Persist. persist.: A qualitative study of women's decisions to disclose and their perceptions of the impact of routine screening for intimate partner violence.

Objective: To understand the conditions under which a group of women recruited from antenatal, mental health, and substance abuse services disclose abuse in response to routine screening for intimate partner violence and their constructions of the impact of routine screening. Method: In-depth interviews with 20 women followed up 6 months after disclosing abuse in response to screening. Results: Women were in diverse situations relating to trajectories of abuse that included continued abuse despite interventions and abuse cessation within relationship. Women disclosed their abuse after making active judgments about safety on three dimensions: from the abuser, from shame and from relinquishing control. Most women described valued impacts from screening, though this was less common for those who had previous contact with statutory agencies. The process of asking shaped constructions of abuse, giving name to it. Health workers' responses to disclosures often helped to create a sense of connection. Conclusions: These effects align with Herman's work identifying naming and reconnection as important steps in recovery from trauma. The diversity of women's situations may explain difficulties in achieving significant findings by RCTs on screening impacts. Screening can bring about important changes for some women and is not simply a strategy for identification and referral. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A call for a social network-oriented approach to services for survivors of intimate partner violence.

Despite the many hard-won victories of the antidomestic violence movement, it has had less success in reaching one of its own primary goals: that of making intimate partner violence a problem of the community rather than a problem between two individuals. Most mainstream domestic violence service models have not prioritized ongoing engagement of survivors' informal social support networks as a core part of their work. Yet the perpetration of domestic violence occurs within a community context that contributes to the maintenance or alleviation of the problem. Given extensive research on the centrality of social networks to the fabric of survivors' daily lives, as well as their ongoing safety and emotional well-being, it is critical to consider how domestic violence services and systems can align with these social networks more effectively. Following a review of research on the role of informal social support in survivors' lives, this article calls for a shift in mainstream domestic violence services toward a more network-oriented approach, one that highlights potential partnerships between professionals and survivors' informal social support networks. Such a shift would require a reconceptualization of the role of the domestic violence practitioner and the scope and nature of services. It would also raise a series of emergent research questions about how informal network members can best support survivors, how domestic violence services can help survivors engage with existing and new supporters, and the extent to which specific types of network-oriented practices can indeed improve survivors' safety and well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of adjustment among siblings exposed to intimate partner violence.

This research explored and compared patterns of adjustment in siblings exposed to intimate partner violence. The quality of family relationships were investigated as potential mechanisms that accounted for heterogeneity in these patterns. Participants included 47 sibling pairs and their mothers recruited from the community. Mothers and children reported on child adjustment measures and the quality of family relationships. Five cluster patterns were identified for both younger and older siblings, replicating three identified in previous research: primarily internalizing symptoms, a combination of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and an asymptomatic cluster. There was little overlap in cluster membership within families; most siblings differed in terms of their pattern of adjustment. The quality of family relationships varied significantly across clusters. Overall, asymptomatic siblings reported the most positive family relationships. Maternal warmth differed across clusters for both older and younger siblings, while maternal hostility varied across clusters for older but not younger siblings. The quality of sibling relationships also differed across clusters for older but not younger siblings. These findings underscore the importance of examining differential sibling experiences within violent families, and demonstrate the significance of family relationships as a mediating mechanism influencing heterogeneous child adjustment. (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)     

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)     

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)     

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)     

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)     

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)     

HOPE for battered women with PTSD in domestic violence shelters.

Do you feel overwhelmed when attempting to treat battered women with ongoing safety concerns? Could battered women in shelters benefit from psychotherapy in addition to the case management they traditionally receive? What type of treatment would be most beneficial for battered women in shelters? Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most prevalent disorder associated with intimate partner violence (IPV). PTSD is associated with severe impairment and loss of resources, which can severely impact a sheltered battered woman’s ability to establish long-term safety for herself and her children. Consequently, we have developed a new treatment for sheltered battered women with PTSD, Helping to Overcome PTSD through Empowerment (HOPE). HOPE is a short-term cognitive-behavioral treatment in a preliminary stage of development for battered women with PTSD in domestic violence shelters. It focuses on stabilization, safety, and empowerment and teaches women skills to manage their PTSD symptoms that may interfere with their ability to access important community resources and establish safety for themselves and their children. A case example utilizing HOPE is offered. Future directions and clinical applications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detecting intimate partner violence in family and divorce mediation: A randomized trial of intimate partner violence screening.

Handling mediation cases with a history of intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most controversial issues in the field of divorce mediation. Before deciding whether and how to mediate cases with IPV, mediators must first detect violence. Using random assignment of cases to an enhanced screening condition (n = 30) and to a standard screening control condition (n = 31), we compared information gathered from a brief, behaviorally specific IPV screening questionnaire to mediators' independent determination of the presence or absence of violence using standard mediation clinic screening procedures. Mediators did not label as violent about half of the cases reporting IPV on the screening questionnaire. Mediators were more likely to report IPV when fathers were reported (by mothers) to have engaged in a greater number of differing violent behaviors, but a score reflecting severity and frequency of party reported violence did not predict mediator detection of violence. In cases with two mediators, mediators did not always agree on whether or not the case involved IPV. Possible reasons for the differences in mediator and party reports of IPV are considered, and we emphasize the potential importance of using systematic methods to screen for violence in divorce mediation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intimate partner violence and children's reaction to peer provocation: The moderating role of emotion coaching.

The current study examined the relation between intimate partner violence (IPV) and children's reactions to a stressful peer interaction in a community-based sample. The moderating role of parental emotion coaching in buffering children from negative reactions to a peer was also examined. Children participated in a peer provocation paradigm and mothers completed the Parent Meta-Emotion Interview. Both adaptive (i.e., laughing, ignoring) and maladaptive (i.e., hostile/challenging, odd behaviors) reactions to the provocative peer were examined. IPV was positively related to children's laughing and odd behaviors but was unrelated to ignoring and hostile/challenging behaviors. Additionally, emotion coaching was found to moderate relations between IPV and children's laughing and odd behaviors. The importance of understanding protective factors in families experiencing IPV and of developing emotion coaching parenting programs is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using random telephone sampling to recruit generalizable samples for family violence studies.

Convenience sampling methods predominate in recruiting for laboratory-based studies within clinical and family psychology. The authors used random digit dialing (RDD) to determine whether they could feasibly recruit generalizable samples for 2 studies (a parenting study and an intimate partner violence study). RDD screen response rate was 42-45%; demographics matched those in the 2000 U.S. Census, with small- to medium-sized differences on race, age, and income variables. RDD respondents who qualified for, but did not participate in, the laboratory study of parents showed small differences on income, couple conflicts, and corporal punishment. Time and cost are detailed, suggesting that RDD may be a feasible, effective method by which to recruit more generalizable samples for in-laboratory studies of family violence when those studies have sufficient resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Talking about interpersonal violence: Cultural influences on Latinas' identification and disclosure of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

Low rates of disclosure among Latina survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence may be related to cultural influences that stigmatize disclosure and make identifying instances of sexual assault and intimate partner violence difficult. In an effort to add to existing literature, the current study conducted a series of 10 focus groups with Spanish-speaking Latinas of varying educational, immigration, and generational statuses to identify the range of cultural influences that affect Latinas' ability to identify and disclose instances of sexual assault and intimate partner violence. Results suggested that gender role ideologies, traditional beliefs about marriage, familism, taboos against talking about sex, respect for authority, lack of community resources, and fear of violence operate in different ways to obscure and justify acts of sexual assault and intimate partner violence and to maintain silence when such acts do occur. Yet, most participants also felt that other people, particularly Latinos living abroad and the older generation of Latinas living in the United States, held far more conservative and traditional beliefs than the participants themselves did, suggesting that important differences exist in both the acceptance of cultural beliefs and the mechanisms through which these beliefs affect Latinas' ability to identify and disclose instances of sexual assault and intimate partner violence. Implications of these findings are discussed. (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 moderators of the relationship between excessive drinking and intimate partner violence in the early years of marriage.

Alcohol problems are one of the most well-established risk factors for physical intimate partner violence. Nonetheless, most individuals who drink heavily do so without ever aggressing against a partner. Laboratory research identifies hostility as an important moderator of the association between alcohol and general aggression, and correlational research suggests that stress and coping may also be important moderators of the alcohol-aggression link. Building on this research, the authors examined hostility, coping, and daily hassles as moderators of the associations between excessive drinking and intimate partner violence across the first 4 years of marriage in a sample of 634 newly married couples. Excessive drinking was a significant cross-sectional correlate, but it did not emerge as a unique longitudinal predictor of intimate partner violence perpetration in this sample. However, alcohol was longitudinally predictive of husband violence among hostile men with high levels of avoidance coping. Findings generally supported the moderation model, particularly for men. These findings implicate hostility, coping, and daily hassles, as well as alcohol, as potentially important targets for partner violence prevention strategies for young married couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal factor structure of posttraumatic stress symptoms related to intimate partner violence.

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) studies have suggested that a model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is characterized by 4 factors is preferable to competing models. However, the composition of these 4 factors has varied across studies, with 1 model splitting avoidance and numbing symptoms (e.g., D. W. King, G. A. Leskin, L. A. King, & F. W. Weathers, 1998) and the other including a dysphoria factor that combines numbing and nonspecific hyperarousal symptoms (L. J. Simms, D. Watson, & B. N. Doebbeling, 2002). Using the PTSD Checklist (F. W. Weathers, B. T. Litz, D. S. Herman, J. A. Huska, & T. M. Keane, 1993) and CFA, the authors compared these models with competing models. A model of PTSD with 4 intercorrelated factors of Intrusions, Avoidance, Dysphoria, and Hyperarousal was found superior among 396 medical patients who screened positive for intimate partner violence (IPV) and 405 women seeking services for IPV. Structural invariance testing indicated that this 4-factor model remains stable across service setting and time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of domestically violent men's aggression toward children: A prospective study.

This research examines predictors of domestically violent men's aggression toward children after the children and their mothers sought help at an emergency shelter for domestic violence victims. Participants were 62 women who had sought refuge at a domestic violence shelter and who had at least one child between 4 and 9 years old. During their shelter stay, women provided data on partner–child aggression that occurred before shelter entry. After leaving the shelter, they also provided data on postshelter partner–mother intimate partner violence (IPV), children's postshelter contacts with their mothers' partners, and postshelter partner–child aggression on 5 occasions after their shelter departure (4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 months postshelter). Consistent with our hypotheses, the level of partner–child aggression before the family entered the shelter, the level of partner–mother IPV after shelter departure, and the frequency of children's contacts with the partners after shelter departure each predicted postshelter partner–child aggression. Clinical and policy implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)