Demographic, psychosocial, and personality characteristics of lesbian batterers

Prevalence of domestic violence (DV) in lesbian and heterosexual relationships appears to be similar. Despite this, few studies have examined factors associated with DV in lesbian relationships, and even fewer have examined characteristics of lesbian batterers. Demographic and psychosocial characteristics and personality traits were examined in 100 lesbians in current relationships (33 Batterers and 67 Nonbatterers). Results indicated that Batterers were more likely to report childhood physical and sexual abuse and higher rates of alcohol problems. Results from the MCMI-III indicated that, after controlling for Debasement and Desirability indices, Batterers were more likely to report aggressive, antisocial, borderline, and paranoid personality traits, and higher alcohol-dependent, drug-dependent, and delusional clinical symptoms compared to Nonbatterers. These results provide support for social learning and psychopathology theoretical models of DV and clinical observations of lesbian batterers, and expand our current DV paradigms to include information about same-sex DV.     

Impaired sensory-emotional integration in a violent adolescent sex offender

Social risk factors, executive neuropsychological functioning, and emotional numbing were examined as potential risk factors for violent sexual assaults by an adolescent male. The subject had been exposed to at least four previously identified social risk factors, including neglect, early separation from both parents, sexual abuse, and low socioeconomic status. At the time of assessment, executive neuropsychological functioning was intact. At the time of assessment, executive neuropsychological functioning was intact. While impaired emotional responsiveness was an important factor in the assaults, the construct of emotional numbing is too broad to identify the specific neuropsychological impairment involved in the subject's assault behavior. The authors suggest that failures in sensory-emotional integration contributed to the likelihood of violent behavior. Implications for further research and clinical practice are discussed.     

The Batterer's View of the Self and Others in Domestic Violence

Researchers estimate that 3-4 million women are abused by intimate partners each year, and the United States Surgeon General reports physical abuse as the leading cause of injury to women in the U.S. Although numerous studies have examined survivors'perceptions of domestic violence, few have examined battery from the perpetrator's perspective. We use a symbolic interactionist perspective to examine in-depth interviews with thirty-three male batterers and a demographically matched comparison group of twenty-five nonviolent male subjects. Our findings indicate that batterers minimize others'negative views of themselves, and they dissociate themselves from their partners'physical and emotional injuries. The comparison subjects, on the other hand, consider others'negative views of themselves, and they describe a deeper understanding of their intimate others'problems. We argue that an understanding of the batterer's perception of himself and others in domestic violence will help counselors develop techniques to stop male violence against women.     

A Typology of Maritally Violent Men and Correlates of Violence in a Community Sample

This study empirically tests A. Holtzworth‐Munroe and G. L. Stuart's (1994) typology of male batterers in a community sample. Latent class analyses based on severity of physical aggression, generality of violence, and psychopathology partially replicated the Holtzworth‐Munroe and Stuart typology by identifying 3 types of violent men: family‐only, medium‐violence, and generally violent/psychologically distressed. Separate groupings of borderline/dysphoric and generally violent/antisocial types were not found. In comparisons of batterer types to each other and to nonviolent men, generally violent/psychologically distressed men differed from other groups on psychological abuse, life stress, marital satisfaction, and attitudes about violence. Types also differed on wives' fearfulness of their husband and injury from marital aggression. Implications of conceptualizing marital violence from a multidimensional typology perspective are discussed.     

Exerting power or striking back: a gendered comparison of motivations for domestic violence perpetration

This study compares the motivations for using violence and the context in which violence occurs among male and female domestic violence perpetrators. One hundred twenty-five participants in batterer intervention counseling in Los Angeles County, California, were surveyed. The sample was approximately half male and half female. Males and females were found to differ in their motivations for using violence in relationships. Females reported using violence in response to prior abuse, citing revenge and retaliation as a primary motivation. Because treatment approaches are commonly derived from the power and control model, which indicates that violence is used to gain power and control, batterer intervention counseling may not be appropriate for women, who appear more motivated by the desire to maintain personal liberties in a relationship where they have been victimized. Treatment must walk the fine line between addressing victimization issues and holding women accountable for decisions to use violence.     

What criteria do child protective services investigators use to substantiate exposure to domestic violence?

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether child protective services investigators apply a recognizable set of criteria to substantiate batterers and victims of battering for exposing their children to domestic violence. Although domestic violence occurred in 35% of the 1,248 substantiated incidents of child maltreatment, only 31 (7.1%) couples were investigated for exposing a child to domestic violence or failing to protect a child from domestic violence. All of the batterers investigated and in the caregiver role when their children were exposed to domestic violence were substantiated. The unsubstantiated victims of battering tended to use more protective behaviors (M=3.82) than the substantiated victims (M=2.00); yet, at the case level, using more than one protective behavior did not seem to be a criterion used to substantiate the victims. Instead, it appears that investigators were discriminating between those protective behaviors by the victims that ended contact between the batterers and the children--for a substantial amount of time--and those that did not in both the substantiation and removal decision. Key issues related to applying criteria in incidents involving domestic violence are discussed along with recommendations to further refine and document them.     

Domestic violence among male and female patients seeking emergency medical services

Gender differences among a cohort of injured patients seeking emergency medical services were examined with respect to their experiences as perpetrators and/or victims of domestic violence. Contextual issues, including violence initiation, emotional and behavioral responses to partner-initiated violence, and injury frequency and severity were analyzed. Women reported male partner-initiated violence more frequently than men reported female partner-initiated violence. Behavioral responses to partner initiated violence varied. Women were more likely to report using force back and to involve law enforcement. Women were more likely to be injured in a domestic assault over their lifetime, within the last year, and at the time of recruitment. Comparison of injury severity revealed that women reported higher rates of injuries than men in all possible severity categories. Women also reported experiencing more fear than men during partner-initiated violence, as well as being subjected to larger numbers of dominating and controlling behaviors, and greater intimidation secondary to their partner's size. Understanding contextual differences in partner violence for women and men has significant implications for policy development, identification, treatment, and referral of patients identified as living in violent relationships.     

The relationship of intimate partner aggression to head injury, executive functioning, and intelligence

Measures of head injury, executive functioning, and intelligence were given to a community sample composed of 102 male perpetrators of intimate partner aggression (IPA) and 62 nonaggressive men. A history of head injury and lower mean score on a measure of verbal intelligence were associated with the frequency of male-perpetrated physical IPA as reported by male perpetrators and their female partners. Lower mean scores on a measure of verbal intelligence also predicted frequency of psychological IPA perpetration. Using the perpetrator subtypes outlined by Holtzworth-Munroe et al. (2000), analyses revealed that compared with other groups, the most severely aggressive subtypes (i.e., borderline-dysphoric and generally violent-antisocial) were the most likely to report a history of head injury and to have significantly lower mean scores on a neuropsychological test of verbal intelligence. The possible role of neuropsychological factors in IPA perpetration and implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.     

Emotional functioning, attachment style, and attributions as predictors of child abuse potential in domestic violence victims

To explore cognitive and emotional factors that may exacerbate child-abuse potential among domestic violence victims, 80 participants reported on their depression, hopelessness, anxiety, and anger as well as their attachment style and attributional style. Increased emotional difficulties as well as insecure attachment styles were significantly positively correlated with child abuse potential, although depression and anxiety were the strongest predictors. Externalizing blame for the spousal abuse was not associated with abuse risk. Women residing in shelters demonstrated significantly greater abuse risk than those in transitional housing programs, suggesting that greater temporal proximity to the spousal abuse may in part account for the increased abuse potential. Depression and hopelessness, however, appeared particularly relevant to increased abuse risk in domestic violence victims in the transitional housing system. Implications of these findings for working with battered women in terms of their emotional functioning and attachment style are discussed.     

Stages of change in batterers and their response to treatment

One important dimension of individual differences among batterers is their readiness to change. According to the transtheoretical model (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1984), all individuals go through precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance before a change in behavior is accomplished. The applicability of this model to intimate partner violence was assessed by administering the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) scales (with reference to their domestic violent behavior) to 210 court-ordered male batterers. Their responses were clustered, and two clusters were derived and then compared on other measures. As hypothesized, cluster 2 individuals (characterized by a profile of URICA scale scores suggesting an earlier stage of change) self-reported less initial distress (depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse), less violence, and fewer problems with anger than cluster 1 individuals (characterized by URICA scale sores suggesting a later stage of change), although partners reported no difference in violence perpetrated by the two clusters. Cluster 1 individuals evidenced greater improvement in self-reported depression, anxiety, and anger control. Strategies to engage the more resistant cluster 2 individuals as well as suggestions for future research are considered.     

Understanding and informing policy implementation: a case study of the domestic violence provisions of the Maryland Gun Violence Act

The Maryland Gun Violence Act, enacted into law in 1996, explicitly authorized courts to order batterers to surrender their firearms through civil protective orders. It also vested law enforcement with the explicit authority to remove guns when responding to a domestic violence complaint. In order to assess how these laws were implemented, we designed a case study and collected data from in-depth, key informant interviews, court observations, and relevant documents. We present findings from this study and recommend how to increase the likelihood that policies designed to separate batterers and guns are implemented in a way that will result in greater protections for victims of domestic violence.     

The relationship between mothers' social networks and severe domestic violence: a test of the social isolation hypothesis

To understand the relationship between characteristics of mothers' social networks and domestic violence, battered mothers who were severely assaulted were compared to battered mothers who were not severely assaulted and mothers who were not assaulted. The results showed that all three groups of mothers had several family members in their social networks with whom they had frequent contact during the past month. No differences were found between the groups on the number of family members who gave emotional support. However, the mothers who were severely assaulted had fewer friends, fewer contacts with their friends, fewer long-term friendships, and fewer friends who really listened to them than did the nonbattered mothers and the battered mothers who were not severely assaulted. Batterers may be more successful in disrupting friendship ties than family ties.     

Separating batterers and guns: a review and analysis of gun removal laws in 50 States

Firearms play an important role in lethal domestic violence incidents. The authors review state laws regarding two policies to separate batterers from firearms: laws authorizing police to remove firearms when responding to a domestic violence complaint ("police gun removal laws") and laws authorizing courts to order guns removed from batterers through a protective order ("court-ordered removal laws"). As of April 2004, 18 states had police gun removal laws; 16 states had court-ordered removal laws. The authors examine relevant characteristics of the laws and recommend that these laws be mandatory, apply to all guns and ammunition possessed by an abuser, and include clear procedures to enhance implementation.     

Neuropsychological Profiles of Victims of Financial Elder Exploitation at the Los Angeles County Elder Abuse Forensic Center

The current article examines neuropsychological correlates of financial elder exploitation in a sample of older adults who have been documented victims of financial elder exploitation. The purpose of this exploratory study was twofold. First, a subsample of the referrals at the Los Angeles County Elder Abuse Forensic Center (LACEAFC) was compared to community dwelling adults in terms of the specific cognitive domains linked to financial capacity including memory, calculation, and executive functioning. Next, the correlation between presence of neuropsychological data and the likelihood of filing a case with the LA County’s District Attorney office was examined. Twenty-seven LACEAFC cases and 32 controls were assessed. Overall, the forensic center group performed worse than a community-based age-matched control group on the MMSE, calculation, and executive functioning (ps < .01). The presence of neuropsychological data was significantly correlated to an increased likelihood of a case being filed.     

A Qualitative Look at the Perceived Strengths of Male Batterers: Implications for Intervention Programs

Currently, batterer intervention programs tend to focus on education and confrontation, with outcomes being less than promising. Limitations of current interventions have encouraged development of alternative treatment forms aimed at ending relationship violence. An emerging trend in the fields of social work and positive psychology is to build on strengths and competencies of offenders. The purpose of this qualitative study was to introduce an alternative position within the treatment field by identifying self-disclosed strengths of men who had been charged with a domestic violence offense and who were being evaluated for a voluntary batterer diversion program. A content analysis revealed competencies useful for helping men be accountable and end violence against their partners through redirecting negative behavior and identifying resources and strengths.     

Self-determined goals in a solution-focused batterer intervention program: Application for building client strengths and solutions

ABSTRACT

The present study explores the content and characteristics of self-determined goals developed by violent offenders as part of a court-mandated treatment program. Data were collected from 89 domestic violence offenders enrolled in a solution-focused batterer intervention program. The data were analyzed using content analysis, and the emergent themes included (1) emotional regulation, (2) personal growth, (3) improve family relationships, and (4) improve communication. The findings from this study offer preliminary insight into the type of goals, the usefulness and importance of developing goals, and how goals might be helpful in reinforcing the change process while in treatment.     

BATTERING AND COUPLES THERAPY: UNIVERSAL SCREENING AND SELECTION OF TREATMENT MODALITY

As family therapists begin to experiment with couples treatment models for batterers and their partners, a basic question is: Which couples can be safely treated with conjoint therapy? Following a definition of battering and a review of rationales for considering couples therapy in cases of domestic violence, a framework for assessment of domestic violence is outlined, including sample questions, criteria for excluding couples from conjoint therapy, how to conduct a lethality assessment, and how to conceptualize postassessment treatment recommendations. This article also introduces family and couples therapists to domestic violence literature that is often not well integrated in family therapy theory and practice.     

Developing a manualized couples treatment for domestic violence: overcoming challenges

This paper describes challenges faced in a four-year project to develop a manualized couples treatment program for domestic violence. The couples treatment program is an add-on to a male batterer program where the male partner has perpetrated mild-to-moderate violence, yet both partners want to remain together. The project involved the cooperation of a variety of community agencies and referrals from key domestic violence programs. While some anticipated challenges did not materialize over the course of the project, unanticipated challenges did. Qualitative data collected from therapists and clients throughout the project was used to refine the treatment approach.     

Relationships between Early Life Victimization,Antisocial Traits,and Sexual Violence: Executive Functioning as a Mediator

ABSTRACT

Few research studies examine how the relationship between trauma and executive functioning can influence sexual violence among youth. Knight and Sims-Knight (2004) proposed a Developmental Etiological Theory (DET) connecting early life physical and sexual victimization to sexual violence via antisocial traits. Drawing from research that identifies a link between early life victimization and executive functioning, this study tests an adaptation to the DET by including executive functioning as an intervening factor. Using data on adolescents adjudicated of sexual and non-sexual crimes in a western state (N = 200), multiple structural equation models tested direct and indirect relationships between early life sexual, physical victimization, and other adversity, four differential forms of executive functioning, callousness, and sexual violence. Results revealed statistically significant direct pathways between variables of interest and a multi-meditational effect of certain forms of executive functioning and callousness in the relationship between victimization and sexual violence. Treatment and research implications are discussed.     

Ruling the Exceptions:

This paper examines the challenges presented to current gender-based domestic violence theory by the existence of same-sex domestic violence. Charging the dominant theory is heterosexist and ignores the experience of battered lesbians and gay men, Island and Letellier (1991) have argued that domestic violence is not a gender issue and advocate a psychological framework that emphasizes batterer treatment. Examining the theoretical conflicts, this paper attempts to domenstrate that sociopolitcal and psychological theories can be successfully integrated into a social-psychological model. Such a model, developed by Zemsky (1990) and Gilbert, Poorman, and Simmons (1990), is explored and critiqued as an excellent beginning. By integrating psychological principles and sociological concepts, this theory explores the many dimensions of power and explains the phenomenon of domestic violence as it occurs in all relationship configurations. Suggestions for further theoretical considerations and research are made.