NCJ Number
225088
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 23 Issue: 7 Dated: October 2008 Pages: 539-548
Date Published
October 2008
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the association between non-violent controlling behaviors, physical aggression, and violence towards a spouse.
Abstract
The hypothesis of this study predicted that only men and women involved in intimate terrorism would use controlling aggression, and that physical aggression used by those involved in situational couple violence would be unrelated to controlling behavior. Contrary to predictions, results indicate that at an individual level, the use of controlling behaviors predicted physical aggression and violence both for the individuals characterized as “intimate terrorists (IT),” and among those who were characterized as “common couple violence (CCV)” and “violent resistance (VR)” perpetrators. The findings suggest a need to differentiate between intimate terrorism and common couple violence when deciding on appropriate interventions for domestic violence offenders. Both IT and CCV perpetrators may require interventions that target anger control and conflict resolution skills. The VR women appear to use control in a situation specific manner, with the use of any type of controlling behavior being unrelated to the use of others. Anger is known to be associated with the perpetration of partner aggression, particularly where perpetrators are suffering from borderline personality disorder which typically describes at least half of severe batterers found in treatment programs. Further, anger has been found to mediate the link between insecure attachment and partner violence and between witnessing family violence and perpetrating dating violence. IT additionally may benefit from an adapted version of traditional gender-based interventions, which focuses on the perpetrators sense of entitlement to control their partners. Data were collected using questionnaires administered to 3 populations: women in a shelter (n=43), male and female students (n=113), and male prisoners (n=108). Tables, references