The current study used quantitative and qualitative responses from 250 forensic interviewers (FIs) in the United States to examine predictors of burnout and personal coping mechanisms. Findings indicated that burnout was primarily driven by work-related factors including frequently feeling overwhelmed with job-related duties, inadequate organizational support, and direct exposure to graphic materials involving children. Moreover, having a higher degree of compassion satisfaction and being non-White significantly mitigated symptoms of burnout. Qualitative findings indicated that FIs regularly experienced varied and personalized feelings of burnout and utilized a variety of coping methods to combat their stressors. FIs in this study also made individual suggestions regarding how their respective agencies can assist in the coping process. Policy implications are discussed.

Objectives: Existing theory and policy regarding domestic violence (DV) often assume a highly specialized offender. Specialization literature in general, however, holds that specialization is not very common—even in DV. The current study builds on previous work by using multiple analytic methods to assess specialization/versatility among DV offenders, with a focus on gender differences. Methods: The sample includes 730 individuals processed through a misdemeanor DV docket. Demographic measures were available, and complete criminal histories were compiled for each defendant. Analyses include the diversity index and offense specialization coefficient, multivariate models predicting those measures, multilevel item response theory analysis, and latent class analysis (LCA). Results: Results are generally consistent in finding an effect of gender on DV specialization as well as relationships between the age of onset and the overall offending frequency. Female offenders demonstrate a greater degree of DV specialization than male offenders did. However, gender did not distinguish between the DV specialist group and two more versatile groups derived from the LCA. Conclusions: Findings of the overall generality of offending among DV offenders, as well as a greater degree of specialization among female offenders, suggest the need to reevaluate current specialized theory, policy, and practice.

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Holding perpetrators accountable for family violence is challenged when survivors are reluctant to testify. In light of recent Supreme Court precedents limiting the admissibility of statements to law enforcement in victimless prosecutions, the current study examined 130 cases of nonfatal strangulation (NFS) to determine whether case characteristics and themes across survivors’ on-scene statements can help prosecutors combat common legal defenses raised when victims are unavailable for trial. The history of prior violence and how only 6% of perpetrators stopped strangling victims on their own suggests that NFS complaints should be investigated as an attempted homicide until evidence suggests otherwise.

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