Aggressive acts and assaults in intimate relationships: towards an understanding of the literature

Abstract

Far more people in relationships are subjected to violent acts than those who receive injuries. The degree of damage sustained may not reflect the perpetrator's intent to deliberately harm a partner. Data documenting aggressive acts determines the population at risk and their prevention and early treatment requirements; whereas data focusing on harm and injury helps determine emergency medical and refuge services. Data from national crime surveys, police records, or clinical populations should not be generalized to the population at large. Even if men perpetrate the majority of serious partner attacks, addressing the issue of female violence will significantly reduce the overall level of domestic violence. Judicial, medical, and social services should take note that while male violence may be more problematic, violence is a relationship issue, not a male issue. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Domestic violence and elderly dementia sufferers

“…5 Potential assailants may include grandparents, parents, children, siblings, live-in significant others, and various extended family members who are housed within a family unit. Assailants may include both genders [1][2][3][4]6,7 and members of all social classes. 8 The incidence of domestic violence is widespread and its legacy is grim.…”

Women Domestic Violence Offenders: Lessons of Violence and Survival

“…Epidemiological studies that have utilized self-report survey data asking intimate partners about conflict in their relationships have reported similar rates of male-to-female and female-to-male inflicted violence (Archer, 2000;Ehrensaft, Moffitt & Caspi, 2005;Fergusson, Horwood & Ridder, 2005;Straus & Gelles, 1986). On the other hand, national crime statistics, crime studies, and hospital emergency room studies have found a much higher percentage 48 TRAUMA AND DISSOCIATION IN CONVICTED OFFENDERS of couples in which men were perpetrators and women were victims (Cascardi, Langhinrichsen, & Vivian, 1992;Goodyear-Smith & Laidlaw, 1999;Rennison, 2003;Straus, 1999). While the proportion of male to female perpetrators was much higher in crime studies than family conflict studies, the incident rate of violent episodes perpetrated by either gender was much lower in crime studies and in police statistics than in family conflict studies.…”

Police-Reported Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy: Who Is at Risk?

“…Poverty, lack of education, and unemployment are more likely to produce a stressful environment at the neighborhood level, which may contribute to IPV (Cunradi, Caetano, Clark, & Schafer, 2000;O'Campo et al, 1995) and interpersonal violence overall (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997). At the individual/household level, low SES has also been associated with an increased risk of IPV (Greenfeld et al;Saltzman et al;Sorenson, Upchurch, & Shen, 1996), which may be explained by multiple stressors on current couple relationships (see Goodyear-Smith & Laidlaw, 1999), lack of social support (Bender, Cook, & Kaslow, 2003;Coker, Watkins, Smith, & Brandt, 2003), and experiencing family of origin violence such as childhood abuse and witnessing parental violence (Bensley, Van Eenwyk, & Wynkoop Simmons, 2003;McNutt, Carlson, Persaud, & Postmus, 2002). Pregnancy may increase that stress given its economic implications, the potential for increased dependence of the abused pregnant woman on her partner, and couple conflict surrounding such issues as paternity, anger at the pregnancy, jealousy of the unborn child, and so forth.…”