Men's and Women's Use of Intimate Partner Violence in Clinical Samples: Toward a Gender-Sensitive Analysis

• NCJ Number: 210876
• Journal: Violence and Victims Volume: 20 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2005 Pages: 131-151
• Author(s): L. Kevin Hamberger Ph.D.
• Date Published: April 2005
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article reviews research on the use of partner violence by both men and women using a model for examining gender differences that incorporates key elements of partner violence.

Abstract

Considerable controversy has raged within academic and practitioner circles about whether women are as violent as men in terms of partner violence. Early research suggested that women reported initiating partner violence as often as men while critics of this research pointed out that it did not take into account the severity, motivation, or consequences of the violence. When these factors are taken into account, critics argue, women are more likely than men to suffer more severe violence that has greater deleterious consequences for women’s long-term health. The author of the current article points out that much of this research has been a-theoretical and of little use to those working with clinical populations. Recent research with these clinical populations has begun to account for the similarities and differences in both the commission and experience of partner violence. The author reviews both past and present research on partner violence using a model that sheds light on gender differences in the commission and experience of this type of violence through the incorporation of key elements of partner violence, such as violence initiation, physical and mental health impacts, behavioral and emotional responses, motivations for violence, and fearfulness of partner violence. When analyzed through this model, the research shows that women are disproportionately victimized by partner violence in comparison to men. Clinical and policy implications are discussed, including how the findings impact victim services, perpetrator services, law enforcement and prosecution, and medical screening. Future research should continue to focus on the partner violence perpetrated and experienced by both men and women in order to enable comparisons. References