Assertiveness Deficits and Hostility in Domestically Violent Men

Abstract

Two types of assertiveness, the ability to refuse a demand or request and the ability to initiate a request or affirmatively express a need, were examined in a clinical sample of domestically violent men (N = 78) in contrast to a nonviolent comparison group (N = 29). No significant difference was found between the groups on refusal behavior. However, a significant difference was found on initiating/request behavior, the violent men evidencing lower scores than their nonviolent counterparts. Significant differences in anger and hostility were also apparent between groups. There was a significant and positive correlation between refusal behavior and overt anger/hostility. A significant and negative correlation was observed between initiating/request behavior and covert anger/hostility. The results support the presence of social skill deficits, which appear to be significantly related to anger and hostility in domestically violent men. The findings also suggest that domestically violent men have a more specific profile of assertiveness deficits than has been previously discussed in the literature.

The Role of Alcohol and Steroid Hormones in Human Aggression

“…The spouse abusers (study I) used verbal aggression twice as often and the AGG+ men (study IV and V) differed on both the CTS2 (psychological aggression, physical assault and injury scales) and on three out of four subscales on AQ. A high level of hostility was reported by the AGG+ group, which is in agreement with the earlier findings that both hostility and anger are personality characteristics often linked to male batterers (Dutton et al, 1996;Maiuro et al, 1986;Schumacher et al, 2001). It is likely that high verbal aggression increases the probability of using physical aggression in conflict situations.…”

Extremes of self-esteem and narcissism and the experience and expression of anger and aggression

“…Accordingly, studies of maritally/domestically violent men [Goldstein and Rosenbaum, 1985;Maiuro et al, 1988] that link low self-esteem to violence interpret low self-esteem as a possible cause of aggression. Self-esteem may simply determine the choice of target in a man whose aggression may rise from one of the many correlates of violence in the home (e.g., alcohol abuse, skill deficits, attitudes toward women) [Maiuro et al, 1987].…”

Intervención psicológica en la comunidad en hombres condenados por violencia de género

“…El objetivo es obtener información sobre las expectativas del sujeto antes de comenzar el programa (forma pretest) y su satisfacción a la finalización (forma postest) respecto a algunos aspectos significativos de la intervención: a) obtención de ayuda en el tratamiento para resolver los problemas, b) mejora en la expresión de las ideas y los sentimientos, c) aprendizaje en la resolución de conflictos; y d) mejora en la manera de discrepar y de respetar el punto de vista de los otros. Se considera que la mejoría en estas áre-as puede ser importante en la prevención de la violencia (Dutton y Strachan, 1987;Maiuro, Cahn y Vitaliano, 1986 Amor, 2006;Loinaz, 2010). Para este trabajo se ha considerado el número de pensamientos distorsionados presentes en cada individuo.…”