“…Research specifically addressing accounts of intimate violence is quite limited. Such accounts have been referred to as "attributional cognitive processes" (that is, subjective explanations for violent acts and events by spouses), "justifications," and "excuses" (Andrews, 1992;Andrews & Brewin, 1990;Blackman, 1989;Holtzworth-Munroe, 1992;Holtzworth-Munroe & Hutchinson, 1993;Holtzworth-Munroe, Jacobson, Fehrenbach, & Fruzetti, 1992;Shields & Hanneke, 1983;Stamp & Sabourin, 1995), as well as "neutralizing techniques," that balance the negative impact of the violent act by altering its meaning or focusing on hope for good life (Dutton, 1986;Hyden, 1994), "rationalizations" (Ferraro, 1983;Ferraro & Johnson, 1983), and "coping strategies" in violent relationships (Bograd, 1988;Ferraro, 1983;Jones, 1993;Ptacek, 1988). Some studies use the term "accounts" to compare men's and women's reports about types, injuries, and prevalence of violent behaviors (i.e., Dobash, Dobash, Cavanagh, & Lewis, 1998).…”