate partner violence (IPV), even after including other correlates of violence in the model (G. L. Stuart et al., 2006). The present study extends these findings by examining the role of illicit drug use. We recruited 271 men and 135 women arrested for IPV and used structural equation modeling to examine the data. Results showed that drug use, as reported by the perpetrators, was a stronger predictor of IPV than were alcohol problems in perpetrators and their partners. Arrested males' marijuana use and stimulant use (i.e., cocaine and amphetamines) were associated with perpetration of IPV, and their report of their female partners' stimulant use was associated with her violence perpetration. In arrested women, specific substances used did not predict violence perpetration beyond other model variables; however, female perpetrators' report of male partners' stimulant use predicted male psychological and physical aggression, after controlling for other variables. These results provide further evidence that drug problems by both partners may be important in the evolution of aggression. Implications for batterer intervention programs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of intimate partner violence among male alcoholic patients.

Male-to-female partner violence was investigated in heterosexual couples with an alcoholic male partner. Partner violent (PV) alcoholic patients (n?=?183), when compared with nonviolent (NV) alcoholic patients (n?=?120), had more antisocial personality characteristics, greater alcohol problem severity, greater use of other drugs, higher relationship distress, and stronger beliefs in the link between alcohol consumption and relationship problems. Demographic factors did not account for these PV–NV differences. Relationship distress and alcohol problem severity had independent associations with partner violence. Relationship adjustment and drug use remained significantly associated with partner violence, whereas alcohol problem severity did not, after controlling for patient antisocial traits. Beliefs in the link between drinking and relationship problems were associated with partner violence independent of other clinical factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interventions for intimate partner violence: Review and implications for evidence-based practice.

The objective of this article was to survey available intimate partner violence (IPV) treatment studies with (a) randomized case assignment, and (b) at least 20 participants per group. Studies were classified into 4 categories according to primary treatment focus: perpetrator, victim, couples, or child-witness interventions. The results suggest that extant interventions have limited effect on repeat violence, with most treatments reporting minimal benefit above arrest alone. There is a lack of research evidence for the effectiveness of the most common treatments provided for victims and perpetrators of IPV, including the Duluth model for perpetrators and shelter–advocacy approaches for victims. Rates of recidivism in most perpetrator- and partner-focused treatments are approximately 30% within 6 months, regardless of intervention strategy used. Couples treatment approaches that simultaneously address problems with substance abuse and aggression yield the lowest recidivism rates, and manualized child trauma treatments are effective in reducing child symptoms secondary to IPV. This review shows the benefit of integrating empirically validated substance abuse and trauma treatments into IPV interventions and highlights the need for more work in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professional psychologists' conceptualizations of intimate partner violence.

Psychologists' conceptualizations of intimate partner violence were studied by surveying practicing psychologists on their causal attributions and expectations for violence depicted in a written scenario. The perpetrator of violence was held by respondents to be most responsible for the violence, especially in severely violent cases. Although the victim was seen as less responsible for the violence, greater responsibility was attributed to her, especially to her character, in scenarios in which she had a previous history of being abused by a partner than when she had not. Violence severity had inconsistent effects on psychologists' expectations, in that respondents expected worse outcomes for the victim of more severe violence, but did not expect therapeutic interventions to be any less effective in ameliorating these outcomes. These conceptualizations point to dilemmas in treatment of intimate partner violence, such as empowerment without blame and the tension between hope and realistic assessment of risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subtypes of partner violence perpetrators among male and female psychiatric patients.

The goal of this naturalistic study was to examine heterogeneity among female and male civil psychiatric patients with a history of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Participants were 567 patients drawn from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study (J. Monahan et al., 2001). The authors examined subtype composition among 138 women and 93 men with positive histories of IPV and compared these groups with 111 women and 225 men with no histories of IPV. Findings for men and women were consistent with reports from studies of male perpetrators in forensic and community settings in that generally violent/antisocial, borderline/dysphoric, and family only/low-psychopathology subtypes of perpetrators were identified in both men and women. This study provides preliminary evidence for the generalizability of typologies derived from nonpsychiatric partner violence perpetrators to psychiatric populations and suggests that typologies derived from studies of male IPV perpetrators may provide useful guidance for the investigation of female IPV perpetration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intimate partner violence and preschoolers' explicit memory functioning.

This research examines whether parents' intimate partner physical violence (IPV) relates to their preschoolers' explicit memory functioning, whether children's symptoms of hyperarousal mediate this relation, and whether mothers' positive parenting moderates this relation. Participants were 69 mothers and their 4- or 5-year-old child (34 girls). Mothers completed measures of IPV, children's hyperarousal symptoms, parent-child aggression, and positive parenting. Measures of explicit memory functioning were administered to preschoolers. As expected, IPV correlated negatively with preschoolers' performance on explicit memory tasks, even after controlling for parent-child aggression and demographic variables related to preschoolers' memory functioning. Preschoolers' hyperarousal symptoms did not mediate the relation between IPV and explicit memory functioning, but mothers' positive parenting moderated this relation. Specifically, the negative relation between IPV and preschoolers' performance on 2 of the 3 explicit memory tasks was weaker when mothers engaged in higher levels of positive parenting. These findings extend research on IPV and children's adjustment difficulties to explicit memory functioning in preschoolers and suggest that mothers can ameliorate the influence of IPV on preschoolers' memory functioning via their parenting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The gender debate about intimate partner violence: Solutions and dead ends.

The debate on gender continues to define much scholarship on partner violence. No other single issue is as important to identifying one's theoretical and political position among those who are concerned about intimate partner violence (IPV). At this point in time, several well-documented conclusions can be drawn. First, two common estimates—under 10% female-perpetrated and 50% or more female-perpetrated—are quite discrepant from virtually all other data on physical violence. Second, several key definitional and measurement issues explain a large part of this discrepancy. Third, a number of commonly mentioned possibilities for measurement artifacts are unlikely sources of the gender parity found in many studies of IPV. This article will review each of these issues and suggest a third approach, the moderate asymmetry approach. The moderate asymmetry hypothesis for IPV is currently best-supported by the data, and it should be emphasized until a better alternative is found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associations of substance use problems with intimate partner violence for at-risk men in long-term relationships.

Associations of substance use problems in men--defined as a man's meeting at least 1 criterion of dependence on each of a number of substances by his mid-20s--with their perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) were examined in an at-risk community sample of 150 men in long-term relationships from their late adolescence to their late 20s. Men who had a problem with substances other than sedatives (especially cannabis and hallucinogens) committed more IPV than did men without such problems. Most of the men who had a problem with marijuana also had an alcohol problem, which explains why alcohol was found to have only an indirect association with IPV. The failure of previous alcohol-use studies to control for co-occurrence of alcohol and marijuana problems may explain the discrepancy with conclusions from past research that alcohol problems contribute directly to the perpetration of IPV. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prevalences of intimate partner violence in a representative U.S. Air Force sample.

Objective: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious health concern, but little is known about prevalence of IPV in the armed forces, as military members cope with the pressures of long-standing operations. Furthermore, previous prevalence studies have been plagued by definitional issues; most studies have focused on acts of aggression without consideration of impact (clinically significant [CS] IPV). This is the first large-scale study to examine prevalences of IPV, CS-IPV, and clinically significant emotional abuse (CS-EA) for men and women. Method: A United States Air Force-wide anonymous survey was administered across 82 bases in 2006 (N = 42,744) to assess IPV, CS-IPV, and CS-EA. Results: The adjusted prevalence of CS-IPV perpetration was 4.66% for men and 3.54% for women. Prevalences of IPV perpetration were 12.90% for men and 15.14% for women. CS-EA victimization was 6.00% for men and 8.50% for women. Sociodemographic differences in risk for violence were found for gender, race/ethnicity, pay grade, religious faith, marital status, and career type even after controlling for other demographic variables. Conclusions: Partner maltreatment is widespread in military (and civilian) samples. Men were more likely to perpetrate CS-IPV, whereas women were more likely to perpetrate IPV. Specific demographic risk factors were identified for different types of partner maltreatment (e.g., lower rank predicted higher risk for both perpetration and victimization across men and women). Other sociodemographic differences varied across severity (IPV vs. CS-IPV) and across gender. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coexisting difficulties and couple therapy outcomes: Psychopathology and intimate partner violence.

Couples presenting for treatment of relationship distress often experience additional problems, including individual psychopathology and intimate partner violence (IPV). Both issues are associated with current and future poor relationship functioning in nontreatment samples, but relatively little is understood about their association with initial presentation and outcomes in couple therapy. The current study examined these associations in a sample of 177 heterosexual couples who received therapy at two Veteran's Affairs clinics. Unlike most studies of couple therapy outcomes, couples were not excluded from treatment specifically because of high levels of psychopathology or IPV. Results of Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) analyses revealed actor and partner effects of depression, actor effects of anxiety, and partner effects of IPV on initial relationship satisfaction, such that greater coexisting difficulties were associated with poorer initial satisfaction. However, improvement in relationship satisfaction over the course of therapy was not associated with psychopathology, and, contrary to hypothesis, was positively associated with men's IPV prior to treatment, even when initial level of satisfaction was controlled. The results suggest that coexisting symptoms of psychopathology or IPV may not necessarily interfere with therapy outcomes and, indeed, therapy may have positive effects for couples with these problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent psychosocial risk factors for severe intimate partner violence in young adulthood.

The authors examined prospective measures of psychosocial risk factors as predictors of severe intimate partner violence among a community sample of 610 young adults at risk for intergenerational transmission of depression. The hypothesized risk factors were youth history of depression by age 15 and maternal history of depression. Youth social functioning at age 15 was tested as a mediator of these associations. Results showed that youth history of depression by age 15 predicted victimization at age 20. Severe violence perpetration was predicted by maternal depressive history among women but not men. Youth social functioning was a partial mediator of both associations. In sum, the findings suggest that psychosocial factors observed in adolescence may contribute to the risk of experiencing severe intimate partner violence during young adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How employment helps female victims of intimate partner violence: A qualitative study.

This exploratory, qualitative study documents ways in which being employed is helpful to victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). The authors conducted in-depth interviews with 21 women employed by a large health care organization in a major U.S. city. Through content analysis, the authors identified six ways in which employment was helpful to participants: by (1) improving their finances, (2) promoting physical safety, (3) increasing self-esteem, (4) improving social connectedness, (5) providing mental respite, and (6) providing motivation or a "purpose in life." Findings suggest that employment can play a critically important, positive role in the lives of IPV victims. The importance of flexible leave-time policies and employer assistance to IPV victims is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal risk factors for intimate partner violence among men in treatment for alcohol use disorders.

Objective: This study examined static and time-varying risk factors for perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) among men in treatment for alcohol use disorders. Method: Participants were 178 men diagnosed with alcohol abuse or dependence and their partners. Most (85%) of the men were European American; their average age was 41.0 years. Participants completed measures assessing initial alcohol problem severity, baseline beliefs related to alcohol use, antisocial personality characteristics, alcohol and drug use, relationship adjustment, and IPV. Results: According to couples' reconciled reports, 42% of participants perpetrated IPV at baseline. Among this group, the IPV recurrence rate was 43% at 6-month follow-up and 36% at 12-month follow-up. For participants without IPV perpetration at baseline, new incidence of IPV was 15% and 7% at the 6-month and 12-month follow-up points, respectively. Fixed marker predictors of IPV rates included baseline alcohol problem severity variables, baseline beliefs related to alcohol use, and antisocial personality characteristics. Variable risk factor predictors included alcohol and drug use variables, relationship adjustment factors, and anger. Alcohol use variables and anger were associated with new incidents of IPV among those without reported IPV at baseline only. Conclusions: Findings suggest that assessing and monitoring IPV occurrence by both partners is important for men in treatment for alcohol use disorders. Results indicate vulnerability factors that may identify individuals at risk for IPV and provide targets for IPV prevention among those with alcohol use disorders. These findings can aid in the development of more comprehensive models that more precisely predict IPV. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of personality disorder symptoms and the risk for partner violence.

In a community sample (N = 543) followed over 20 years, the authors studied associations among childhood family violence exposure, personality disorder (PD) symptoms, and adult partner violence. PD symptoms (DSM-III-R Clusters A, B, and C) in early adulthood partially mediated the effect of earlier childhood risks on the odds of perpetrating partner violence. The authors tested whether stability of PD symptoms from adolescence to the early 20s differs for individuals who later perpetrated partner violence. Cluster A ("Odd/Eccentric") symptoms declined less with age among partner violent versus nonviolent men and women. Cluster B ("Dramatic/Erratic") symptoms were more stable through late adolescence in partner violent men, compared with nonviolent men and violent women. Cluster C ("Anxious") symptoms were most stable among partner violent men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treating intimate partner violence among substance-abusing dyads: The effect of couples therapy.

This study examined whether participation in couples therapy, compared with individual therapy, had a differential effect on the day-to-day relationship between substance use and occurrences of intimate partner violence (IPV) among married or cohabiting substance-abusing men. Patients (N = 207) were randomly assigned to either partner-involved behavioral couples therapy (BCT; included non-substance-abusing female partners in conjoint sessions) or individual-based treatment (IBT; male partners only). Couples in BCT reported lower levels of IPV and substance use at a 12-month posttreatment follow-up compared with couples with male partners in IBT. Moreover, treatment assignment was a significant moderator of the day-to-day relationship between substance use and IPV. Likelihood of nonsevere and severe male-to-female partner violence on days of male partners’ substance use was lower among couples who received BCT compared with IBT. These findings indicate couples therapy may play an important role in the treatment of IPV among substance-abusing couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mediating role of empowerment for African American women experiencing intimate partner violence.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant societal problem associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, which in turn can cause impairment in a variety of areas. Previous research suggests that African American women experience more frequent and severe IPV than White women, yet report fewer PTSD symptoms related to their abuse. One proposed explanation for this relationship is that African American women are more resilient due to internal coping methods such as empowerment; however, this relationship has yet to be empirically tested. The current study investigates the role of empowerment in mediating IPV-related psychological distress in a sample of African American and White battered women (N = 204). As hypothesized, personal empowerment mediated the relationships between race and PTSD and race and depression, suggesting that empowered African American women may demonstrate greater resiliency when faced with IPV. Results are discussed in terms of their implication for developing culturally sensitive empowerment-based interventions for battered women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)