NCJ Number
212885
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 20 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2005 Pages: 291-303
Date Published
October 2005
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study tested a theoretical model relating impulsivity to husband violence.
Abstract
Results of the study indicated that husband’s self-reported impulsivity was related to their anger/hostility, substance use, and marital dissatisfaction. Husband substance abuse and marital dissatisfaction mediated the relationship between impulsivity and psychological abuse. Psychological abuse, in turn, was found to mediate the relationship between substance abuse, marital dissatisfaction, and husband violence. Another important finding indicated that the influence of anger/hostility on husband-to-wife psychological abuse was accounted for by substance abuse and marital dissatisfaction. Participants were 86 men recruited from a metropolitan area through newspaper advertisements and flyers who completed a phone screening interview and a series of questionnaires measuring a variety of impulsivity variables as well as husband anger and hostility, substance abuse, and marital dissatisfaction. The analysis focused on assessing how theoretically relevant variables such as substance abuse and marital dissatisfaction mediate the relationship between impulsivity and husband violence. Implications for prevention and treatment are discussed and include the possibility of treating general impulsivity as part of a larger batterer treatment strategy. Figures, tables, references