Physical Couple and Family Violence Among Clients Seeking Therapy: Identifiers and Predictors

Abstract

Introduction: Couple violence (CV) affects many, and the consequences of those actions are grave, not only for the individual suffering at the hand of the perpetrator but also for the other persons in the family. Violence often happens among more than just the adults within one family. Even if CV has been thoroughly investigated in the general population very few studies have investigated this objective on a clinical sample, and none of these have included family violence. Aim: This article identifies and describes the group of clients that have issues of physical couple and family violence. It analyses a model that can help to discover physical violence and help therapists to assess what actions to take in therapy to prevent further physical violence. Methodology: Descriptive analysis, t-tests, and structural equation modeling (SEM) are used on a sample of clients receiving couple and family therapy (CFT) in Norway (N = 830). Family violence is modeled by the partner's expectations toward each other, levels of anger, sexual satisfaction, and self-control. Results: One-in-five clients experienced physical CV in their current relationship and one-in-four experienced physical family violence. The group of clients who experienced CV differed from those without such experiences in having lower income, more prior experience with psychotherapy, more experience with alcohol abuse in childhood, and far more physical family violence in their current family. Our model predicting physical couple and family violence explained as much as 53% of family violence and had three positive, significant predictors (expectation, anger, and sexual satisfaction) and one, significant negative predictor (self-control). Somewhat unexpected, sexual satisfaction was a positive, and not a negative, predictor of violence. Conclusion: Our study identified one-in-four clients in CFT experience physical CV. Unreasonable expectation from one partner toward the other, anger and sexual satisfaction were positive predictors of physical violence, while self-control was found to be a negative predictor of physical violence. Implications for therapeutic work and the prevention of physical violence are discussed.

Dropping Out of School: Explaining How Concerns for the Family’s Social-Image and Self-Image Predict Anger

“…This finding is in line with Gausel and Leach (2011) argument that the threat to the social-image is a motivator of anti-social responses and hostility. Moreover, this finding bears resemblance to Zahl-Olsen et al (2019) findings where anger and violence in families seems to be fueled by rejecting criticism for failure. It also lends support to Gausel et al (2018) findings that victims of failures reacted with hostile anger toward others due to the fears that their social-image would be damaged.…”

“…If such a threat to the social-image is appraised, people often react with anger directed at the others that can possibly come to condemn them for their failure ( Gausel, 2013 ). In empirical support of this, a recent study on family therapy and reciprocal partner-violence, Zahl-Olsen et al (2019) found that outburst of anger and violence toward the other was associated with appraised condemnation manifested through rejecting behavior from the other as well as criticism for failure. Gausel et al (2018) found that the more victims of immorality feared that they would be condemned for their own perpetrating failures in a reciprocal conflict, the more they reacted with hostile anger toward others.…”

School Attendance and Problematic School Absenteeism in Youth

“…If such a threat to the social-image is appraised, people often react with anger directed at the others that can possibly come to condemn them for their failure (Gausel, 2013). In empirical support of this, a recent study on family therapy and reciprocal partnerviolence, Zahl-Olsen et al (2019) found that outburst of anger and violence toward the other was associated with appraised condemnation manifested through rejecting behavior from the other as well as criticism for failure. Gausel et al (2018) found that the more victims of immorality feared that they would be condemned for their own perpetrating failures in a reciprocal conflict, the more they reacted with hostile anger toward others.…”

Physical and psychological violence in dating with stress among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Consequently, physical and mental health can also have a lasting effect even after the violence has stopped [3]. Partner violence is one of the most painful and traumatic experiences because it destroys interpersonal trust and a sense of security [4]. DV that often occurs in adolescents usually in the form of physical, economic, psychological, mental, and sexual violence.…”