Does Type of Crime Affect the Stress and Coping Process? Implications of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Intimate partner violence occurs in relationships of intimacy, kinship, dependency, or trust. It ranges from physical, emotional, financial, and sexual abuse to neglect. A relatively unexplored area has been the study of the type of crime as a factor affecting stress and coping in victims. A small but compelling body of literature suggests that such stressors as crime victimization may be coped with quite differently by subgroups of victims. As such, this study explores the differences in appraisal, coping strategy, levels of distress, social support, and well-being in a sample of intimate partner abuse victims and victims of other violent crimes.

Physical Assault Victimization and Coping Among Adults in Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment

“…However, it may also be that these differences can be attributed to other investigation’s lack of measurement of non-partner violence among victims of partner violence. This is somewhat supported by the results reported by Green and Kane (2009) who found that individuals involved in violent crime reported significantly more avoidant coping than those who were victims of partner violence. However, direct comparison with Green and Kane’s results are limited because they do not report details regarding their recruitment methods and whether individuals in either group (i.e., violent crime or intimate partner violence) had a history of the other type of violence.…”

“…Our finding that more frequent problem-focused coping was associated with decreased odds of reporting physical assault by both partners and non-partners is consistent with theory and research supporting problem-focused efforts as being related to more desirable outcomes (Forys, McKellar, & Moos, 2007; Linley & Joseph, 2004; Penley, Tomaka, & Wiebe, 2002). Although some prior studies did not identify significant relationships between problem-focused coping and victimization (Green & Kane, 2009; Hassan et al, 2011; Lilly & Graham-Bermann, 2010; Taft et al, 2007), Kocot and Goodman (2003) reported a positive relationship between these variables. However, Kocot and Goodman’s findings might reflect the circumstances of their sample, a group of women presenting at a domestic violence intake center (i.e., who are engaging in a problem-focused, active coping strategy by seeking services) following the arrest of their partner for assault.…”

“…In a study that compared men and women who were victims of partner violence to those who were victims of other violent crime, those involved in violent crime endorsed more use of avoidance coping than those who were victimized by a partner. However, there were no differences between groups on measures of emotion-focused and problem-focused coping (Green & Kane, 2009). Finally, in a sample of young adults recruited from college campuses, frequency of physical assault was associated with avoidant coping among young men (Hassan, Mallozzi, Dhingra, & Haden, 2011)…”

“…Furthermore, although large numbers of both men and women experience violence, especially among individuals with SUDs (e.g., Chermack, Murray, Walton, Booth, Wryobeck, & Blow, 2008; Chermack, Walton, Fuller & Blow, 2001; Murray, Chermack, Walton, Winters, Booth, & Blow, 2008), many studies focus solely on women’s victimization by male intimate partners (e.g., Calvete, Corral, & Estevez, 2008; Canady & Babcock, 2009; Krause et al, 2008; Sullivan, Schroeder, Dudley, & Dixon, 2010) or on undifferentiated types of violence (Green & Kane, 2009; Hassan, Mallozzi, Dhingra, & Haden, 2011). With regard to coping, some investigations measured coping only as it pertains to relationship stress or partner physical assault (Sullivan et al, 2010; Taft, Resick, Panuzio, Vogt, & Mechanic, 2007) or did not measure multiple types coping (Kocot & Goodman, 2003; Rodriguez et al, 2010).…”

Coping Strategies for Victims of Crime: Effects of the Use of Emotion-Focused, Problem-Focused, and Avoidance-Oriented Coping

“…Understanding this experience is an important goal of this study. In the past few decades, coping has become a term that has received considerable interest in the behavioral sciences (e.g., Billings & Moos, 1981;Green & Diaz, 2008;Green & Kane, 2009;Lazarus & Folkman, 1984;Pearlin & Schooler, 1978).…”