Elizabeth A. Tomsich

Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization Among South Korean College Students: A Focus on Gender and Childhood Maltreatment

Unlike the attention given to intimate partner violence among adolescents and young adults in western societies, dating violence is not currently recognized in South Korea as a social phenomenon in terms of research, prevention, and intervention. Childhood maltreatment has been identified in previous research as a risk factor for violence in a later dating relationship. This study examines the relationship between childhood maltreatment and physical and psychological dating violence perpetration and victimization among 1,399 college students in South Korea, with a specific focus on gender. Poisson regression models and tests of equivalent parameters were conducted to determine whether the observed relationships were invariant across gender. Findings indicated that childhood maltreatment is a consistent predictor of involvement in dating relationships characterized by violence for males and females. The implications of the current research within a cultural context are discussed.

The influence of childhood maltreatment and self-control on dating violence: a comparison of college students in the United States and South Korea.

Various aspects of social learning and self-control theories have been applied to partner violence among multiple samples in the United States, but these theoretical approaches have been less commonly studied cross-culturally. Consequently, childhood maltreatment and low self-control have been identified as risk factors for various outcomes in primarily American samples. This study examined the relationships between childhood maltreatment, low self-control, and dating violence among college students in South Korea and the United States. Findings indicated that experiencing childhood maltreatment and having low self-control were key predictors of perpetration and victimization for both psychological and physical relationship violence. Witnessing interparental violence during childhood was less consistently predictive of one’s involvement in a violent dating relationship. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.

A critical examination of the causal link between child abuse and adult dating violence perpetration and victimization from a propensity score matching approach

There has been a considerable amount of published research investigating the link between experiencing child abuse and later offending and victimization. Most of the evidence gleaned from these studies demonstrates support for a cycle of violence. However, prior research has overwhelmingly been based on correlational observations. Considering this limitation, the current study uses a rigorous, quasi-experimental research design to assess the causal effect of experiencing child abuse on adult dating violence perpetration and victimization. Relying on data from a large sample of college students and utilizing a propensity score matching approach, the results indicate that the link between child abuse and adult dating violence victimization and perpetration is spurious. Study limitations and implications are discussed.

Examining the Role of Gender in the Prevalence of Campus Victimization, Perceptions of Fear and Risk of Crime, and the Use of Constrained Behaviors among College Students Attending a Large Urban University

The incidence and the impact of crime on college campuses are important issues for students and administrators alike. This study examines experiences with victimization and perceptions of crime on campus with a convenience sample of 997 students attending an urban university in Colorado. Approximately 8% of the student respondents indicated they had been victimized by at least one type of crime since first enrolling at the university. Respondents indicated low‐to‐moderate levels of fear and perceived risk of victimization on campus and viewed the campus as being moderately safe. Male and female respondents did not significantly differ in victimization rates, although gender differences were found in levels of fear, perceived risk of victimization, constrained behavior, and perceptions of overall safety on campus. The results from this study are compared to findings from the work of Jennings, Gover, and Pudrzynska in 2007, which examined campus crime among students at a traditional university, published in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education.

A Longitudinal Examination of Offending and Specialization Among a Sample of Massachusetts Domestic Violence Offenders

A paucity of existing research focuses on longitudinal examinations of criminal trajectories among reoffenses committed by domestic violence offenders. Specifically, few studies have longitudinally assessed whether domestic violence offenders specialize, recidivating in domestic violence assault, or generalize, committing a range of personal and property crimes. Acknowledging these research deficiencies, the current study uses longitudinal data from a cohort of 317 batterers who were processed in a domestic violence court to investigate the trajectories of domestic violence arrests and nondomestic violence arrests over a 10-year period. The degree of overlap between domestic and nondomestic violence arrest trajectory groups is examined through a cross-tabulation and chi-square analysis. Logistic and multinomial regression models are applied to identify risk factors that distinguish trajectory groups. A PROC TRAJ procedure identifies two trajectory groups for domestic violence arrests (low and high rate) and three trajectory groups for nondomestic violence arrests (very low, low, and high rate). Results indicate that specialization among domestic violence offenders is rare—prior alcohol and drug crimes predict membership in the high-rate domestic violence arrest trajectory group and prior domestic violence arrests predict membership in both the low-rate and high-rate nondomestic violence arrest trajectories. Implications for future research and policy are discussed in this article.

Exploring the relationship between child physical abuse and adult dating violence using a causal inference approach in an emerging adult population in South Korea

Child maltreatment is one of the most commonly examined risk factors for violence in dating relationships. Often referred to as the intergenerational transmission of violence or cycle of violence, a fair amount of research suggests that experiencing abuse during childhood significantly increases the likelihood of involvement in violent relationships later, but these conclusions are primarily based on correlational research designs. Furthermore, the majority of research linking childhood maltreatment and dating violence has focused on samples of young people from the United States. Considering these limitations, the current study uses a rigorous, propensity score matching approach to estimate the causal effect of experiencing child physical abuse on adult dating violence among a large sample of South Korean emerging adults. Results indicate that the link between child physical abuse and adult dating violence is spurious rather than causal. Study limitations and implications are discussed.

Childhood Physical Maltreatment and Young Adult Dating Violence: A Propensity Matching Approach

Intimate partner violence disproportionately occurs among young adults and relates to a range of health and behavioral problems throughout the life course. Although numerous studies substantiate the prevailing cycle of violence perspective, methodological limitations in prior research prohibit the conclusion of a causal relationship between childhood physical maltreatment and dating violence perpetration and victimization in young adulthood. The current research applies a quasi-experimental propensity score matching approach to a large sample of young adults (n = 4,168) to isolate the causal effect of childhood physical maltreatment on dating violence perpetration and victimization. Results suggest selection bias accounts for the correlation between childhood physical maltreatment and young adult physical dating violence perpetration and victimization, indicating a spurious relationship—before matching: odds ratio (OR) = 1.38, p < .001; OR = 1.35, p < .001; after matching: OR = 1.08; p = .379; OR = 1.09; p = .297. Study limitations and implications are discussed.

Investigating the Role of Child Sexual Abuse in Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Perpetration in Young Adulthood From a Propensity Score Matching Approach

The link between child sexual abuse and adult intimate partner violence surfaces throughout prior research. Nonetheless, methodologies investigating this cycle of violence predominantly involve descriptive, correlational, or traditional regression-based analyses that preclude more definitive statements about the empirical relationship between child sexual abuse and adult partner violence. In recognition of these limitations, the current study presents a quasi-experimental investigation into the relationship between sexual abuse in childhood and physical partner violence victimization and/or perpetration in young adulthood. Propensity score matching analysis of a national data set sampling over 4,000 young adults suggests that experiencing child sexual abuse influences adult intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration. Study implications and directions for future research are discussed.

An exploratory study on perceptions of safety, fear of crime, and victimization experiences among faculty and staff at an urban university: a focus on gender

Workplace crime in a university context has unique vulnerabilities, such as the context of labor in a large, open, publicly accessed environment. Crime and victimization on college campuses has received a considerable amount of empirical attention, with the majority of studies utilizing student samples. In order to comprehensively understand how crime impacts the overall campus environment, it is important to also look at these issues from the perspectives of faculty and staff. This exploratory study examines the issue of campus crime with a convenience sample of 507 faculty and staff at a mid‐sized urban university in Colorado. Results indicate that nearly 31% of the faculty and staff respondents reported experiencing crime on campus since the onset of their employment at the university. Additionally, results are compared among male and female faculty and staff, since prior research has demonstrated that ones gender affects attitudes and behavior regarding crime and victimization. Implications for policy and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Factors Related to the Completion of Domestic Violence Offender Treatment: The Colorado Experience

Abstract The majority of prior literature examining factors related to domestic violence treatment completion has used samples of male offenders only. This study identifies specific offender demographics, risk/protective factors, and treatment-relevant variables that are related to program treatment completion among a sample of 4,095 male and female domestic violence offenders who were court ordered to attend treatment in Colorado. Findings indicate that most of the significant predictors for female offenders were similar to those of male offenders. There were, however, additional predictors for male offenders that did not impact treatment completion for female offenders. Study limitations and implications for policy and practice are discussed.