Anna T Pham, Sacha Maimone, Chantal A Hermann, Kevin L Nunes
Rape-related cognitions (typically defined as encompassing any number of cognitive constructs) are thought to play a role in sexual aggression. However, rape-related cognition scales often assess these cognitive constructs as one. The purpose of this study is to explore the factor structure of these measures using a sample of 191 community men. We found that items from the Rape Myth Acceptance, RAPE, and Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance (IRMA) scales formed one factor, which was significantly related to sexual aggression. We further found that four and six IRMA subscales were significantly related to past and likelihood of sexual aggression, respectively. Additionally, one IRMA subscale was independently related to past and likelihood of sexual aggression. The results are discussed in terms of implications and direction for future research.
{"title":"Exploring the Underlying Constructs of Rape-Related Cognition Scales and Their Relationships With Sexual Aggression.","authors":"Anna T Pham, Sacha Maimone, Chantal A Hermann, Kevin L Nunes","doi":"10.1891/VV-2021-0166","DOIUrl":"10.1891/VV-2021-0166","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rape-related cognitions (typically defined as encompassing any number of cognitive constructs) are thought to play a role in sexual aggression. However, rape-related cognition scales often assess these cognitive constructs as one. The purpose of this study is to explore the factor structure of these measures using a sample of 191 community men. We found that items from the Rape Myth Acceptance, RAPE, and Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance (IRMA) scales formed one factor, which was significantly related to sexual aggression. We further found that four and six IRMA subscales were significantly related to past and likelihood of sexual aggression, respectively. Additionally, one IRMA subscale was independently related to past and likelihood of sexual aggression. The results are discussed in terms of implications and direction for future research.</p>","PeriodicalId":48139,"journal":{"name":"Violence and Victims","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140060876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In the United States (US), transgender individuals are more likely to experience violence and sexual assault in jails and prisons compared with cisgender peers. Harms of incarceration on transgender individuals include limited access to medical care and hormone therapy, as well as being housed in facilities based on biological sex instead of gender identity. However, there has been insufficient research on addressing factors that lead to transgender individuals being incarcerated in the first place. In this article, we argue the need to focus on law enforcement interactions with transgender individuals in the US to reduce incarceration-related harms. Using the perspectives of primordial prevention and focusing on upstream factors that create health-related harms, we assert that focusing on law enforcement is a necessary component in addressing how the criminal justice system harms transgender individuals.
{"title":"Transgender Incarceration and Law Enforcement as a Source of Harm: Upstream and Primordial Prevention Perspectives.","authors":"Nolan S Kline, Nathaniel J Webb, Stacey B Griner","doi":"10.1891/VV-2022-0106","DOIUrl":"10.1891/VV-2022-0106","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the United States (US), transgender individuals are more likely to experience violence and sexual assault in jails and prisons compared with cisgender peers. Harms of incarceration on transgender individuals include limited access to medical care and hormone therapy, as well as being housed in facilities based on biological sex instead of gender identity. However, there has been insufficient research on addressing factors that lead to transgender individuals being incarcerated in the first place. In this article, we argue the need to focus on law enforcement interactions with transgender individuals in the US to reduce incarceration-related harms. Using the perspectives of primordial prevention and focusing on upstream factors that create health-related harms, we assert that focusing on law enforcement is a necessary component in addressing how the criminal justice system harms transgender individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":48139,"journal":{"name":"Violence and Victims","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138292080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Susan Lagdon, Ngozi Anyadike-Danes, Megan Reynolds, William F Flack, Cherie Armour
While substantial prevalence rates of intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) have been found among university students for decades in North America, there is a specific gap in published studies on this issue in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The present analysis used data from a larger survey study of students in one Northern Irish university. The analyses reported here were used to examine relationships among IPSV victims, gender (males and females only), unhealthy alcohol use, and psychological distress among university students (n = 654) since the age of 16 and during the previous year. The results of this study are consistent with previous research indicating that women (n = 248) experience IPSV more often than men (n = 37; 50% vs. 23%, respectively). Nonetheless, IPSV is experienced by both men and women with statistically significant associations with alcohol use, posttraumatic stress, depression, and generalized anxiety compared with those who did not report any IPSV experience.
亲密伴侣性暴力(IPSV)的发生率在北美的大学生中已经存在了几十年,但在英国和爱尔兰发表的关于这一问题的研究中存在一个具体的差距。目前的分析使用了来自北爱尔兰一所大学学生的更大规模调查研究的数据。本文报告的分析用于检查大学生(n = 654)自16岁以来和前一年IPSV受害者、性别(仅限男性和女性)、不健康饮酒和心理困扰之间的关系。本研究的结果与先前的研究一致,表明女性(n = 248)比男性(n = 37;50% vs. 23%)。尽管如此,与没有报告任何IPSV经历的人相比,男性和女性都经历过IPSV,与酒精使用、创伤后应激、抑郁和广泛性焦虑有统计学意义的关联。
{"title":"Intimate Partner Sexual Violence, Gender, and Psychological Distress Among Northern Irish University Students.","authors":"Susan Lagdon, Ngozi Anyadike-Danes, Megan Reynolds, William F Flack, Cherie Armour","doi":"10.1891/VV-2022-0050","DOIUrl":"10.1891/VV-2022-0050","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While substantial prevalence rates of intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) have been found among university students for decades in North America, there is a specific gap in published studies on this issue in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The present analysis used data from a larger survey study of students in one Northern Irish university. The analyses reported here were used to examine relationships among IPSV victims, gender (males and females only), unhealthy alcohol use, and psychological distress among university students (<i>n</i> = 654) since the age of 16 and during the previous year. The results of this study are consistent with previous research indicating that women (<i>n</i> = 248) experience IPSV more often than men (<i>n</i> = 37; 50% vs. 23%, respectively). Nonetheless, IPSV is experienced by both men and women with statistically significant associations with alcohol use, posttraumatic stress, depression, and generalized anxiety compared with those who did not report any IPSV experience.</p>","PeriodicalId":48139,"journal":{"name":"Violence and Victims","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138292078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah DeGue, Colleen M Ray, Daniel Bontempo, Phyllis Holditch Niolon, Allison J Tracy, Lianne Fuino Estefan, Vi D Le, Todd D Little
This study describes rates of violence victimization, perpetration, and witnessing in 6th-11th grade for a multisite sample (N = 3,466) of predominantly Black and Hispanic middle- and high-school students from urban areas with high rates of crime and economic disadvantage. Students completed surveys in middle and high school assessing teen dating violence, stalking, sexual violence and harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, and physical violence perpetration and victimization, as well as witnessing violence. The highest prevalence rates are observed most often in 8th or 9th grade. Youth reported high rates of witnessing serious assault and severe community violence throughout adolescence. These findings suggest that efforts to prevent violence among youth living in under-resourced communities need to start early and address community-level socioeconomic disparities.
{"title":"Prevalence of Violence Victimization and Perpetration During Middle and High School in Underresourced, Urban Communities.","authors":"Sarah DeGue, Colleen M Ray, Daniel Bontempo, Phyllis Holditch Niolon, Allison J Tracy, Lianne Fuino Estefan, Vi D Le, Todd D Little","doi":"10.1891/VV-2022-0033","DOIUrl":"10.1891/VV-2022-0033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study describes rates of violence victimization, perpetration, and witnessing in 6th-11th grade for a multisite sample (<i>N</i> = 3,466) of predominantly Black and Hispanic middle- and high-school students from urban areas with high rates of crime and economic disadvantage. Students completed surveys in middle and high school assessing teen dating violence, stalking, sexual violence and harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, and physical violence perpetration and victimization, as well as witnessing violence. The highest prevalence rates are observed most often in 8th or 9th grade. Youth reported high rates of witnessing serious assault and severe community violence throughout adolescence. These findings suggest that efforts to prevent violence among youth living in under-resourced communities need to start early and address community-level socioeconomic disparities.</p>","PeriodicalId":48139,"journal":{"name":"Violence and Victims","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10953482/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72211369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nevena Stojakovic, Stewart J D'Alessio, Lisa Stolzenberg
While tougher domestic violence laws and protective orders are frequently credited with attenuating intimate partner violence (IPV), one unexplored explanation for this observed reduction is that intimate partner abusers are shifting their abusive behavior to intangible identity theft to thwart legal mechanisms traditionally used to deter IPV. Unlike the monetary motive associated with document identity theft, intangible identity theft is committed by someone with a preexisting grievance against the victim because the theft's primary purpose is to tarnish the victim's reputation. Results from a multilevel analysis show that a woman has a lower probability of being a victim of an intimate rather than nonintimate partner crime in cities with a higher intangible identity theft rate. Such a finding suggests that intangible identity theft may be a form of intimate partner abuse with few adverse consequences for offenders because identity thieves are rarely arrested and prosecuted. Nevertheless, the current study is only preliminary. Further research is needed before our findings and conclusions can be universally accepted.
{"title":"Intangible Identity Theft and Intimate Partner Violence.","authors":"Nevena Stojakovic, Stewart J D'Alessio, Lisa Stolzenberg","doi":"10.1891/VV-2023-0121","DOIUrl":"10.1891/VV-2023-0121","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While tougher domestic violence laws and protective orders are frequently credited with attenuating intimate partner violence (IPV), one unexplored explanation for this observed reduction is that intimate partner abusers are shifting their abusive behavior to intangible identity theft to thwart legal mechanisms traditionally used to deter IPV. Unlike the monetary motive associated with document identity theft, intangible identity theft is committed by someone with a preexisting grievance against the victim because the theft's primary purpose is to tarnish the victim's reputation. Results from a multilevel analysis show that a woman has a lower probability of being a victim of an intimate rather than nonintimate partner crime in cities with a higher intangible identity theft rate. Such a finding suggests that intangible identity theft may be a form of intimate partner abuse with few adverse consequences for offenders because identity thieves are rarely arrested and prosecuted. Nevertheless, the current study is only preliminary. Further research is needed before our findings and conclusions can be universally accepted.</p>","PeriodicalId":48139,"journal":{"name":"Violence and Victims","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72211368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
To establish a set of variables that define a predictive profile of events of maxillofacial trauma resulting from interpersonal violence, we analyzed sociodemographic variables and clinical characteristics of injuries recorded in three tertiary care hospital centers in Chile. To assess the relation between categories, we applied a multiple correspondence analysis. We identified 567 cases. Two dimensions explained 53.4% of the model. The first dimension was composed of variables related to the severity of the injury: medical-legal prognosis (.574), type of trauma (.511), and the destination of the patient (.332); the second dimension was composed of variables related to the typology of interpersonal violence: type of violence (.398) and sex of the patient (.370). Two profiles were recognized: women, victims of domestic violence, with lesions affecting mainly soft tissues and not requiring hospitalization and men, victims of community violence, with lesions involving fractures associated with greater severity and requiring hospitalization. There are two key dimensions in the diagnosis of maxillofacial trauma resulting from interpersonal violence: severity of the injury and typology of the interpersonal violence. Exploring these predictive profiles can be a useful complement to the current screening tools of violence in clinical practice.
{"title":"Interpersonal Violence and Maxillofacial Injuries: Toward an Active Surveillance Proposal Through the Presentation Profile in Hospital Emergency Services.","authors":"Fabiola Werlinger, Marcelo Villalón, Valentina Duarte, Pilar Sepúlveda","doi":"10.1891/VV-2022-0020","DOIUrl":"10.1891/VV-2022-0020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To establish a set of variables that define a predictive profile of events of maxillofacial trauma resulting from interpersonal violence, we analyzed sociodemographic variables and clinical characteristics of injuries recorded in three tertiary care hospital centers in Chile. To assess the relation between categories, we applied a multiple correspondence analysis. We identified 567 cases. Two dimensions explained 53.4% of the model. The first dimension was composed of variables related to the severity of the injury: medical-legal prognosis (.574), type of trauma (.511), and the destination of the patient (.332); the second dimension was composed of variables related to the typology of interpersonal violence: type of violence (.398) and sex of the patient (.370). Two profiles were recognized: women, victims of domestic violence, with lesions affecting mainly soft tissues and not requiring hospitalization and men, victims of community violence, with lesions involving fractures associated with greater severity and requiring hospitalization. There are two key dimensions in the diagnosis of maxillofacial trauma resulting from interpersonal violence: severity of the injury and typology of the interpersonal violence. Exploring these predictive profiles can be a useful complement to the current screening tools of violence in clinical practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":48139,"journal":{"name":"Violence and Victims","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138292077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sheena L Gilbert, Lane Kirkland Gillespie, Jacqueline G Lee, Laura L King
Indigenous people experience a higher rate of intimate partner violence (IPV) than other racial/ethnic groups; however, limited research examines IPV among this population. In collaboration with a tribe in the western United States, this study surveyed a sample of indigenous people (N = 27) to learn about their experiences with victimization. Results show that respondents experienced high amounts of recent relationship and lifetime victimization, mostly consistent with previous literature. Additional issues and challenges emerged from the data, such as low reporting rates and service accessibility. These findings are contextualized within prior IPV literature, and we offer recommendations for future research.
{"title":"We Have a Voice: An Examination of Intimate Partner Violence in a Native American Community.","authors":"Sheena L Gilbert, Lane Kirkland Gillespie, Jacqueline G Lee, Laura L King","doi":"10.1891/VV-2023-0055","DOIUrl":"10.1891/VV-2023-0055","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Indigenous people experience a higher rate of intimate partner violence (IPV) than other racial/ethnic groups; however, limited research examines IPV among this population. In collaboration with a tribe in the western United States, this study surveyed a sample of indigenous people (<i>N</i> = 27) to learn about their experiences with victimization. Results show that respondents experienced high amounts of recent relationship and lifetime victimization, mostly consistent with previous literature. Additional issues and challenges emerged from the data, such as low reporting rates and service accessibility. These findings are contextualized within prior IPV literature, and we offer recommendations for future research.</p>","PeriodicalId":48139,"journal":{"name":"Violence and Victims","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71427992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emma C Lathan, Candice N Selwyn, Margaret E Gigler, Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Amanda K Gilmore
The BITTEN theoretical framework conceptually links patient's past healthcare betrayal and trauma experiences with their current and future healthcare interactions. BITTEN was used to examine whether healthcare experiences, behaviors, and needs differ between those with and without a history of sexual violence exposure. College students at two public universities in the southeastern United States (n = 1,381; 59.5% White, 61.0% women) completed measures about their self-selected worst or most frightening but nonassault-related healthcare experience. Multivariate general linear and mediation models were used to test theory-derived hypotheses. Participants exposed to sexual violence reported greater healthcare institutional betrayal, lower trust, and greater need for tangible aid and trauma-informed care during their worst nonassault-related healthcare experience. They also reported greater current healthcare avoidance alongside increased utilization of more physical and mental healthcare appointments, even after accounting for gender and race differences. These results suggest that, with minimal information about past sexual violence exposure, healthcare providers could be better poised to predict and address vulnerable patients' healthcare needs.
{"title":"College Students' Trust, Betrayal, and Needs During and After Their Worst Nonassault-Related Healthcare Experiences Differ Based on Sexual Violence Exposure.","authors":"Emma C Lathan, Candice N Selwyn, Margaret E Gigler, Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Amanda K Gilmore","doi":"10.1891/VV-2022-0074","DOIUrl":"10.1891/VV-2022-0074","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The BITTEN theoretical framework conceptually links patient's past healthcare betrayal and trauma experiences with their current and future healthcare interactions. BITTEN was used to examine whether healthcare experiences, behaviors, and needs differ between those with and without a history of sexual violence exposure. College students at two public universities in the southeastern United States (<i>n</i> = 1,381; 59.5% White, 61.0% women) completed measures about their self-selected worst or most frightening but nonassault-related healthcare experience. Multivariate general linear and mediation models were used to test theory-derived hypotheses. Participants exposed to sexual violence reported greater healthcare institutional betrayal, lower trust, and greater need for tangible aid and trauma-informed care during their worst nonassault-related healthcare experience. They also reported greater current healthcare avoidance alongside increased utilization of more physical and mental healthcare appointments, even after accounting for gender and race differences. These results suggest that, with minimal information about past sexual violence exposure, healthcare providers could be better poised to predict and address vulnerable patients' healthcare needs.</p>","PeriodicalId":48139,"journal":{"name":"Violence and Victims","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138292076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tuba Bağatarhan, Diğdem Müge Siyez, Alexander T Vazsonyi
Bullying and cyberbullying remain serious public health concerns threatening the well-being of adolescents. The current study tested the links between narcissism and impulsivity and measures of both bullying and cyberbullying perpetration. Data were collected from 575 Turkish adolescents (54.4% female, Mage = 15.86, SD = 1.15). Hierarchical logistic regressions tested the main study hypotheses. Findings showed that narcissism and impulsivity were each independently and additively positively associated with both bullying and cyberbullying perpetration. Findings from a competing, ex post facto alternative model provided evidence that impulsivity was a mediator in the narcissism-bullying perpetration (partial) and the narcissism-cyberbullying perpetration links (full). Findings highlight the importance of considering both narcissism and impulsivity in evaluating the factors contributing to both forms of bullying behaviors, which has important prevention and intervention effort implications.
{"title":"The Importance of Narcissism and Impulsivity for Bullying and Cyberbullying Perpetration.","authors":"Tuba Bağatarhan, Diğdem Müge Siyez, Alexander T Vazsonyi","doi":"10.1891/VV-2022-0149","DOIUrl":"10.1891/VV-2022-0149","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bullying and cyberbullying remain serious public health concerns threatening the well-being of adolescents. The current study tested the links between narcissism and impulsivity and measures of both bullying and cyberbullying perpetration. Data were collected from 575 Turkish adolescents (54.4% female, <i>M</i> <sub>age</sub> = 15.86, <i>SD</i> = 1.15). Hierarchical logistic regressions tested the main study hypotheses. Findings showed that narcissism and impulsivity were each independently and additively positively associated with both bullying and cyberbullying perpetration. Findings from a competing, ex post facto alternative model provided evidence that impulsivity was a mediator in the narcissism-bullying perpetration (partial) and the narcissism-cyberbullying perpetration links (full). Findings highlight the importance of considering both narcissism and impulsivity in evaluating the factors contributing to both forms of bullying behaviors, which has important prevention and intervention effort implications.</p>","PeriodicalId":48139,"journal":{"name":"Violence and Victims","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138292079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-01Epub Date: 2023-10-09DOI: 10.1891/VV-2021-0041
Mariachiara Feresin, Marianna Santonocito
In recent decades, scholars and professionals have investigated the courts' treatment of mothers and children who claim that an ex-partner/father is abusive, especially in child custody proceedings. In Italy, Laws 54/2006 and 154/2013 established that joint-custody and coparenting are critical to ensure the best interest of the child. In the process of custody determination, judges can appoint an expert to assess parenting skills. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the knowledge, opinions, and practices of the Court-Appointed Experts (CAEs) in child custody disputes in cases involving allegations of domestic violence (DV). Semistructured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 CAEs; the interviews' transcripts were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results suggested that in the management of child custody cases, most CAEs showed: strong prejudices against women victims of DV, who were often blamed and/or secondarily victimized; adherence to controversial models (e.g., parental alienation syndrome) and characterization of mothers as "alienators"; poor knowledge of DV and relevant laws. CAEs' overlooking DV underlines the urgent need to develop and implement guidelines on child custody decision-making in the context of DV.
{"title":"How Expert Are the Experts? Child Custody Evaluations in Situations of Domestic Violence in Italy.","authors":"Mariachiara Feresin, Marianna Santonocito","doi":"10.1891/VV-2021-0041","DOIUrl":"10.1891/VV-2021-0041","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recent decades, scholars and professionals have investigated the courts' treatment of mothers and children who claim that an ex-partner/father is abusive, especially in child custody proceedings. In Italy, Laws 54/2006 and 154/2013 established that joint-custody and coparenting are critical to ensure the best interest of the child. In the process of custody determination, judges can appoint an expert to assess parenting skills. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the knowledge, opinions, and practices of the Court-Appointed Experts (CAEs) in child custody disputes in cases involving allegations of domestic violence (DV). Semistructured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 CAEs; the interviews' transcripts were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results suggested that in the management of child custody cases, most CAEs showed: strong prejudices against women victims of DV, who were often blamed and/or secondarily victimized; adherence to controversial models (e.g., parental alienation syndrome) and characterization of mothers as \"alienators\"; poor knowledge of DV and relevant laws. CAEs' overlooking DV underlines the urgent need to develop and implement guidelines on child custody decision-making in the context of DV.</p>","PeriodicalId":48139,"journal":{"name":"Violence and Victims","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41239927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}