NCJ Number
210564
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2005 Pages: 131-139
Date Published
June 2005
Length
9 pages
Annotation
A comparative study was conducted among male and female domestic violence offenders to assess attributions of blame for their recent offense, minimization, denial, and socially desirable responding.
Abstract
Recent research indicates that the number of women arrested for intimate partner assault is growing. However, few studies have examined females charged and convicted of domestic assault causing little to be known about their treatment needs. In this descriptive study, a large sample of male and female domestic violence offenders were compared on the following constructs: minimization, denial, and attribution of blame. The sample consisted of 1,267 males and 159 females convicted of a domestic assault against an opposite sex intimate partner in Shelby County, TN. The results indicate the offenders studied used multiple methods to deny, minimize, and justify the offenses for which they were arrested. The women, like the men, appeared to have engaged in significant minimization, denial, and external attributions related to the offense they were arrested and convicted of. Some of the gender differences noted in the study include: (1) as compared to men, women attributed more blame to the characteristics of their partner/spouse and (2) more male offenders acknowledged that their own infidelity had contributed to the assault on their partner/spouse. Tables, references