NCJ Number
154277
Date Published
1995
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video presents a lecture by Terrie Moffitt on the early findings of her research on aspects of partner violence among young adults in a birth cohort drawn from a New Zealand city.
Abstract
The birth cohort was drawn in 1972 as part of a delinquency study. The sample consisted of 1,037 subjects, and 97 percent of the sample has been maintained through the 21st year. The latest interview of cohort members, which was conducted in the sample's 21st year, included the administration of the Conflict Tactics Scale and interview questions regarding partner violence, which encompassed a wide range of abusive behaviors, including psychological abuse. Cohort subjects were asked to bring their partners to the interview, so they could be included in the data obtained. Moffitt provides extensive data and information on the socioeconomic and crime conditions in New Zealand in general, noting evidence of extensive unemployment, suicide, and increasing crime. The distinctive aspect of this study is its focus on young-adult, cohabiting couples rather than married couples, as well as its selection of a sample from the general population rather than from shelters for abused women. The study found that 18.3 percent of the women interviewed reported having committed severe physical abuse against their partners, but only 5.7 percent of the men reported having committed such severe violence. A similar percentage of men and women reported moderate physical abuse, such as shoving, pushing, and slapping (27 percent women and 21 percent men). Moffitt hypothesizes that women are equally or more abusive than men because they have fewer reasons for restraint than the men; i.e., they do not believe they could inflict any serious harm on their male partners, and they do not anticipate that they will be arrested for their behavior. Men, on the other hand, perceive that they could seriously hurt their weaker and more fragile partners and would probably be arrested; they thus have more restraints. Factors in male abuse are unemployment, no social support, drug use, antisocial personality disorder, and a pattern of violent behavior outside the home. Questions from the audience follow the lecture.