Browsing by Subject "Intimate partner violence"
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Item A categorical examination of strain on college campuses(2012-05) Mason, Brandon; Smithey, Martha; Ramirez, Ignacio L.Previous research has demonstrated a link between academic strain and intimate partner violence, specifically psychological aggression (Mason & Smithey, 2011). Though this test of Merton’s Strain Theory (1938) on intimate partner violence on a college campus measured strain in several ways, including cumulative strain as the passage of time in potentially stressful situations and economic strain, the primary tool relied on for the measurement of academic strain was the College Undergraduate Stress Scale (Renner & Mackin, 1998). This item yielded an aggregated measure of general strain; however, this general strain score failed to discuss potential categorical differences in types of strain. As a part of continued research into the effect of strain upon intimate partner violence on college campuses, this thesis aims to further explore and develop a diverse, multi-dimensional model of strain, rather than presenting an inaccurate portrayal of academic strain as a single, aggregate variable. In order to analyze the degree to which strain-causing items fall into theoretically distinct categories, additional survey data were collected from 352 Texas Tech students in a mixture of upper and lower-division classes. The College Undergraduate Stress Scale (CUSS) was administered to measure academic strain, while the Conflict Tactics Scales II (Straus et al. 1996) is used to measure the perpetration of intimate partner violence. Factor analysis is performed in order to disaggregate the CUSS into a number of unique strain categories. Findings reveal three primary categories of strain: 1.) Academic Strain, or strain associated with a difficult semester, such as “Finals Week” or “Two exams in one day”, and 2.) Peer Strain, such as “Drinking or use of drugs” and “Peer pressures”, and 3.) Unanticipated Strain, or strain that was not expected, such as “Lack of Sleep” or “Getting sick” (Renner & Mackin, 1998). Cronbach’s alpha reveals a fair amount of internal consistency within these subscales, with scores at 0.75, 0.65, and 0.57, respectively. Though the Unanticipated Strain subscale shows a lower than desirable degree of internal consistency, there is a qualitative similarity between the items “Lack of sleep,” “Change in housing situation (hassles, moves),” “Difficulties with a roommate,” “Commuting to campus or work, or both,” “Getting sick,” and “Attending an athletic event (e.g., football game).” Combined with a reasonably high degree of internal consistency, this qualitative consistency justifies the inclusion of these items into a unique category of strain as measured by this scale. The unique ways in which these categories of strain correspond with an individual’s race, religion, belief in traditional gender roles, and gender are discussed. In addition, the ways in which these different categories of strain interact with the perpetration of intimate partner violence are explored. After controlling for outside influences, analysis using OLS regression reveals no relationship between strain and intimate partner violence; however, strain is positively associated with increased negotiation within the relationship. In addition, the number of years spent in the relationship are positively related to both the perpetration of psychological aggression and increased rates of negotiation. Results are discussed.Item Couples' perceptions of a brief intimate partner violence intervention: A qualitative analysis(2013-08) Pettigrew, Haley; Whiting, Jason B.; Smith, Douglas B.; Ivey, David C.; Wherry, Jeffrey N.Conjoint treatment for couples experiencing intimate partner violence has been found to be effective; however, there are still many concerns around the safety it provides for the victims. This study looked at the experiences of adult couples who disclosed the existence of physical or severe psychological abuse and then completed one or more sessions of a brief-intimate partner violence intervention. These couples were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences of the intervention using a semi-structured interview format. Constructivist grounded theory methodology was used to collect and analyze the data. A model was constructed that portrays the overall experiences participants had during the intervention sessions. This model contains useful information on the effectiveness of conjoint interventions for couples experiencing intimate partner violence and on their perceptions of safety in their relationships. Results indicated all components of the intervention were influential in the development of awareness.Item The Domestic Violence Act : Ghana's bright future(2012-12) Morris, Jennifer N.; Westbrook, Lynn; Westbrook, Lynn; Busch-Armendariz, NoelThe Domestic Violence Act was passed in Ghana in 2007 marking a shift in the legal recourse available to survivors of intimate partner violence. The goal of my research is to identify the social, cultural, and legal changes that have occurred in Accra, Ghana and the surrounding areas since the passage of the DV Act. While in Ghana I spoke with men and women who were involved in the struggle to get the bill passed, as well as NGO employees and government officials who have seen men and women utilize the legal rights that the bill provides. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the cultural complexities of Ghana that continue to make the eradication of intimate partner violence so difficult. In the end, I hope that my research will add to a growing understanding of what is most lacking in the fight to attenuate the deleterious effects of intimate partner violence, so that advocates will be better able to truly implement the DVA’s emancipatory qualities. I also hope that the study will be a catalyst to promote continued education and invigorate activism. Methodologically, I used qualitative research tenets, utilizing in depth interviews and emergent coding. Results show how socio-culturally informed gendered attitudes and norms heavily impact the implementation of and enforcement of legal frameworks within communities. Findings also aid in a better understanding of the factors that surround violence against women in Ghana, and help explain how such factors are interrelated and mutually reinforcing.Item Exploring the lived experience of intimate partner violence and salutogenesis in aging Mexican-American women(2015-12) Divin, Christine Ann; Volker, Deborah L.; Champion, Jane; Acton, Gayle; Angel, Jacqueline; Holahan, CaroleIntimate partner violence, a serious preventable public health problem affects one in three women in the US and a billion women worldwide, crossing all boundaries including age, ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic. However, little is known about the experience of IPV in aging women, especially in aging ethnic minorities. Furthermore, there are countless hidden victims including the many children who witness repeated IPV, placing them at risk of becoming a victim of IPV or a perpetrator in their own intimate relationships. The purpose of my dissertation was to explore the lived experience of IPV through the lens of aging Mexican-American women with a history of IPV, to increase understanding of how their experience has shaped their lives today, and to identify the salutogenic factors that may have sustained health in the midst of adversity. Denzin's methodology of interpretive interactionism that embraces the interrelationship of private issues that also have societal implications guided this qualitative study. Antonovsky's Salutogenic Theory provided the sensitizing framework. Previous studies have shown the numerous adverse effects of IPV but some have also shown that women garner tremendous strength simply to survive. These studies have identified a need for ongoing research from a resource perspective to further understand this strength. This study not only addresses the IPV experience in Mexican-American women with a past history of abuse, but from a Salutogenic perspective, captures the healing journey of 12 aging women aged 55-85 in two border communities in Texas. The women in this study not only survived IPV but have discovered ways to foster health ease and even thrive in their autumn and winter years. The wisdom revealed has numerous implications for health care professionals as well as for ongoing research including holistic models for healing from IPV, universal screening throughout the life span, and inclusion of survivors in preventive efforts. An upstream approach is indeed called for as all of the women in this study proclaimed a desire to break the cycle of violence for future generations.Item Intimate Partner Violence and Help Seeking Behavior(2017-07-05) Lewis, Shana D.; Watts, Richard E.; Henrikson, Richard E.Intimate partner violence is a growing epidemic in our country. Statistics indicate that an estimated 47.1% of women experienced at least one act of psychological aggression by an intimate partner during their lifetime (Breiding et al., 2014); that is, almost half of women experience some form of violence in their lifetime. Furthermore, women 18-24 and 25-34 are the number one and two (respectively) most vulnerable age groups to this kind of relationship violence. These statistics highlight the need to understand women’s experience of intimate partner violence as well as her help seeking behavior. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to give voice to the experiences of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and explore their help seeking behavior. I specifically considered the help seeking behavior of the 18-24 and 25-34 year old woman. In addition to seeking to understand each group separately, I also compared the two groups to one another to uncover similarities or differences in their help seeking behaviors that were mitigated by age. This study used the transcendental-phenomenological approach to qualitative research to give survivors of IPV the opportunity to speak about their experiences of help seeking behavior. The emergent themes in this study were divided into two categories: Internal Factors and External Factors. External Factor themes included: The Situation and Awareness of Resources with the subthemes of Formal Supports, Informal Supports, and Not Worth the Risk: Protective Measures. The Internal Factors include Classification/Label, Looking Back, and Blame with the subthemes Self Blame and Other Blame.Item Men’s experience of abuse in intimate partnerships : impact and implications(2011-05) Gonzalez, Jarod Joshua; Rochlen, Aaron B.; Busch-Armendariz, NoelMen who experience abuse in their relationships can undergo emotional hardships, suffer injuries, and can experience various psychological problems. Cultural gender norms create barriers in receiving the appropriate help men need. Large population based studies show that men do in fact experience incidents of physical and emotional abuse yet men are often overlooked in the domestic violence literature. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an important societal problem that needs to be evaluated and addressed for both genders, even if women are the primary victims of IPV. This report will present research regarding the prevalence of female-perpetrated abuse and discuss implications within the literature. The impact and consequences IPV has on men will be reviewed as well as barriers men face in getting help. New questions will be posed that need addressing and practical implications will be provided for researchers and mental health practitioners.Item Perceived acceptability of abusive behavior in the maintenance of psychologically abusive relationships(2011-08) Chang, Christine Susan, 1977-; Swann, William B.; Gosling, Samuel D.; Beevers, Christopher G.; Pennebaker, James W.; Loving, Timothy J.In this series of studies, I hypothesized that people’s perceptions of certain psychologically abusive acts as acceptable or not acceptable would impact whether they would remain in psychologically abusive relationships. In Study 1, I explored the historic link between low self-esteem in women and receiving high levels of abuse. I found that women who were low in self-esteem found psychologically abusive behavior depicted in a series of vignettes to be significantly more acceptable than did women who were high in self-esteem. In Study 2, I found that women who were currently in abusive relationships found psychologically abusive behavior depicted in a video to be significantly more acceptable than did women who were currently in non-abusive relationships. Furthermore, I found that the woman’s own abusive behavior toward her partner was a stronger predictor than the abusiveness of her partner of whether she endorsed that she would stay in the depicted abusive relationship. Also, I found that among women who were highly abusive toward their partners and high in self-esteem, the more abuse they were receiving from their current partners, the more acceptable they found the depicted abusive behaviors. Based on these findings, in Study 3 I explored whether priming women’s (a) awareness of their own aggressive behaviors and (b) how these behaviors could change might have stronger impact on women’s views of the acceptability of their own abusive behaviors than women’s awareness of their partner’s aggressive behaviors. Furthermore, I explored whether these different foci would have impact on real-life consequences in changing abuse levels in the current relationship. The findings were mixed; short-term effects implied that writing about conflict, no matter whether the focus is on the self’s aggression or the partner’s aggression, seemed to encourage women to regard leaving an abusive relationship as more acceptable than writing about a neutral topic. Over the long-term, however, writing about conflict, no matter whether the focus was on the self’s aggression or the partner’s aggression, exacerbated the partner’s psychologically aggressive behavior.Item Perceptions of Safety and Violence among Relationship Education Participants: A Grounded Theory Study(2011-08) Porter, Rob; Whiting, Jason B.; Smith, Douglas B.; Ivey, David C.; Harris, Steven M.Marriage and relationship education (MRE) has become a focus of national attention. With the passage of federal legislation appropriating money to promote MRE among low-income and minority populations, various states have begun to offer MRE workshops. However, as low-income populations are at increased risk for intimate partner violence (IPV), some are concerned that government endorsement of MRE will encourage participants (particularly women) to stay in or enter into unsafe and violent relationships. Research examining the relationship between MRE participation and IPV is in its infancy. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods and data collected from a federally-funded MRE program, this study examined the effect of participating in an MRE on an individual’s relationship as it relates to perceptions of safety and violence. A theory and model were developed which include 5 categories: group process, context, awareness, creating a safe environment, and relationship unity. Qualitative results indicate that participants move through a process from context to relationship unity, via the group process, awareness, and creating a safe environment. Quantitative results show an increase in perceptions of safety for the total SAFE scale and all three subscales (verbal/psychological, control, and physical) for the full sample. Similar results were found when analyses were completed by gender. Females, however, reported no significant difference between pre- and post-test for the physical subscale. A discussion of the findings and the implications thereof, as well as possible directions for future research, is provided.Item Perspectives of young adolescent and mother dyads residing in family violence shelters : a qualitative study using life story methods(2009-08) Chanmugam, Amy Gardiner; Busch-Armendariz, Noël Bridget; McRoy, Ruth G.This study provided a comprehensive picture of the lives of young adolescents (ages 12-14) and their mothers residing in emergency family violence shelters. It used qualitative Life Story methods emphasizing a holistic, contextualized, chronological approach to gain deeper insight into experiences as told from the emic perspectives of individuals who have lived them, with research questions addressing relationships, intimate partner violence (IPV), coping, and views of the future. The study was prompted by the prevalence of childhood exposure to adult IPV with 15.5 million American children/adolescents exposed annually, the risks of IPV exposure, and the paucity of first-person perspectives in existing research. Research focusing on adolescents is especially lacking. The study was informed by social cognitive and family systems theories and an ecological/resilience framework. An ethnically diverse, purposive sample of 14 young adolescent-mother dyads (N= 27) was recruited from four Texas shelters. Youth and mothers were interviewed separately using a semi-structured interview guide. They completed standardized measures of IPV exposure level and youth psychological adjustment. Interviews were analyzed using thematic and categorical-content analysis. Four staff interviews at recruitment sites added context. Results revealed high levels of IPV exposure, poverty, parental incarceration, child maltreatment, residential instability, school transitions and maternal health problems. Seven themes were prominent in youths’ life stories, with the most prevalent concerning lifelong frequent moves, highly cohesive family boundaries, and loss and fear. Other themes concerned evolution in youths’ thinking about family issues, complex feelings about adult males, centrality of physical child abuse, and the influence of parental crack cocaine abuse in their lives. Numerous quotes voice participants’ strengths in spite of adversities. Youth typically framed experiences in terms of how they affected daily living, with IPV interwoven with the broader themes. Youth described key relationships, perceptions of fathers, general coping strategies, situational coping with IPV (including safety planning behaviors), perspectives on shelters, potential protective factors, and views of the future. Mothers’ interviews expanded interpretation of youth narratives. Results compare youth-mother perspectives. Implications are discussed for theory, research, and social work practice, including practice in emergency shelters, schools, substance abuse treatment programs, law enforcement and CPS.Item The role of male-male relationships in partner violence treatment groups: the effects of improving same sex relationships on attachment(2009-05-15) Barnes, Ashley D.The current study focused on the challenging task of providing treatment to male batterers and the various factors that may positively affect the outcome of treatment. Group treatment has been shown to be a successful modality to working with partner abusers, due to the unique environment that is created where males interact with and establish relationships with other males. This male-male socialization may have potential positive effects on the course and outcome of therapy. This study sought to provide support for Jennings and Murphy?s theory of domestic violence that malefemale disrupted relationships have roots in disrupted male-male relationships and male identity issues and rigid gender role ideals. This study predicted that over the course of a 15-week court mandated domestic violence group, improving male-male relationships would be correlated with improvements in male identity issues and rigid sex role attitudes and improvements in male-female relationship issues. These expectations were supported by the research data. Additionally, it was expected that an improvement in same sex relationships would be related to an overall dimensional change in their attachment system. This hypothesis was not supported by the data. Moreover, process variables such as group climate and working alliance were also examined throughout the course of the group to shed light on any changes that were found. The results showed steadily increasing reports of positive working alliance ratings by counselors and clients, and increasing levels of group cohesion among the group members. The discussion and conclusions focus on the clinical significance of the study?s findings and include specific examples from the groups in this study. Implications for treatment with this population, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are also addressed.Item Therapeutic assessment for survivors of intimate partner violence(2014-12) Broyles, Susan Elizabeth; Sherry, Alissa RèneSurvivors of intimate partner violence often suffer from a number of serious aftereffects, but current prevalent treatments lack effectiveness for this population. Along with typical trauma symptoms such as avoidance and constriction, other common challenges unique to survivors include a loss of sense of self, negative self-appraisal, and a lack of self- efficacy. Therapeutic Assessment is well-suited to this population due to its potential for helping clients to replace distorted beliefs about the self with more adaptive ones, engaging clients as equals, and helping clients to form cohesive life narratives. The proposed study will measure the effectiveness of this approach with three to five subjects using a time-series design. Subjects will provide daily ratings of their personal experiences evaluating five areas of concern, three to be shared across subjects and two tailored to the priorities of each specific participant. The resulting indices will be tested using Simulation Modeling Analysis (SMA), controlling for autocorrelation using the Lag 1 correlation, to see whether statistically significant changes occur in the desired directions.Item What are they saying : content analysis of domestic violence messaging via Twitter(2015-05) Cicatello, Grace Ann; Stout, Patricia A.Domestic violence is a pervasive socio-economic issue. This exploratory research studied the relationship between Twitter and conversations about domestic violence, and what the relationship might indicate for future communication efforts. A random sample of tweets were collected and analyzed via SAS Text Miner. Results showed that Twitter is perceived as a news information source per uses and gratifications theory, which discouraged personal disclosure of experience with domestic violence. As such conversations about domestic violence on Twitter were more civic and legal in nature, indicating that Twitter is being utilized more as an agenda setting platform with messages being carefully framed depending on intended audience.