Journal of Interpersonal Violence最新文献

Despite the prevalence and severity of sexual violence, case attrition has been identified as a significant issue. Of the cases that are reported to police, only a small portion result in arrest, prosecution, or conviction. Research has revealed that much of this attrition occurs early in the process and that a number of theoretically supported legal (e.g., physical evidence, victim participation) and extralegal (e.g., demographics, victim credibility) factors influence how and whether a case progresses through the criminal justice system. However, few researchers have directly examined the impact of officer doubt on case processing. Whereas legal and extralegal factors represent case characteristics, doubt represents officer cognition about these characteristics. These perceptions can affect how victims are treated, how police investigate the case, and ultimately, the case's progression through the system. A random sample of sexual assault reports from one police department in a medium-sized jurisdiction in the western U.S. was drawn to examine the expression of officer doubt, as well as its impact on victim participation, arrest, and referral for prosecution while controlling for relevant legal and extralegal factors. The findings suggest that officer doubt is an important consideration in sexual assault case processing, independent of other legal and extralegal factors, and that it significantly impacts the likelihood of arrest and referral for prosecution. Consistent with previous research, police decision-making was also impacted by certain legal factors. Victim participation was not directly affected by officer doubt but it was predicted by extralegal factors. Implications for future sexual assault research and practitioner training are discussed.

Women constitute an overwhelming majority of those who experience domestic violence; furthermore, the vast majority of perpetrators of domestic violence go unsentenced. The objectification of women innately implies the denial of humanness, and dehumanization is known to play a role in willingness to engage in and acceptance of interpersonal harm. Yet, important questions remain. The current study examines the type of humanness objectified women are being denied, and how that denial implicates perceptions surrounding domestic assault. We predict that associating women with objects, and not animals, may be uniquely implicated in the lack of consequences for perpetrators-for objects cannot feel pain. In the current study (N = 319), we manipulated the presentation of a woman as sexualized or not and purported that she had been involved in a domestic violence incident. We found that when the target woman was sexualized (and thus objectified), participants associated her with an inert, non-human object (i.e., mechanistically dehumanized her) more than when she was not sexually objectified, but we found no effect of sexualization on animalistic dehumanization. Furthermore, mechanistic dehumanization mediated decreases in perceptions of the sexually objectified woman's suffering as a result of the domestic violence, which decreased the severity of the punishment participants recommended for the perpetrator, while also, increasing victim, and decreasing perpetrator, blame. We discuss critical considerations of the role of dehumanization in domestic violence directed toward women and the lack of consequences for perpetrators of these crimes.

The effect of abuse victimization in correctional samples has been researched previously, particularly with an eye toward these experiences on justice-involved youth and prison samples' offending and recidivism behavior. The role of this type of victimization, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, and polyvictimization, is less studied in jail populations. The effect of abuse victimization is also less researched among other outcomes, including behavioral health disorders (BHDs) and substance use disorder (SUD). While the effect of abuse, generally, has been examined, less is known about how abuse perpetrator type and timing of abuse impact justice-involved individuals' outcomes. Using logistic regressions, we examined the influence of abuse perpetrator type (non-stranger or stranger) and timing (before childhood, after childhood, or before and after childhood) in a population of jailed adults from one state (n = 4,713). Outcomes studied included internalizing BHDs, externalizing BHDs, and severe SUD. Results indicated that abuse perpetrated by a non-stranger yielded a greater impact on mental illness compared to abuse perpetrated by a stranger. In contrast to abuse experienced as an adult, childhood abuse was more consistently associated with internalizing and externalizing disorders but was not related to severe SUD, with an exception of physical abuse. Further, BHDs and SUD were strongly associated with each other. Overall, polyvictimization had the strongest effect on the outcomes compared to either physical abuse or sexual abuse alone. Our findings suggest that screening for abuse experiences as a potential destabilizing factor in justice-involved populations could improve case management and interventions for people incarcerated in jails. Results also highlight the importance of distinguishing between the perpetrator type of abuse and timing of abuse.

Same-sex intimate partner violence (SSIPV) is still under-investigated despite its spreading. Unique risk factors, such as internalized homonegativity, have been found to be related to physical SSIPV perpetration. However, the mechanisms that regulate this association are still unclear. Drawing from the psychological mediation framework (PMF), this paper aimed to explore the relationship between internalized homonegativity and physical SSIPV perpetration, assessing the mediating role of emotion dysregulation. In all, 139 gay and lesbian participants involved in same-sex relationships participated in the study by completing a self-administered online questionnaire. Mediation analyses were used to assess both the direct and indirect effects. Internalized homonegativity was not directly associated with physical SSIPV perpetration. However, internalized homonegativity was positively associated with emotion dysregulation, which, in turn, was positively associated with physical SSIPV perpetration. The indirect effect of internalized homonegativity on physical SSIPV perpetration through emotion dysregulation was also confirmed. The results that emerged extend the application of the PMF to SSIPV. The data found can inform both preventive interventions and treatments targeting SSIPV perpetrators to reduce the phenomenon and limit recidivism.

Social media and other technologies are being increasingly adopted as mechanisms to perpetrate abuse against dating partners. Using Ajzen's theory of planned behavior as a framework, a sample of 352 emerging adults completed a questionnaire that assessed the core constructs of the theory of planned behavior (i.e., attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control), as well as intentions to commit three types of digital dating abuse in the near future: digital monitoring and control, digital direct aggression, and digital sexual coercion. The models explained 44%, 34%, and 44% of the variance in intentions to commit digitally facilitated monitoring and control, direct aggression, and sexual coercion, respectively. Attitudes and subjective norms significantly predicted intentions, whereas perceived behavioral control did not. Given the increasing prevalence of digital dating abuse, prevention efforts should target attitudes toward digital dating abuse-related behaviors and perceptions of social acceptability and engagement.

Sexual violence (SV) is a critical public health problem that is associated with numerous negative health consequences, including immediate- and long-term physical and mental health conditions and health-risk behaviors. Some of these health-risk behaviors (e.g., substance use, unsafe driving practices, poor mental health, lower impulse control, and abnormal brain circuitry) might increase the risk for sustaining a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A TBI causes neurological or neuropsychological changes and may also lead to various symptoms that affect a person's cognition, mobility, behavior, and mental health. Determining if those who have experienced SV are at increased risk of sustaining a TBI in their lifetime is critical given the high prevalence and health impacts of SV, the potential vulnerability to TBI after SV, and the known detrimental effects of TBI. This exploratory study examined data from the 2017 Connecticut behavioral risk factor surveillance system and found that lifetime SV victimization (controlling for age and sex) was associated with increased odds of reporting a recent TBI in the past 12 months (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.03, 4.21]). Further research is needed to better understand how SV history is related to the risk of sustaining a TBI. Healthcare professionals can support patients who experience SV by providing resources to help reduce associated physical and mental health conditions and health-risk behaviors.

Childhood traumas have been considered risk factors for many psychiatric disorders. Recent studies demonstrated that childhood traumas can also be considered risk factors for neurological diseases. In this context, the objective of this study is to investigate the effects of childhood traumas on treatment resistance in patients with epilepsy. The study sample consisted of 85 epilepsy patients, 40 male and 45 female, who were diagnosed and followed up by a neurologist. Of these patients, 45 were being followed up with the diagnosis of refractory epilepsy, and 40 were being followed up with the diagnosis of treatment-responsive epilepsy. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography were performed on all patients. In addition, all patients were administered childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ) and Hamilton depression rating scale (HAM-D). Epilepsy patients included in the study were divided into refractory epilepsy and treatment-responsive epilepsy groups. There was no significant difference between the groups in sociodemographic characteristics. On the other hand, total CTQ and all CTQ subscale scores and HAM-D scores were significantly higher in the refractory epilepsy group than in the treatment-responsive epilepsy group. This study demonstrates that childhood traumas may contribute to treatment resistance in epilepsy patients. Therefore, it is recommended that a history of childhood traumas be routinely queried in the treatment of epilepsy patients.

Aggressive behavior is considered one of the indicators of maladjustment and increases during the transition to college. Previous studies have demonstrated that having identity fusion with particular social groups significantly predicts college adjustment among freshmen. However, the relationship between identity fusion and aggressive behavior in college freshmen has rarely been studied. Thus, guided by the frustration-aggression theory, this study aimed to explore the association between identity fusion with class and aggressive behavior among Chinese college freshmen and examine the potential mediating roles of depressive mood and sleep quality. A cross-sectional survey study was carried out among 1,037 Chinese college freshmen (M_age = 19.56, SD = 1.068, 29.12% males). Class identity fusion, depressive mood, sleep quality, and aggressive behavior were measured via four self-reported questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was used to test the mediation model. Analyses showed that identity fusion was negatively related to depressive mood and aggressive behavior and positively correlated with sleep quality. The results also revealed that the direct effect of identity fusion on aggressive behavior was significant, and identity fusion can indirectly affect aggressive behavior not only through the mediation effect of depressive mood but also through the chain mediation effect of depressive mood and sleep quality. Moreover, the mediating effect of depressive mood varied by gender. These findings suggest that strategies that help freshmen promote identity fusion and those that alleviate depressive mood and sleep problem may help reduce aggressive behavior.

Many frontline and essential workers faced increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and even suicide ideation during the pandemic response. These and other factors led to burnout, shifts into non-patient or client-facing roles, or leaving an occupation altogether. Domestic violence advocates experienced increases in many types of stressors as they continued to provide essential services to victims and survivors during the pandemic. However, in most cases they did so without protections offered to essential workers, like priority access to personal protective equipment (PPE) or vaccines. Executive directors of U.S. State and Territorial Domestic Violence Coalitions were identified using the National Network to End Domestic Violence website and contacted via email to schedule key informant interviews. Interviews were conducted, recorded, and transcribed using Zoom. Themes were identified using both inductive and deductive coding. Twenty-five of 56 (45%) coalition executive directors completed an interview. Three main themes related to workforce were identified, including an accelerated rate of job turnover among both leadership and staff; a lack of essential worker status for domestic violence advocates; and unsustainable levels of stress, fear, and exhaustion. While familiar challenges drove these outcomes for this predominantly female, low-wage workforce, such as a lack of access to childcare, other factors, including the lack of access to PPE, training, and hazard pay for those working in person, highlighted inequities facing the domestic violence workforce. The factors identified as impacting the domestic violence workforce-turnover, low status, and high levels of stress, fear, and exhaustion-made the already challenging provision of advocacy and services more difficult. Domestic violence advocates are essential first responders and must be supported in ways that increase the resilience of empowerment-based services for victims and survivors.

Violence is a global public health problem that affects especially the most vulnerable people. The aim was to analyze the prevalence of psychological violence in the Brazilian population and inequalities according to sex and skin color. This was a cross-sectional study in which the database of the National Health Survey 2019 was used. Psychological violence was considered present when an individual answered yes to at least one of the five variables investigated: In the last 12 months, has anyone (a) offended you, humiliated you, or ridiculed you in front of other people?; (b) yelled at you or called you names?; (c) used social media or cell phones to threaten, offend, curse, or expose your images without your consent?; (d) threatened to hurt you or hurt someone important to you?; and (e) destroyed something of yours on purpose? The independent variable was skin color. The crude prevalence ratio (PR) was determined by Poisson regression. All analyses were stratified by sex. Of the 88,531 respondents, 41,662 were males and 46,869 were females. The prevalence of the presence of psychological violence was 19% in women and 15.6% in men. Men and women with black/brown/yellow/indigenous skin color were 20% and 15% more likely to suffer one or more items of psychological violence, respectively, than men and women with white skin color (PR = 1.20; 95% CI [1.11, 1.30] and PR = 1.15; 95% CI [1.08, 1.23]). Psychological violence occurred predominantly against females and individuals with black/brown/yellow/indigenous skin color. There were notable inequalities in the exposure to this type of violence that need to be considered when making plans to address this problem. The findings emphasize the relevance of constantly reviewing political and social constructions to promote a reduction of inequalities.