Thirty Years of Denying the Evidence on Gender Symmetry in Partner Violence: Implications for Prevention and Treatment
Abstract
The first part of this article summarizes results from more than 200 studies that have found gender symmetry in perpetration and in risk factors and motives for physical violence in martial and dating relationships. It also summarizes research that has found that most partner violence is mutual and that self-defense explains only a small percentage of partner violence by either men or women. The second part of the article documents seven methods that have been used to deny, conceal, and distort the evidence on gender symmetry. The third part of the article suggests explanations for the denial of an overwhelming body of evidence by reputable scholars. The concluding section argues that ignoring the overwhelming evidence of gender symmetry has crippled prevention and treatment programs. It suggests ways in which prevention and treatment efforts might be improved by changing ideologically based programs to programs based on the evidence from the past 30 years of research.
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Available from: Murray Straus, Feb 26, 2015
- CitationsCitations35
- ReferencesReferences137
- "Como contraargumentación se ha señalado que, si bien hay mujeres que recurren a la violencia, dicha violencia se ejerce mayoritariamente en defensa propia. Pero los teóricos de la simetría han ido más lejos y han comenzado a documentar empíricamente que también las mujeres inician la violencia (no solo se defienden) y también lo hacen con fines de control (no solo los hombres, como sostiene el feminismo) (Straus 2010). En realidad, desde una perspectiva feminista, la principal línea de defensa en este sentido es que la violencia que ejercen las mujeres no forma parte de un sistema más general de dominación y control, como sí ocurre con la violencia que ejercen los hombres sobre las mujeres (Gondolf 2014). "
- "Furthermore, a self-selection bias is plausible, given that couples with an extremely high level of conflict or abuse may be less likely to participate in this kind of study (Johnson, 1995). Finally, we did not collect data on the dynamics, reasons or consequences (e.g., injuries) of violent behavior, even though this would have provided a more complete understanding of the context in which violence occurs (Hamby, 2009), and some studies have found gender differences in the effects of violence, with women being more severely affected by IPV (Archer, 2000; Straus, 2010). Additionally, given the online questionnaire format, we cannot be sure that the participants replied individually and sincerely. "
[Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Although dating violence takes place within the context of a couple, there are few studies exploring how the prevalence data change when violence is reported by one partner or both, and to what extent partners agree about the existence of violence. The aim of this study is therefore to analyze and compare the reports about the prevalence of violence obtained from participants and their partners, together with interpartner agreement concerning victimization and perpetration of threats, physical, verbal-emotional and sexual violence. A total of 105 young heterosexual couples answered a questionnaire about victimization and the perpetration of violence in their relationship during the previous year. The results indicated that prevalence rates varied, depending on who reported the violence -the man, the woman or the couple- perhaps because interpartner agreement was low, except for the occurrence of verbal-emotional violence and the absence of physical violence. These findings suggest the need to develop more systematic research, especially through the use of reports from both members of the couple.- "In addition, adherence to a singular theoretical perspective becomes problematic when data are irreconcilable with the primary tenets of that theory. For example, data indicating that males and females show nearly equal rates of IPV perpetration make the singular reliance on the sociocultural/patriarchal socialization perspective problematic (Straus, 2010). Strict adherence to any single theoretical approach may arbitrarily constrict the range of relevant variables and interactions among these variables that one is able to investigate. "
[Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a critical public health problem that requires clear and testable etiological models that may translate into effective interventions. While alcohol intoxication and a pattern of heavy alcohol consumption are robust correlates of IPV perpetration, there has been limited research that examines the mediating mechanisms of how alcohol potentiates IPV. We provide a theoretical and methodological framework for researchers to conceptualize how alcohol intoxication causes IPV, and propose innovative laboratory methods that directly test mediational mechanisms. We conclude by discussing how these innovations may lead to the development of interventions to prevent or reduce alcohol-related IPV. © The Author(s) 2015.
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