Prevalence and Predictors of Bidirectional Violence in Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence Residing at Shelters

Abstract

There has been a long-standing debate regarding whether or not there is gender symmetry in intimate partner violence (IPV); however, shelter samples have been understudied thus far. This study investigates the prevalence and predictors of IPV perpetration in a sample of 227 women in battered women's shelters. Participants were asked to complete a number of measures assessing demographics, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR) diagnoses, traumatic life events, and perpetration and victimization of IPV. Although the vast majority of women in this sample (93%) report perpetrating some form of IPV, few women endorsed violence that was not mutual (5.3%). Furthermore, for every type of IPV assessed, women were victimized significantly more than they perpetrated. Results also indicate that women's perpetration of IPV, and predictors of such perpetration, varied across type, severity, and measurement of violence. However, most IPV outcome variables were predicted by women's experience of victimization. Taken as a whole, these results support the assertion that context matters when examining the relative rates of perpetration as well as its predictors.

The Association Between Demographic, Mental Health, and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization Variables and Undergraduate Women’s Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration

“…A growing body of literature has focused on women's perpetration of IPV. Research has examined the prevalence of women's IPV perpetration relative to their own victimization (e.g., Holmes et al, 2019) and relative to men's perpetration (e.g., Archer, 2000;Desmarais et al, 2012) with diverging results. Many studies have yielded evidence to suggest that women are most often victims and their male partners are most often perpetrators (e.g., Breiding et al, 2014Breiding et al, , 2015Catalano et al, 2009;Mooney, 1994;Selic et al, 2011), particularly when considering sources of data such as police incident reports, injury data, and help-seeking statistics (Dobash et al, 1992;Kothari et al, 2015).…”

Perpetration and Experience of Spousal Violence Among Nigerian Women: An Analysis of the 2008 and 2013 NDHS

“…However, the studies by Nwanna and Kunnuji (2016) and Amole et al (2015) examined the subject of perpetration as an outcome variable. Although it has been documented that women’s perpetration of IPV increases their victimization (Holmes et al, 2019; Whitaker et al, 2007), very little research has been undertaken on the impact of women’s perpetration of violence on the experience of victimization, especially within the sub-Saharan African socioeconomic context. An inquiry into the impact of IPV perpetration on victimization can expand the nature of the discourse on IPV victimization and point to the complexities of victimhood, which may be entangled with the presence of aggressive behavior.…”

Perspectives and Values of Dental Medicine Students Regarding Domestic Violence

“…The first seven questions (1-7) targeted the quantification of the severity of this phenomenon using case vignettes in which answers were evaluated using a four-point scale, using the following potential answers: it is not a case of domestic violence; it is a case of slight domestic violence; it is a case of moderate domestic violence; it is a case of severe domestic violence. The following 10 questions (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) were dichotomous, with yes or no answers and targeted aspects concerning the importance of this phenomenon and the physician's role in the relationship with the patient who is also a DV victim. Finally, the last two questions were multiple-choice and evaluated the media coverage and the potential causes of this phenomenon.…”

“…According to the study conducted by Melander et al, depressive persons and persons who consume alcohol are more likely to be both a victim and an aggressor within the couple [ 5 ]. Previous studies have shown that when the woman is the aggressor, she may act aggressively toward the violent partner to defend herself, thus mimicking bidirectional violence [ 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”