The aim of this study was to test whether the concept of an altruistic personality was valid for first aiders who intervened to help the victims of a traffic accident. We derived a number of relevant personality variables that should be related to the willingness to administer first aid. These include locus of control, social responsibility, belief in a just world, empathy, and instrumentality. We obtained data from proven first aiders who had intervened after a traffic accident. Thirty-four of these first aiders were matched to respondents from a subject pool on the basis of sex, age, and socioeconomic status. In addition, the willingness of these respondents to offer help after a traffic accident was taken into account. Only people who indicated that they had witnessed an accident and had not helped were included in the control group. Multivariate analyses of variance and covariance indicated that proven first aiders deviated from the control group on several dimensions: Tbey described themselves as more internal, believed more in a just world, and emphasized more social responsibility and empathy.

Family members, friends, coworkers and neighbors are often the first to know that a woman has been abused by an intimate male partner. What is the proper course of action for those with knowledge of abuse? Using a wide range of empirical data from international sources, Renate Klein documents informal third parties as the first port of call, sources of support and interference, and gatekeepers to formal services. Family and social network members disrupt ongoing assaults, respond to disclosures of abuse and provide solace and practical help. These networks do not always side with victims, however, and may either sympathize with or actively support perpetrators. Klein illuminates the complexities of these contingent situations. Her analysis highlights the potential of informal third parties for effective intervention, demonstrating their significant role in promoting societies free from rape and domestic violence.

This study investigates how informal third parties, such as friends and family members, may play a role in couple conflict as perceived supporters or critics of partners' conflicting positions. We examine who partners perceive to be supporters and critics and how beliefs about supporters and critics are related to partners' views of the conflict. In a sample of 98 dating couples, parents and close friends were equally likely to be perceived as critics, but close friends were more likely than parents to be perceived as supporters. In general, partners saw their primary supporters among their same-sex friends in their own, rather than the couple's joint, network. Thinking of one's own position as legitimate was correlated, for women, with the presence of supporters, and for men, with the absence of critics. Finally, the extent to which partners had separate, as opposed to joint, networks of significant others was systematically related to their preferred conflict management strategies.

We report on the development of, and findings from, two scales measuring coercive control and space for action over a period of 3 years in a sample of 100 women who had accessed domestic violence services. We present statistical evidence to show a significant correlation between coercive control and space for action. However, dealing with violence is not a linear process, and support needs to extend beyond being enabled to separate. The scales advance measurement of women's experience of coercive control and, through the space for action scale, document their ability to restore agency and freedom in contexts of relative safety.

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