Ráchael A. Powers

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.

Trends in Intimate Partner Violence: 1980-2008

Research on trends in partner violence has primarily relied on official measures of victimization focusing primarily on women’s risk for intimate partner homicide. The current study uses 28 years of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to examine the trends of intimate partner violence against female victims and identify variation in women’s risk as a function of race and employment. Although it has been theorized that employment is correlated with the risk of intimate partner victimization for women, research has not thoroughly addressed this in a longitudinal context. In addition, research has not explored the extent to which intimate partner violence is correlated with the combined variables of race and employment. The authors find that between 1980 and the mid-2000s employment is associated with an increase in women’s risk for intimate partner violence. However, the conclusion that the rate of victimization is higher for employed women appears to be partly contingent on the victims’ race. The trend for non-White unemployed women appears to be relatively comparable to both White and non-White employed women, at least for the first 15 years of the series.

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.

An Evaluation of Two Dating Violence Prevention Programs on a College Campus

Dating violence is a serious and prevalent public health problem that is associated with numerous negative physical and psychological health outcomes, and yet there has been limited evaluation of prevention programs on college campuses. A recent innovation in campus prevention focuses on mobilizing bystanders to take action. To date, bystander programs have mainly been compared with no treatment control groups raising questions about what value is added to dating violence prevention by focusing on bystanders. This study compared a single 90-min bystander education program for dating violence prevention with a traditional awareness education program, as well as with a no education control group. Using a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with follow-up at 2 months, a sample of predominately freshmen college students was randomized to either the bystander (n = 369) or traditional awareness (n = 376) dating violence education program. A non-randomized control group of freshmen students who did not receive any education were also surveyed (n = 224). Students completed measures of attitudes, including rape myth acceptance, bystander efficacy, and intent to help as well as behavioral measures related to bystander action and victimization. Results showed that the bystander education program was more effective at changing attitudes, beliefs, efficacy, intentions, and self-reported behaviors compared with the traditional awareness education program. Both programs were significantly more effective than no education. The findings of this study have important implications for future dating violence prevention educational programming, emphasizing the value of bystander education programs for primary dating violence prevention among college students.

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.

The Impact of College Education on Rape Myth Acceptance, Alcohol Expectancies, and Bystander Attitudes

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of education on rape myth acceptance, alcohol expectancies, and bystander attitudes. A sample of 126 community members and college students who had consumed alcohol within the past 90 days were administered surveys. College experience was unrelated to rape myth acceptance, alcohol expectancies, and bystander intentions. In line with previous research, two rape myth subscales were inversely related to bystander attitudes. In regard to alcohol expectancies and bystander attitudes, only one subscale was marginally significant. Ancillary analysis indicated that rape myth acceptance varied as a function of age, with older individuals less likely to support rape myths.

Gender and Injury Risk in Incidents of Assaultive Violence

This study investigates the situational characteristics that determine the presence and severity of injury in incidents of assaultive violence. The analysis uses merged data from the National Crime Victimization Survey and the Supplementary Homicide Reports for the years 1992-2008, in order to model the determinants of victim injury. The analysis includes all incidents of attempted or completed, non-sexual assault against victims 12 years of age or older. Injury severity is classified into one of four possible levels: no injury, minor injury, serious injury (requiring doctor, hospital, or emergency room care), and lethal injury. Special attention is given to the way in which gender modifies the influence of situational elements on the presence and degree of victim injury. While the results suggest that the situational determinants of injury are by and large uniform for male and female victims, important gender differences are observed in the salience of relational distance.

Yeah, We Serve Alcohol, but … We Are Here to Help: A Qualitative Analysis of Bar Staff's Perceptions of Sexual Violence.

This study is an exploratory analysis of how bar staff perceive their role in preventing sexual harassment and assault. In particular, through qualitative focus group interviews, this study explores bar staff’s attitudes surrounding sexual harassment/assault, how they currently handle these situations, and their opinions regarding programs and policies that currently mandate responsibility. Six major themes emerged including their hesitation to discuss sexual violence, their unique position as a service provider, their lack of knowledge (but eagerness to learn), and their reliance on stereotypical scenarios of sexual violence and interventions. These findings are situated in a framework for understanding barriers to bystander intervention and implications for community-based bystander programs are discussed.

Sexual Orientation Bias Crimes Examination of Reporting, Perception of Police Bias, and Differential Police Response

LGBT hate crimes are typically more violent and involve greater victim injury as compared to other victimizations, but they are substantially underreported. Victim reluctance to contact law enforcement may arise from perceptions of police bias. This study explores victim–police interactions, specifically reporting to the police, perceived police bias among victims who did not report, and differential police behavior among victims who reported. Using multiple years of National Crime Victimization Survey data, sexual orientation bias victimizations are compared with other forms of victimization. Logit regression models are examined before and after the Matthew Shepard Act. The pattern of results indicate that in the years following progressive policy reforms, LGBT bias victims continue to perceive the police as biased. Results do not significantly differ between sexual orientation bias victims and victims of other types of crime regarding police reporting and differential police response. Implications for policing efforts with the LGBT community are discussed.

Social Learning Theory, Gender, and Intimate Partner Violent Victimization: A Structural Equations Approach

The purpose of this study is to examine the applicability of Akers’s Social Learning Theory (SLT) to explain intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization. In doing so, we draw on the Intergenerational Transmission of Violence Theory (IGT) to extend the scope of SLT to the explanation of victimization and for a consideration of uniquely gendered pathways in its causal structure. Using a structural equation modeling approach with self-report data from a sample of college students, the present study tests the extent to which SLT can effectively explain and predict IPV victimization and the degree, if any, to which the social learning model is gender invariant. Although our findings are largely supportive of SLT and, thus, affirm its extension to victimization as well as perpetration, the findings are also somewhat mixed. More significantly, in line with IGT literature, we find that the social learning process is not gender invariant. The implications of the latter are discussed.