Zvi Eisikovits

Approaches to and Outcomes of Dyadic Interview Analysis

Qualitative studies on dyads have increased over the last two decades. However, emphasis has been on their thematic content, and very few methodological advances have occurred for conducting this type of research. For instance, literature exists about ways to collect dyadic data, but not how to analyze it. Our aim with this article is to discuss dyadic analysis using data from separate interviews, which is then analyzed on both individual and dyadic levels. We focus on the contrasts and overlaps between the partners’ versions as reflected in the text and subtext, and on the descriptive and interpretive levels, based on data from our recent study on second couplehood in old age. We examine how dyadic analysis assists in deriving themes related to the nature of couple relationships, which could otherwise not have been reached.

Intervening with Men Who Batter: A Critical Review of the Literature

This article reviews the published research on intervention with men who batter. It analyzes the literature at five levels of intervention: individual, couple, mens group, institution, and culture. Intervention at each of these levels is then examined in terms of theoretical orientations, intervention techniques, and outcomes. We conclude that the current state of knowledge about intervention is inadequate and in need of theories, interventions, and evaluations based on multilevel explanations of battering.

Physician as partner or salesman? Shared decision-making in real-time encounters

The results of recent research have led to the increased advocacy of shared decision-making regarding medical treatment. Nonetheless, only a limited number of studies have focused on the process of decision-making in real-time encounters. The present paper aims to document and analyze this process. Specifically, we assess whether these decisions are the result of partnership or of persuasive tactics based on power and hierarchical relationships. We will describe and analyze different strategies used by pediatric gastroenterologists in breaking bad news encounters, as well as their consequences. The analysis is based on a multi-method, multi-participant phenomenological study on breaking bad news to adolescents and their families regarding a chronic illness. It included 17 units of analysis (actual encounters and 52 interviews with physicians, parents and adolescents). Data were collected from three hospitals in Northern Israel using observations and audiotapes of diagnosis disclosure encounters and audio-taped interviews with all participants. The analysis identified eight different presentation tactics used in actual encounters during which physicians made various use of language, syntax and different sources of power to persuade patients to agree with their preferred treatment choice. The tactics included various ways of presenting the illness, treatment and side effects; providing examples from other success or failure stories; sharing the decision only concerning technicalities; and using plurals and authority. The findings suggest that shared decision-making may be advocated as a philosophical tenet or a value, but it is not necessarily implemented in actual communication with patients. Rather, treatment decisions tend to be unilaterally made, and a variety of persuasive approaches are used to ensure agreement with the physicians recommendation. The discussion is focused on the complexity of sharing a decision, especially in the initial bad news encounter; and the potentially harmful implications on building a trusting relationship between the physician and the family when a decision is not shared.

The Incarceration of Minority Youth

Minority youth are being incarcerated in public juvenile correctional facilities at rates three to four times that of whites. Their numbers are growing even though overall rates of serious youth crime are declining. FBI data and self-report data indicate that minority youth are somewhat more likely than white youngsters to be involved in serious crime but not to the extent that generally has been assumed. Recent research suggests that minority youth are more likely to be arrested and charged with serious crimes than comparably delinquent white youth. Although further research on these issues is imperative, it is also crucial that public officials begin testing out new strategies to reduce the tragic trend of ever more minority children growing up behind bars.

The First Israeli National Survey on Domestic Violence

The aim of the survey reported in this article was to assess the frequency and severity of violence against women in Israel and to identify some major risk factors associated with that violence. During 2000 and 2001, a structured self-report questionnaire was administered to a stratified probability sample drawn from the general population in Israel including 2,544 households, of which 2,092 included only women respondents and 452 included both men and women (904 respondents in total). When compared to those of other Western countries, the rates of psychological aggression in Israel are slightly higher, although the rates of physical aggression are lower.

Battered women's entrapment in shame: A phenomenological study

The present study is part of larger research aimed at understanding the impact of the family of origin on battered womens lives, world views, and emotional setup in the context of dyadic life in violence. The sample constitutes 20 Jewish Israeli battered women. Every woman was interviewed in depth for 3 hr. This was done in 3 sessions. Shame was found to be prevalent in battered womens phenomenological biographies. This cuts across both the family of origin and the subsequent intimate dyadic relationship. Shame traps the battered women, having a pervasive influence on the self, relationships with others, and emotional experiences (shame as emotional abuse), and becomes an obstacle in leaving the violence. Implications for intervention are suggested.

“Aging Out” of Violence: The Multiple Faces of Intimate Violence Over the Life Span

In this article, we explore how continuous intimate partner violence is experienced in old age and how age and violence interact and change throughout the life span. This is a qualitative study based on a phenomenological perspective focusing on the lived experiences of the elderly who have dwelled in domestic violence most of their lives. The sample consisted of 40 informants. In-depth, semistructured interviews were performed. Content analysis of the interviews yielded four clusters of living in violence over time: (a) The arena of violence is alive and active, (b) violence is in the air, (c) more of the same but differently, and (d) violence through illness to the very end. These clusters are discussed and their implications for practice are suggested.

Structure and Dynamics of Escalation From the Batterer's Perspective

Most theories dealing with the escalation of intimate violence have examined the components of escalation, rather than the dynamic processes involved. This paper develops a theoretical model addressing the structure and dynamics of escalation. To develop the model, we studied the transition between nonviolent and violent realities of cohabitant couples from the male partners perspective. A sample of 25 interviews was selected from a database consisting of 120 in-depth qualitative interviews that were collected for a larger study dealing with the experience of violence among cohabiting couples that remained together in spite of the violence. Sampling, data collection, and data analysis followed the principles of grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Findings indicate that the men interviewed perceive themselves as entitled and obligated to defend their dyadic existential frameworks, while recognizing the costs and benefits involved in the use of violence to achieve this end. These men tend to create the rules, judge when the rules are being infringed upon, and take steps to enforce the rules. Their evaluation of the extent of their control over their own actions and the related cost–benefit considerations are highly influential in their attempts to reestablish the lost balance in their dyadic life. The process of constructing a reaction to their partners behavior consists of two distinctive but interrelated phases: (a) identifying an action by the partner and constructing it into being worthy of reaction; (b) constructing an appropriate reaction. Mens construction of the escalation process is not random or situational, but rather constructed within a set of personal, interpersonal, and socially recognized scripts that delineate the boundaries of the entire process. Theoretical and practical implications for assessing the risk of violence and subsequent societal reaction are suggested, as well as directions for future research.

Men Who Batter Women A Critical Review of the Evidence

This article critically reviews the evidence pertaining to men who batter. The problem of conceptualizing definitional issues and current data on the scope and incidence of woman battering are discussed. Evidence on variables that have been related to or used to explain why men batter is outlined and critiqued. This article concludes by proposing a new theory-building and research agenda that will enhance current understandings of battering and of the men who do it.

Partner Accounts of Intimate Violence: Towards a Theoretical Model

The purpose of this study is to provide a structural and contextual analysis of accounts of intimate violence given by cohabiting partners and to identify the dynamics of the interrelationships among the various categories of accounts. The purposive sample consisted of forty respondents (twenty couples) from Northern Israel who had reported at least one incident of violence during the year prior to the study. All respondents were interviewed using an in-depth semi-structured interview format. Thematic content analysis yielded three broad content categories of accounts: (1) what happened in the violent event; (2) why did it happen; and (3) what are the meanings attributed to such violent events. The dynamic interaction among these content categories was examined along personal, interpersonal and social dimensions. A theoretical model summarizing and illustrating the content categories and the dynamic interaction among them is suggested. Finally, some implications for hypothesizing and providing differential interventions are proposed.