NCJ Number
188003
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 6 Issue: 2-3 Dated: March-June 2001 Pages: 281-352
Date Published
2001
Length
72 pages
Annotation
This literature review focused on research that examined risk and protective factors for male-to-female partner physical abuse; effect sizes for the various identified variables are presented.
Abstract
The various categories of risk variable reviewed are perpetrator demographic variables, perpetrator personal history variables, perpetrator psychological variables, relationship variables, and victimization risk factors. The review distinguishes among the various operationalizations of physical aggression (e.g., men in court-mandated abuse programs and men identified through a single item on the Conflict Tactics Scale). Overall, however, several risk factors showed moderate to strong effect sizes. Perpetrator factors include socioeconomic status, education, history of child sexual victimization, exposure to parental physical and/or verbal aggression, violent adult models in childhood, non-family aggression by parent, elevated levels of state and trait anger, and hostility; various personality disorders; various Axis I psychopathology, particularly depression; alcohol and drug abuse; deficits in spouse-specific assertiveness; and attitudes that condone abuse. Risk factors for women being victimized included less education, unemployment, and history of child emotional/verbal victimization. 2 tables and 180 references