Publications
Search results for 'domestic violence'
Domestic violence as witnessed by New Zealand children | 2006
Martin, J. , Langley, J.D., Millichamp,
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New Zealand Medical Journal, 2006, 119(119), .
http:/www.nzma.org.nz/journal/119-1228/1817/
Our ref: NZ90
Background: This study reports on domestic violence in New Zealand families witnessed by members of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. Method: Questions on the witnessing of father to mother and mother to father physical violence and threats of harm up to the age of 18 were included in a retrospective family violence interview carried out when the cohort was interviewed at age 26. Study members who reported violence between parents were asked about the nature, context, and consequences of this violence. Results: One-quarter (24%) of the sample reported violence or threats of violence directed from one parent to the other. Nine percent reported infrequent assaults while one in 10 reported more than five acts of physical violence. In violent families, 55% reported violence by fathers only, 28% by both partners, and 16% by mothers only. Almost 90% of the exposed group witnessed violence between natural parents, and 80% were exposed to violence before the age of 11. The gender of the study member or parent did not predict how upset study members were, but frequency of violence did. Witnesses were more likely than non-witnesses to have diagnoses of anxiety and depression at age 21. Socioeconomic status and age of parents were related to violence patterns, but not the mother’s education or employment status. Conclusion: This study suggests that a quarter of young adults have been exposed to acts or threats of violence carried out by one parent toward another parent, and the majority found such witnessing to be a very upsetting experience. Public education programmes should emphasise that all violence carries risk of harm to all family members.
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Is domestic violence followed by an increased risk of psychiatric disorders among women but not among men? A longitudinal cohort study | 2006
Ehrensaft, M. K. , Moffitt, T. E. , Caspi,
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American Journal of Psychiatry, 2006, 163(163), 885-92.
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Our ref: RO504
OBJECTIVE: The association between violence between intimate partners and psychiatric disorders is assumed to reflect a causal link. This assumption is now questioned because several longitudinal studies have documented that adolescents with psychiatric disorders grow up to be overrepresented among adults involved in partner violence. METHOD: The study followed a representative birth cohort prospectively. Adolescent mental disorders were diagnosed at age 18 years. Between ages 24 and 26 years, the authors identified individuals involved in nonabusive relationships versus those involved in clinically abusive relationships (i.e., resulting in injury and/or official intervention). At age 26 years, mental disorders were again diagnosed. RESULTS: Male and female adolescents with psychiatric disorders were at greatest risk of becoming involved in abusive adult relationships. After the authors controlled for earlier psychiatric history, women who were involved in abusive relationships, but not men, had an increased risk of adult psychiatric morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: 1) Psychiatric disorders pose risk for involvement in abusive relationships for both sexes; 2) partner abuse is a contributing source of psychiatric disorders among women but not among men.
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Clinically abusive relationships in an unselected birth cohort: men's and women's participation and developmental antecedents | 2004
Ehrensaft, M. K. , Moffitt, T. E. , Caspi,
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Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 2004, 113(113), 258-70.
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Our ref: RO458
In an unselected birth cohort (N=980, age 24-26 years), individuals in abusive relationships causing injury and/or official intervention (9% prevalence) were compared with participants reporting physical abuse without clinical consequences and with control participants who reported no abuse, on current characteristics and prospective developmental risks. In nonclinically abusive relationships, perpetrators were primarily women. In clinically abusive relationships, men and women used physical abuse, although more women needed medical treatment for injury. Women in clinically abusive relationships had childhood family adversity, adolescent conduct problems, and aggressive personality; men had disinhibitory psychopathology since childhood and extensive personality deviance. These findings counter the hibitory assumption that if clinical abuse was ascertained in epidemiological samples, it would be primarily man-to-woman, explained by patriarchy rather than psychopathology.
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A couples analysis of partner abuse with implications for abuse prevention | 2001
Moffitt, T.E., Robins, R.W., Caspi,
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Criminology & Public Policy, 2001, 1(1), 5-26.
Our ref: RO393
This research used a couples analysis to test five models of partner abuse: (1) perpetrators' characteristics predict their abusive behavior, (2) victims' characteristics predict their victimization, (3) a dyadic process model in which both partners' characteristics independently and jointly predict couples' reciprocal abuse, (4) a traditional model in which men's characteristics alone predict both men's abuse and women's defensive reactions to it, and (5) an interactive model in which one partner's characteristics can moderate the other partner's abuse risk. We studied a representative sample of 360 young-adult couples comprising non-abusive couples, non-clinical abusive couples, and clinical abusive couples. As outcomes, we used measures of abuse perpetration, and as predictors we used partners' scores on negative emotionality, an indicator of violence-prone cognitions and emotions. Results were consistent with models 1, 2, and 3 for both males and females, but not with models 4 or 5. Findings applied to both non-clinical and clinical abusive couples. This study is the first to identify clinical abusive couples without selection bias (9% of the sample, having injury and/or official agency intervention), and to find that in such couples both sexes engage in abuse. Implications for primary prevention are that prevention programs should aim to: (a) target violence-prone cognitions and emotions, (b) reduce abusive behavior by both sexes, and (c) promote victim safety among both sexes. Implications for rehabilitation of already-abusive couples are: (d) treating only men will not reduce risk completely for most couples, and (e) more resources should be invested in researching couples treatments to reduce abuse. If replicated, the findings would suggest the need for policy that encourages development and evaluation of programs to reduce physical abuse by women.
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Partner abuse and general crime: How are they the same? How are they different? | 2000
Moffitt, T.E., Krueger, R.F., Caspi,
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Criminology, 2000, 38(38), 201-235.
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Our ref: RO353
Both partner abuse and general crime violate the rights and safety of victims. But are these phenomena the same or are they distinct, demanding their own research and intervention specialities? Are persons who abuse their partners the same people who commit other criminal behavior? Do partner abuse and general crime share the same correlates? We investigated these questions in a birth cohort of over 800 young adults, by testing whether a personality model known to predict general crime would also predict partner abuse. Personality data were gathered at age 18, and self-reported partner abuse and general criminal offending were measured at age 21. Results from modelling latent constructs showed that partner abuse and general crime represent different constructs that are moderately related; they are not merely two expressions of the same underlying antisocial propensity. Group comparisons showed many, but not all, partner abusers also engaged in violence against nonintimates. Personality analyses showed that partner abuse and general crime shared a strong propensity from a trait called Negative Emotionality. However, crime was related to weak Constraint (low self-control), but partner abuse was not. All findings applied to women as well as to men, suggesting that women's partner abuse may be motivated by the same intra-personal features that motivate men's abuse. The results are consistent with theoretical and applied arguments about the uniqueness of partner violence relative to other crime and violence.
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Physical assault in New Zealand: the experience of 21 year old men and women in a community sample | 1998
Martin, J., Nada-Raja, S., Langley,
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New Zealand Medical Journal, 1998, 111(111), 158-160.
Our ref: NZ74
AIM: To obtain epidemiological information on physical assault in a high risk group of New Zealanders. METHOD: Rates of physical assault in the preceding twelve months were ascertained by interview in a cohort of 21 year old, Dunedin-born men (n = 482) and women (n = 462). RESULTS: Forty-five percent of the men and one quarter of the women reported at least one physical assault, either completed, attempted or threatened. A small proportion of these received medical treatment. Most serious assaults were by a perpetrator who was thought to have been drinking alcohol. Most assaults on men were by strangers but partners carried out more assaults against women, especially those receiving medical treatment. One quarter of all assaults on women were by other women, compared to 15% of the assaults on men. Differences between patterns of assaults on women and on men are discussed. CONCLUSION: It is important for doctors to be aware of the widespread occurrence of interpersonal violence in New Zealand and its underreporting.
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Hitting without a license: testing explanations for differences in partner abuse between young adult daters and cohabiters | 1998
Magdol, L., Moffitt, T.E., Caspi,
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Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1998, 60(60), 41-55.
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Our ref: RO313
We compared partner abuse by cohabiters and daters among 21-year-olds. Cohabiters were significantly more likely than daters to perform abusive behaviors. We identified factors that differentiate cohabitors from daters and tested whether these factors explained the difference in partner abuse. As controls in regression models predicting abuse, none of these factors individually explained the difference in partner abuse between cohabiters and daters. With all factors added to the model simultaneously, the effect of cohabitation remained significant, but was substantially reduced. These findings have intervention implications because premarital cohabitation is a risk factor for abuse after marriage.
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Annotation: Implications of violence between intimate partners for child psychologists and psychiatrists | 1998
Moffitt, T.E., Caspi, A.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1998, 39(39), 137-144.
Our ref: RO310
Violence between adult intimate partners has increasingly attracted the concern of the general public (Hunt & Kitzinger, 1996), medical professionals (Skolnick, 1995), and mental health practitioners who treat adults (Danielson, Moffitt, Caspi & Silva, 1998). Yet, it may seem surprising to find an article about adult partner violence in a journal focused on children. We prepared this article because research suggests that adult partner violence has some important consequences for the health and well-being of children. We present four reasons why practitioners who treat children and adolescents should be knowledgeable about adult partner violence: (1) Partner violence is not confined to adults; it is a feature of adolescents' earliest intimate experiences. (2) The strongest developmental risk factor for adult partner violence is childhood conduct problems. (3) Young children are adversely affected by witnessing violence between the adults in their homes. (4) Adult partners who are violent toward each other are also at increased risk of abusing their children.
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Physical assault among 21-year-olds by partners | 1997
Langley, J.D., Martin, J., Nada-Raja,
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Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1997, 12(12), 675-684.
Our ref: RO296
Abstract: The authors sought to answer the following question: Are more women than men physically assaulted by a partner? Do a disproportionate number of physical assaults against women involve a partner?Are women subjected to more physical assaults from partners than are men? Are physical assaults on women by partners more severe in terms of physical harm than physical assaults on men by partners? Using a semistructured face-to-face interview, information on assault was obtained from Study members when they turned 21 years of age. Our results showed that more women than men reported being assaulted by a partner, assaults by men represented a greater percentage of women’s assault experiences, the partner assault rate was higher for women, and the assaults against women tended to result in more serious injury.
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