This study examined the combined impact of individual-level and group-level variables on self-reported intimate partner violence, operationally defined as mild to severe physical aggression on the Modified Conflict Tactics Scale, among married male U.S. Army soldiers. The sample comprised 713 servicemen from 27 companies stationed at an Army post in the Alaskan interior. Group-level variables were based on individual reports on various dimensions of group climate aggregated at the company level. Contextual analyses were conducted using a variety of regression approaches. Individual-level predictor variables significantly associated with intimate partner violence included race, symptoms of depression, poor marital adjustment, alcohol problems, and a history of childhood abuse. Group-level predictor variables significantly associated with intimate partner violence included lower leadership support (vertical cohesion), a culture of hyper-masculinity (operationally defined as increased group disrespect), and lower support for spouses.

The relationship of intimate partner violence to psychological distress and the mediating or moderating effects of social support were examined among 99 married active duty Army women and 477 married active duty Army men. Although approximately 40% of both the men and the women had experienced physical partner violence in the past year, in neither group was physical violence correlated with psychological distress when controlling for other variables. Among women, psychological abuse inflicted by a partner was significantly associated with greater psychological distress. Among men, poor marital adjustment was associated with greater psychological distress. An unexpected significant interaction effect was found among women indicating that those who were violent toward their partners under conditions of high peer support experienced greater psychological distress.

Correlates of self-reported intimate partner violence (IPV) were examined among 488 married male U.S. Army soldiers. Study results were examined within the framework of Johnson's (1995) typology, which proposes that there are two main types of IPV, common couple violence and intimate terrorism. We predicted that poor marital adjustment would be associated with minor violence, hypothesized to be indicative of common couple violence. We also predicted that psychological and behavioral characteristics associated with perpetrators of IPV would be more strongly correlated with severe inflicted aggression--a pattern hypothesized to be indicative of intimate terrorism. The results, based on a multivariate analysis of covariance, generally supported our hypotheses. Furthermore, the higher levels of IPV reported by Black respondents in this study were associated with the pattern hypothesized to be characteristic of common couple violence.

T hroughout the 1990s and 2000s, there has been a trend in the United States to register and control the movement of convicted sex offenders. Following the abduction of an 11-year-old boy, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act (1994) required that all states create sex offender registries. Then, in 1996, Megan's Law was passed, which required public notification of the presence of sex offenders.Residency restriction laws and ordinances have become an increasingly popular way to respond to public outcry about sex offenses against children. These laws serve to extend the punishment of sex offenders out of fear they will be hunting for victims because they live in proximity to where children congregate. In 1996, Alabama became the first state to restrict where sex offenders were allowed to live. Although a handful of states had already passed exclusion zone laws prior to 2005, the idea of local ordinances took hold following an ordinance that was passed in Miami Beach, Florida, in response to the abduction and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford.As of 2006, 29 states and hundreds of localities had adopted measures to restrict where registered sex offenders are permitted to live (Nieto & Jung, 2006). Typically, the laws are intended to protect children by limiting offenders' access to locations where children congregate by establishing buffer zones of between 1,000 feet and 2,500 feet around these locations. There is wide variation in the details of the laws, including the types of offenders who are required to comply, the types of facilities included to create the buffer zones, the distance of the buffer zones, and how the distance is to be determined. Some of the laws make distinctions between categories of risk of offenders and include only high-risk offenders. Another area of variability is the retroactive nature of the laws, with some jurisdictions requiring all sex offenders on their registries to comply, regardless of when the offense occurred.

Although in the past three decades there has been a steady increase in research on violence against women, the proliferation of this body of literature can be overwhelmingly attributed to the passage of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA). 1 "The Act changed laws and promoted legal interventions at the same time that it called for research to inform policy and to evaluate practices meant to prevent violence against women" (Ford, Bachman, Friend, & Meloy, 2002, p. 1). Through the VAWA, the federal government provides funds for states and local governments, tribal nations, and territories to develop prevention and intervention programs to combat violence against women. Concomitant with these programmatic activities has been the development of violence against women research agendas supported by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Primarily through their Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), respectively, these two departments have been spearheading efforts to advance our understanding of the causes, correlates, and consequences of violence against women. 2 As activities are under way to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the VAWA, historic legislation that has altered the way violence against women is responded to in this country, we also need 1417 AUTHOR'S NOTE: Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. I thank Jocelyn Fontaine for assembling the documents that were used to prepare this article, and I thank Nicole Gaskin-Laniyan for her review of earlier drafts.