Bryan Cafferky

Gender Differences in Risk Markers for Perpetration of Physical Partner Violence: Results from a Meta-Analytic Review

There is a lack of consensus on whether the use of intimate partner violence (IPV) is distinctly different between men and women, or if men and women share similar risk markers for perpetrating IPV. In this study, we compared 60 different risk markers for IPV perpetration for men and women using a meta-analysis. We found three out of 60 risk markers significantly differed between men and women. Our results suggest that there are more similarities between men and women than there are differences in risk markers for IPV perpetration.

Substance use and intimate partner violence: A meta-analytic review.

Objectives: This meta-analysis examines the strength of the link between substance use (e.g., alcohol use vs. drug use) and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and victimization. Method: Data from 285 studies (yielding 983 effect sizes (ESs) and a combined sample size of 627,726) were analyzed using random effects. Moderator analyses compared the impact of overall substance abuse, alcohol use, and drug use on IPV perpetration and victimization for males and females. Results: Overall substance use, alcohol use, and drug use were significantly related to IPV perpetration and victimization, with mean ESs ranging from r = .18 to .23. Results indicate that drug use is a significantly stronger correlate with victimization, compared with alcohol use. Problematic alcohol use measures (i.e., abuse, dependence, and drinking problems) were significantly stronger correlates than consumption measures (e.g., alcohol use or frequency) for IPV victimization, but statistically similar for IPV perpetration. Problematic drug use measures were significantly stronger correlates with perpetration than drug consumption measures. Surprisingly, there were no significant differences between the impact of different drug types, and no significant difference between the impact of stimulants versus nonstimulants on IPV perpetration and victimization. Conclusions: This study provides the most comprehensive analysis of the link between substance use and IPV to date. Even if certain drugs are regarded as a lower health risk, clinicians are encouraged to evaluate the impact on their clients’ IPV. Future IPV researchers are encouraged to include specific drug types and frequencies of substance use.

Resilience Building Among Adolescents From National Guard Families Applying a Developmental Contextual Model

A better understanding of resilience building in military-connected children is needed to serve the needs of military families and sustain the security of the United States. This study explored the development of resilience in 30 adolescents from National Guard families that had been deployed. Using thematic analysis, we found that military-connected adolescents are affected by events in settings far beyond their control—political and civil upheavals in foreign lands, military cultural values, societal perception of the military and of wars, and communities’ responses to military families. When comfort was not offered by familiar social and school networks, these adolescents had only their families to which they could turn. The extent to which adolescents can depend on parents for comfort was influenced by the quality of the parental relationship. Even when parents were available, adolescents were inclined to uphold the military value of personal courage and withdraw to self-soothe.

Military Wives Emotionally Coping During Deployment: Balancing Dependence and Independence

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how military wives’ coping mechanisms are related to their emotional connection with their deployed husbands. Conceptualizing the marital relationship as an attachment system, we explored how military wives adopted various coping mechanisms during their husbands’ deployment and identified two types of efforts toward independence: self-sufficient independence through emotional avoidance, and autonomous interdependence through emotional connection. These are consistent with those coping behaviors informed by secure and avoidant attachment styles. Clinical implications are offered based on the discussion of the results.

How Military Wives Decide What to Share With Their Deployed Husbands: A Reciprocal Process

For this study, 13 military wives were interviewed about how they decided what to share and what not to share with their deployed husbands. An inductive, line-by-line analysis revealed a reciprocal and dynamic decision-making process that progressively moved through four thematic internal questions that military wives asked themselves: (1) Can I share this information with my deployed husband? (2) How much of this information do I share with my deployed husband? (3) How do I share this information with my deployed husband? and (4) How did my husband respond? Their husbands’ feedback reciprocally influenced how these military wives decided to disclose stressful information in the future.

Implications of Partner Abuse State of Knowledge Findings for Prevention, Treatment, and Policy

We begin our discussion of the implications of the Partner Abuse State of Knowledge (PASK) findings for prevention, treatment, and policy by acknowledging the massive amount of work by the leading partner abuse scholars in the field that resulted in this historic volume. We are confident that this project will guide and inform research and practice for many years. We owe Hamel, Langhinrichsen-Roling, and Hines appreciation for their efforts in leading this project. Throughout these manuscripts, the authors have offered implications for prevention, treatment, and policy. In this article, we highlight these suggestions and also add additional suggestions from reading the entire volume of manuscripts. We organize these suggestions into five categories (i.e., prevention, screening, interventions for offenders, services for victims, and policy implications), although we recognize that these implications move beyond the category to which they have been assigned. For example, screening impacts intervention and screening can also be incorporated into policy implications. We encourage readers to go to the original articles to understand the comprehensive research upon which these implications are founded.

Mental Health Factors and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Victimization: A Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: This meta-analysis aimed to explore the relationship between mental health disorders and symptoms of mental health disorders (depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], antisocial personality disorder [PD], and borderline PD) and physical intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and victimization for males and females. Method: Data from 207 studies, yielding 511 effect sizes, were analyzed. The overall strength of each correlate for IPV perpetration and victimization was examined. Moderator analyses were used to compare the strength of correlates for IPV victimization versus perpetration, as well as for males versus females. Results: Depression, anxiety, PTSD, antisocial PD, and borderline PD were all significant correlates for both IPV victimization and perpetration. Anxiety and PTSD were significantly stronger correlates for victimization than for perpetration, and borderline PD and antisocial PD were significantly stronger correlates for perpetration than for victimization. For women, borderline PD was a significantly stronger correlate for IPV perpetration than for victimization, and PTSD was a significantly stronger correlate for IPV victimization than perpetration. Depression was a significantly stronger correlate for IPV victimization for women than for men. Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive examination of mental health disorders and their link to IPV perpetration and victimization. The results suggest that clinicians working with individuals or couples in the context of IPV should assess for and treat mental health problems.

The Role of Depression in the Relationship Between Psychological and Physical Intimate Partner Violence

Physical and psychological intimate partner violence (IPV) are significant public health concerns often associated with negative consequences for individuals, families, and society. Because IPV occurs within an interpersonal relationship, it is important to better understand how each partner’s depressive symptoms, marital satisfaction, and psychological and physical IPV are interlinked. The purpose of this study was to identify actor and partner effects in a dyadic data analysis association between marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms, its links to psychological IPV, and then to physical IPV. Guided by the social information processing model, this study has implications for understanding the processes leading to various types of IPV in people seeking couples therapy. Using cross-sectional data from 126 heterosexual couples, we conducted an actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) to test actor and partner effects. Indirect actor and partner effects were also assessed. More depressive symptoms were associated with lower marital satisfaction. More depressive symptoms were generally linked with increased perpetration of psychological and physical IPV. Psychological IPV was associated with an individual’s use of physical IPV. Effect sizes were moderate to large in magnitude. Four specific indirect effects were identified from depressive symptoms to psychological IPV to physical IPV. Depressive symptoms may be an important factor related to psychological and physical IPV for males and females. Implications include assessing for and treating depression in both partners, and discussing preferred ways of supporting each other that do not include psychological or physical IPV.

A Meta-Analysis of Risk Markers for Intimate Partner Violence in Same-Sex Relationships:

Research on intimate partner violence (IPV) has largely focused on heterosexual relationships, but, in recent years, researchers have expanded their focus to include same-sex relationships. Using meta-analytic techniques, this study was conducted to examine the relative strength of various risk markers for men and women being perpetrators and victims of physical IPV in same-sex relationships. Articles were identified through research search engines and screened to identify articles fitting the inclusion criteria, a process that resulted in 24 studies and 114 effect sizes for the meta-analysis. The strongest risk marker among those with at least two effect sizes for both male and female perpetration was psychological abuse perpetration. The strongest risk marker among those with at least two effect sizes for IPV victimization was also perpetration of psychological abuse for males and psychological abuse victimization for females. Among same-sex-specific risk markers, internalized homophobia and fusion were the strongest predictors for being perpetrators of IPV for men and women, respectively. HIV status and internalized homophobia were the strongest risk markers for IPV victimization for men and women, respectively. Of 10 comparisons between men and women in risk markers for IPV perpetration and victimization, only 1 significant difference was found. The results suggest that although same-sex and heterosexual relationships may share a number of risk markers for IPV, there are risk markers for physical IPV unique to same-sex relationships. Further research and increased specificity in measurement are needed to better study and understand the influence of same-sex-specific risk markers for IPV.

Air Force Chaplains’ Perceived Effectiveness on Service Member's Resilience and Satisfaction

This study examined how 3,777 active duty male United States Air Force service members’ (SMs) rank and residence location moderated the associations between perceived chaplain effectiveness, SMs’ resilience, family coping, marital satisfaction, and satisfaction with the Air Force (AF). A multiple-sample structural equation model was conducted with four subgroups of SMs who had received chaplain support: enlisted members living on base, enlisted members living off base, officers living on base, and officers living off base. Chaplain effectiveness was significantly related, both directly and indirectly, to SM’s spirituality, resilience, family coping, marital satisfaction, and AF satisfaction. Resilience was significantly associated with increased AF satisfaction for all SMs, except for those living on base. However, living on base was found to strengthen the protective factor between family coping and relationship satisfaction. Rank was found to moderate the link between resilience and family coping. Family coping was significantly related to increased relationship satisfaction.