Christopher M. Murphy

Measuring emotional abuse in dating relationships as a multifactorial construct

Initial investigations of a multifactorial approach to the measurement of emotional abuse in dating relationships are presented. A set of 54 items was generated to assess 4 rationally derived subscales measuring Restrictive Engulfment, Hostile Withdrawal, Denigration, and Dominance / Intimidation. An exploratory factor analysis on reports of partner behavior by 157 female undergraduate students in dating relationships provided support for the hypothesized subscales. Denigration and Dominance/Intimidation had consistently higher correlations with physical aggression than did the other two forms of emotional abuse. Further evidence for discriminant and convergent validity was apparent in correlations with the circumplex scales of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, and with self-reported attachment variables. The results support the assessment of emotional abuse in dating relationships as a multifactorial construct.

Partner violence before and after couples-based alcoholism treatment for male alcoholic patients: the role of treatment involvement and abstinence

This study examined partner violence before and after behavioral couples therapy (BCT) for 303 married or cohabiting male alcoholic patients and used a demographically matched nonalcoholic comparison sample. In the year before BCT, 60% of alcoholic patients had been violent toward their female partner, 5 times the comparison sample rate of 12%. In the 1st and 2nd year after BCT, violence decreased significantly from the year before BCT, and clinically significant violence reductions occurred for patients whose alcoholism was remitted after BCT. Structural equation modeling indicated that greater treatment involvement (attending BCT sessions and using BCT-targeted behaviors) was related to lower violence after BCT and that this association was mediated by reduced problem drinking and enhanced relationship functioning.

Motivating Batterers to Change in the Treatment Context

Many treatment programs for domestic abuse perpetrators rely on consistent, direct, and often intense confrontation of defenses. These interventions may unwittingly increase rather than decrease resistance and defensiveness and may reinforce the belief that relationships are based on coercive influence. Available research suggests that confrontational, hostile, and critical therapist behaviors limit treatment effectiveness and can harm vulnerable clients. Conversely, a supportive and collaborative working alliance between therapist and client enhances treatment effects. Supportive strategies are available to increase motivation to change in resistant clients. These techniques rely on a comprehensive model of the change process and match therapist interventions to the clients readiness for change.

Correlates of intimate partner violence among male alcoholic patients.

Male-to-female partner violence was investigated in heterosexual couples with an alcoholic male partner. Partner violent (PV) alcoholic patients (n = 183), when compared with nonviolent (NV) alcoholic patients (n = 120), had more antisocial personality characteristics, greater alcohol problem severity, greater use of other drugs, higher relationship distress, and stronger beliefs in the link between alcohol consumption and relationship problems. Demographic factors did not account for these PV-NV differences. Relationship distress and alcohol problem severity had independent associations with partner violence. Relationship adjustment and drug use remained significantly associated with partner violence, whereas alcohol problem severity did not, after controlling for patient antisocial traits. Beliefs in the link between drinking and relationship problems were associated with partner violence independent of other clinical factors.

Coordinated Community Intervention for Domestic Abusers: Intervention System Involvement and Criminal Recidivism

This study examined prosecution and post-prosecution elements of a coordinated community intervention approach to male perpetrators of adult domestic violence. In a sample of 235 cases, recidivism was assessed from official criminal justice data during a 12- to 18-month period after cases were initially handled by the Baltimore, Maryland States Attorneys Domestic Violence Unit. Court orders for domestic violence counseling were associated with significantly lower criminal recidivism for battery or violation of a civil order of protection. Lower criminal recidivism was also associated with the cumulative effects of successful prosecution, probation monitoring, receiving a court order to counseling, attending counseling intake, and completion of counseling. Individuals with greater involvement in this intervention system had lower recidivism rates, even though offenders with more extensive abuse histories experienced more intervention. Results provide qualified support for coordinated community intervention for domestic violence perpetrators.

Alcohol consumption and intimate partner violence by alcoholic men: comparing violent and nonviolent conflicts.

Alcoholic men and their relationship partners were interviewed about a conflict in which physical assault occurred and 1 in which psychological aggression occurred without physical assault. The interview assessed the quantity of alcohol consumed prior to each conflict, other drug use, and the topics, location, timing, duration, and speed of escalation for each conflict. The number of standard drinks consumed by the husband in the previous 12 hr was significantly higher prior to violent versus nonviolent conflicts for both self- and collateral reports, as was blood alcohol concentration estimated from self-report. Other drug use was not significantly different. Greater drinking by wives prior to violent conflicts was found in some analyses. These within-subject comparisons help to rule out individual difference explanations for the alcohol-violence association and indicate that alcohol consumption is a proximal risk factor for partner violence in alcoholic men.

Examining the Correlates of Psychological Aggression Among a Community Sample of Couples

In this study, the authors examined the correlates of psychological aggression victimization and perpetration among a community sample of 145 heterosexual couples. For both women and men, psychological aggression victimization was associated with greater psychological distress, anxiety, and physical health symptoms beyond the effects of physical aggression. Psychological aggression victimization was also uniquely associated with higher levels of depression for women. Trait anger and poor relationship adjustment were the strongest correlates of psychological aggression perpetration across genders. Childhood father-to-child and father-to-mother aggressions were associated with psychological aggression perpetration for men only, suggesting possible distinct etiologies across genders. These data highlight the importance of the further development of models for psychological aggression in both women and men.

The Effectiveness of Intervention Programs for Perpetrators and Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

In this review, we provide a descriptive and detailed review of intervention programs for intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators and survivor-victims. Given the extensive personal, interpersonal, and societal costs associated with IPV, it is essential that services being offered by the criminal justice, mental health, and medical communities have requisite empirical support to justify their implementation. The review involved a detailed summary of all studies published since 1990 using randomized or quasi-experimental designs that compared an active intervention program to a relevant comparison condition. These studies included 20 studies investigating the effectiveness of “traditional” forms of batterer intervention programs (BIPs) aimed at perpetrators of IPV, 10 studies that investigated the effectiveness of alternative formats of BIPs, 16 studies of brief intervention programs for IPV victim-survivors, and 15 studies of more extended intervention programs for IPV victim-survivors. Interventions for perpetrators showed equivocal results regarding their ability to lower the risk of IPV, and available studies had many methodological flaws. More recent investigations of novel programs with alternative content have shown promising results. Among interventions for victim-survivors of IPV, a range of therapeutic approaches have been shown to produce enhancements in emotional functioning, with the strongest support for cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approaches in reducing negative symptomatic effects of IPV. Supportive advocacy in community settings has been shown to reduce the frequency of revictimization relative to no-treatment controls, although rates of revictimization remain alarmingly high in these studies. Brief interventions for victim-survivors have had more complex and less consistently positive effects. Several studies have found significant increases in safety behaviors, but enhanced use of community resources is often not found. It remains unclear whether brief safety interventions produce longer term reduction in IPV revictimization. Discussion summarizes the general state of knowledge on interventions for IPV perpetrators and victim-survivors and important areas for future research.

Stages and processes of change in Batterers' treatment

The transtheoretical model of change ( Prochaska & DiClemente, 1984 ) has been widely researched in the areas of substance abuse and health promotion. This model is applied to the problem of domestic violence, specifically to group treatment for abuse perpetrators. These interventions could benefit by incorporating the transtheoretical models focus on motivational factors and stage-specific interventions. Clinical suggestions are provided that are appropriate to each stage of change (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance) and that correspond to the experiential and behavioral change processes identified by the transtheoretical model.

Family of origin violence and MCMI-II psychopathology among partner assaultive men

This study examined associations between family of origin violence, self-reports of psychopathology on the MCMI-II, and current spouse abuse among partner assaultive men. Compared to nonviolent men in discordant (n = 24) and well-adjusted (n = 24) relationships, partner assaultive men (n = 24) were significantly more likely to report childhood histories of physical abuse and physical abuse of the mother in the family of origin. The partner assaultive men also reported significantly higher scores on a variety of MCMI-II personality disorder and Axis I disorder scales. When negative affectivity was controlled, however, batterers differed from contrast groups only on scales assessing antisocial and aggressive characteristics. Within the partner assaultive group, a history of severe childhood abuse was associated with higher scores on a variety of MCMI-II personality disorder and Axis I disorder scales, and higher levels of psychological and physical aggression directed toward the current relationship partner. Abuse of the mother in the family of origin among batterers was associated with higher levels of psychological and physical aggression toward the current partner, but not with self-reported psychopathology. The results support prior descriptions of a batterer subgroup with significant trauma histories, more psychological difficulties, and higher abuse levels than other batterers, suggesting continuities in social and emotional development from childhood maltreatment to adult relationship violence.