No abstract

This research addresses the need to incorporate the perceived threats of informal sanctions, specifically, shame and embarrassment, into the power‐control model. First, the possibility that gender differences exist in the perceived threats of shame and embarrassment, as well as legal sanctions, and that these differences vary between more patriarchal and less patriarachal households of origin is explored. Second, the relative impact of the informal sanction threat variables compared with the formal legal sanctions is ascertained. Results indicate that significant gender differences exist in the perceived threats of embarrassment and formal sanctions, and that these differences vary by household of origin type. In addition, among those individuals reared in more patriarachal households, the perceived threat of shame accounts for a significant proportion of the gender‐crime relationship.

Dual arrests in family violence cases have increased following passage of proarrest laws. This study examined the relationship between officers’perceptions of their departmental policies and arrest outcomes. Each officer was given 1 of 6 hypothetical scripts that varied as to whether the wife only was injured or the wife and husband were injured. They were then asked what action they would take. Results indicate that officers who believed that their department would support arrest of both parties are more likely to arrest both parties. Officers who perceived that their department encouraged arrest of the primary aggressor only are more likely to arrest the husband only. When both parties were injured, officers were likely to arrest both. Experienced officers were more likely than novice officers to use dual arrest. Implications for the importance of primary aggressor language are discussed.

No abstract

No abstract