No abstract

Rising numbers of women arrested for domestic violence present many theoretical and practical challenges. At the theoretical level, there is ongoing debate about whether women are equally aggressive as men. At the practical level, little research is available to guide how female cases are handled in the criminal justice system. In this study, data were obtained regarding demographic characteristics, mental health functioning, and childhood familial dysfunction for a large sample of male (n = 2,254) and female (n = 281) domestic violence offenders. The women were demographically similar to the men, and few differences were noted in their childhood experiences. Women were more likely than men to have previously attempted suicide, whereas more men had conduct problems in childhood and substance abuse in adulthood. Compared to the male offenders, women reported more symptoms of personality dysfunction and mood disorder. Treatment implications of these findings are discussed.

Male domestic violence (DV) offenders often minimize their aggression or attribute blame to their partner. These distortions make it difficult to obtain accurate self-report information and men who engage in significant denial are less compliant with treatment. It is also commonly believed that batterers who minimize, deny, and blame their victim are more dangerous than men who accept responsibility for their actions. Data to support this latter opinion remain limited, however, and the few studies that are available have produced mixed findings. In this study, measures of minimization, denial, attributions, and socially desirable responding were collected from a large sample of convicted DV offenders (N = 2,824). Analyses examined the association between these scales and new DV police reports. Little evidence was found to support the hypothesis that minimization, denial, and victim blaming are associated with increased recidivism. Explanations for these findings and suggestions for further study are discussed.

No abstract

Recent studies support the validity of both structured risk assessment tools and victim perceptions as predictors of risk for repeat intimate partner violence (IPV). Combining structured risk assessments and victim risk assessments leads to better predictions of repeat violence than either alone, suggesting that the two forms of assessment provide unique and complementary information. However, very little is known about elements involved in women's risk assessments. The present study explores predictors of women's risk assessment and differences in factors linked to victim and actuarial risk assessments in a large sample of women (N = 728) shortly after the arrest of their male partner for IPV. In multivariate analyses, women's risk assessments were strongly related to past relationship violence and their partner's substance abuse but weakly related to demographic factors, family constellation, and the partner's criminal history. Women who perceived high risk but had a low risk score on an actuarial measure were more likely to report the presence of dynamic risk factors, such as escalating violence and violence during separations, along with a history of emotional and psychological abuse. Qualitative findings paralleled quantitative findings, with women's stated reasons for expecting high or low risk indicating that women were attending to IPV history and dynamic factors. Implications for risk assessment and safety planning are discussed.