As a man working in sexual violence and domestic violence movement, frequently I am asked “why do you do this work?” Why do people ask this question?  Is it because they ask everyone (female and male) why do this work? Or are they surprised that a man is engaged in this work?

Another reason is that they want to figure out how to bring more men to violence against women prevention work.  In the article “How Can I Not?”: Men’s Pathways to Involvement in Anti-Violence Against Women Work recently published in the journal Violence Against Women, authors Casey and Smith explore why men get involved in anti-violence against women work.

This qualitative study used interviews with 27 men. While there are some significant limitations of this sample (for example all the men were white), the authors ask an interesting question.  The authors describe their findings as:

First, all men but one had some sort of “sensitizing” or priming experience that raised their level of consciousness regarding issues of violence or gender inequity and seemed to lay the groundwork for being open to involvement when an opportunity arose. Second, all men had at least one tangible opportunity or entrée into an antiviolence group, volunteer opportunity, or job. Third, the meaning that participants had come to attach to the initial sensitizing and/or to the opportunity experience seemed to be a critical component of men’s decision to devote time to antiviolence work.

From your experience, how do men get involved in this work? Myself, I like to point to how my  mother modeled getting involved as she volunteered in a battered women shelter in the 1970s. Her example demonstrated that everyone (including her sons) should do something to end violence against women .

PS. A small correction: the authors describe recruiting through the “Prevention Institute Sexual Violence Listserve” but I think they meant the Prevention Connection Listserv (since Prevention Institute does not have a sexual violence listerv and requests to participate in this study were posted in 2008.)  A lost chance to have Prevention Connection named in a peer reviewed journal.

Below is the full citation and abstract to the article.

“How Can I Not?”: Men’s Pathways to Involvement in Anti-Violence Against Women Work.

Casey E, Smith T. Violence Against Women 2010; 16(8): 953-73.

Click here to see the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Sage Publications)

Despite growing male participation in ending violence against women, little is known about the factors that precipitate men’s engagement as antiviolence “allies.” This study presents findings from a qualitative analysis of interviews with 27 men who recently initiated involvement in an organization or event dedicated to ending sexual or domestic violence. Findings suggest that men’s engagement is a process that occurs over time, that happens largely through existing social networks, and that is influenced by exposure to sensitizing experiences, tangible involvement opportunities and specific types of meaning making related to violence. Implications for models of ally development and for efforts to engage men in antiviolence work are discussed.

I was very excited when I read this in the article recently published in Family Community Health titled A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial of an Interpersonal Violence Prevention Program With a Mexican American Community.

If a community’s challenges are viewed without consideration of the historical context of the impact of oppression, discrimination, and intergenerational trauma, they may be misunderstood and therefore be addressed in ways that perpetrate the problems rather than produce lasting change.

I had met the lead author Patricia Kelly several years ago at an American Public Health Association conference where she impressed me with her community centered approaches to violence prevention. She later joined a PreventConnect web conference on measuring prevention.

As I read this article about a Community-Based Participatory Research project in South Texas, I was pleased to see how the program was developed.  Instead of having the researchers select a curriculum to evaluation in a selected community, CBPR is a process in which the researchers work with the community members to design, implement and evaluate the program.

After careful consideration the community members decided to implement El Joven Noble, a curriculum developed in California by Jerry Tello (who was recently a guest on a PreventConnect web conference) and was adapted to address the community in South Texas

This process of having community members play an active role with researchers is a model that sexual violence and domestic violence prevention programs should consider. (In New York City, Project ENVISION is using CBPR approaches.) By having this active community engagement, the community member were able to shape a culturally relevant program with community support that demonstrated improvements in nonviolent self-efficacy and endorsement of program values.

As the authors conclude:

CBPR provides a methodology to engage groups and communities in the design, implemenataion, and evaluation of their own prevention programs. It is well suited for the inlcuison of community values, cultural heritate and hostrorical perspective into both the research process and the product. CBPR also emphasizes the empowerment of inidivudals and communities through the research process.

Below is the full abstraction and citation of this article:

A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial of an Interpersonal Violence Prevention Program With a Mexican American Community.

Kelly PJ, Lesser J, Cheng AL, Oscos-Sanchez M, Martinez E, Pineda D, Mancha J. Family and Cmomunity Health 2010; 33(3): 207-215.

Click here for a link to the article abstract on the journal’s web site

(Copyright © 2010, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

Using methods of community-based participatory research, a prospective randomized controlled trial of a violence prevention program based on Latino cultural values was implemented with elementary school children in a Mexican American community. Community members participated in intervention program selection, implementation, and data collection. High-risk students who participated in the program had greater nonviolent self-efficacy and demonstrated greater endorsement of program values than did high-risk students in the control group. This collaborative partnership was able to combine community-based participatory research with a rigorous study design and provide sustained benefit to community partners.

PreventConnect.org

Jody Raphael

(23 min) PreventConnect’s David Lee interviews Jody Raphael of the DePaul University College of Law, and Dr. TK Logan of the University of Kentucky. Raphael and Logan wrote the whitepaper “The Use and Misuse of Data on Rape: Restoring Sexual Violence to the National Agenda” for presentation at the CounterQuo Conference in October 2008. CounterQuo is a project of the Victim Rights Law Center and The Voices and Faces Project that considered how the rights and representations of sexual violence survivors are impacted by law, media and the public engagement of survivors.

I think everyone who researches domestic violence and sexual violence can learn something from the approach used in a recently epublished study on bullying in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.  What is interesting to me is the researchers focus on the different levels that contribute to bullying.  Instead of focusing primarily on individual factors, this study adapts Bronfenbrenner’s  ecological system model.

Here are levels examined:

• Children Themselves: Examines individual factors
• Microsystem: experience within interpersonal relationships.
• Mesosystem: social interconnections between participants, such as students, teachers, and peers.
• Exosystem: “encompasses the linkage and processes taking place between two or more settings, at least one of which does not ordinarily contain the developing person . . . (e.g., for a child, the relation between the home and the parent’s work place)” (Bronfenbrenner, U. (1989). Ecological systems theory. In R. Vasta (Ed.), Annals of child development (Vol. 6, pp. 197­249). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. p. 227)
• Macrosystem: societal characteristics, such as individualism and collectivism (Nesdale & Naito, 2005) and social disorganization

How do you think this would apply to sexual violence and domestic violence?

Here is the full abstract and link to the article on the journal’s web site:

An Ecological Systems Approach to Bullying Behaviors Among Middle School Students in the United States.

Lee CH. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2010; ePublished June 3, 2010

Click here for a link to the abstract.

(Copyright © 2010, Sage Publications)

The aim of this study is to identify an ecological prediction model of bullying behaviors. Based on an ecological systems theory, this study identifies significant factors influencing bullying behaviors at different levels of middle and high school. These levels include the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. More specifically, the ecological factors investigated in this multilevel analysis are individual traits, family experiences, parental involvement, school climate, and community characteristics. Using data collected in 2008 from 485 randomly selected students in a school district, this study identifies a best-fitting structural model of bullying behavior. Findings suggest that the ecological model accounted for a high portion of variance in bullying behaviors. All of the ecological systems as well as individual traits were found to be significant influences on bullying behaviors either directly or indirectly.

Being a parent of a middle school student has given me a lot ot worry about: drugs, sex and violence.  As a parent, I realize that we must start early if we are to prevent dating violence. Yet, many dating violence prevention efforts address high school students, but the pattern of violence often starts before then.  In an article recently published in the Journal of Early Adolescence, 60% of 6^th grade males and 45% of  6^th grade females (45.2%)  reported having a boy or girlfriend in previous 3 months. Among those students reporting having a boy/girlfriend, almost 1/3 of girls and more than ¼ of boys reported being physically aggressive toward their boy/girlfriend.

Teen dating violence prevention efforts like Start Strong highlight working with middle school age youth. It seems to me even more important now than ever to start early.

Note: The instrument used to measure the levels of violence was modified from the instrument used to evaluate Safe Dates.  I have trouble reconciling the finding that males are more likely than females to be victimized.  What do you think is going on?

Here is the full citation and link the article on the journal’s web site.

Physical Dating Violence Norms and Behavior Among Sixth-Grade Students From Four U.S. Sites.

Simon TR, Miller S, Gorman-Smith D, Orpinas P, Sullivan T. Journal of Early Adolescence 2010; 30(3): 395-409.

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Sage Publications)

Relatively little is known about the prevalence of physical dating violence behaviors and perceived norms about dating violence among early adolescents. A sample of 5,404 sixth-grade students was recruited from four diverse U.S. sites. Over half of the respondents reported that girls hitting their boyfriends was acceptable under certain circumstances (e.g., if made mad or jealous) and more than one in four reported acceptance of boys hitting their girlfriends. Among those reporting that they had a recent boy/ girlfriend, nearly one third of girls (31.5%) and more than one fourth of boys (26.4%) reported being physically aggressive toward this person (e.g., punching, slapping). These data support the need to address the problem of violence within students’ perceived dating relationships in sixth grade or earlier and suggest that preventive interventions should focus on changing norms that support violence between males and females.

If he buys her dinner, does he expect that they will have sex?  If he rapes her after dinner,  who is blamed for the rape?  In an article recently ePublished in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Basow and Minieri examine questions like this.

I remember many surveys of high school and college students over the last several decades that show similar disturbing, and unsurprising, findings. Here is another study (with data collected from a private Northeastern liberal arts school) to add to this knowledge base about social expectation on a date.

What are the implications for rape prevention?  Would splitting the bill reduce rape? I am glad that rape is no longer assumed to be committed by a “stranger jumping out of bushes” but the concept of  “date rape” might be also dated. We live in a time period where young people do use the term “dating.”   What are the implications of this for rape prevention?

Here is the full abstract and citation.

“You Owe Me”: Effects of Date Cost, Who Pays, Participant Gender, and Rape Myth Beliefs on Perceptions of Rape.

Basow SA, Minieri A. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2010; ePublished May 4, 2010

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Sage Publications)

Sexual social exchange theory was applied to perceptions of a date rape by manipulating the cost of the date and who paid in vignettes presented to 188 U.S. college students, who then rated the characters’ sexual expectations, blame, responsibility, and rape justifiability. Findings from this between-participant design partially supported predictions: When the man paid for an expensive date, men agreed more than did women that both characters should have expected sexual intercourse. Conversely, when the costs of an inexpensive date were split, the perpetrator was assigned the most blame, and women agreed more than men that no sexual expectations were warranted. Participant gender affected some responses, although level of rape myth acceptance was the main predictor of rape perceptions.

I find the social ecological model to be a helpful framework to highlight that prevention work needs to look beyond the individual.  So I am pleased to see research that examines risk and protective factors that go beyond individual attitudes, beliefs and experiences.

In the recent article appearing in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, authors Casey and Beadnell examine the links between male adolescent peer networks and the risk to perpetrate intimate partner violence.  Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (initially collected in 1995 on teen peer networks and in 2001 for IPV perpetration), this study explores different peer networks for male teens.

While the results are uneven (some relationship were shown while other were not), Casey and Beadnell suggest

…some peer-level factors did emerge as relevant to IPV perpetration, which suggests that selected prevention programming targeting specific risk factors at the peer level may be warranted. Speci?cally, depressed, socially isolated youth in small, dense male networks appeared to be at greater risk of future perpetration than youth with much more numerous, gender-balanced, pro- social ties. It may be that structural prevention programs that aim to reduce some teens’ social isolation, build social competencies and generate positive opportunities for exposure to variety of peers may expand the range of behaviors, attitudes and relationship expectations to which youth are exposed.

I support research that challenges prevention programs to make changes to social networks as a means to change.  What do you think?

The full citation and abstract follow:

The structure of male adolescent peer networks and risk for intimate partner violence perpetration: findings from a national sample.

Casey EA, Beadnell B. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 2010; 39(6): 620-33.

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Springer Science+Business Media)

Although peer networks have been implicated as influential in a range of adolescent behaviors, little is known about relationships between peer network structures and risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) among youth. This study is a descriptive analysis of how peer network “types” may be related to subsequent risk for IPV perpetration among adolescents using data from 3,030 male respondents to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Sampled youth were a mean of 16 years of age when surveyed about the nature of their peer networks, and 21.9 when asked to report about IPV perpetration in their adolescent and early adulthood relationships. A latent class analysis of the size, structure, gender composition and delinquency level of friendship groups identified four unique profiles of peer network structures. Men in the group type characterized by small, dense, mostly male peer networks with higher levels of delinquent behavior reported higher rates of subsequent IPV perpetration than men whose adolescent network type was characterized by large, loosely connected groups of less delinquent male and female friends. Other factors known to be antecedents and correlates of IPV perpetration varied in their distribution across the peer group types, suggesting that different configurations of risk for relationship aggression can be found across peer networks. Implications for prevention programming and future research are addressed.

I wish reading research were a simple process of learning new knowledge. Instead, I have to consider the research question, methodology, strategy to select the sample, recognize the limitations of the research and evaluate the relevance to the practice of sexual violence and domestic violence prevention. And sometimes I cannot understand things like this chart below.

Here is my weekly routine:I review the summary of abstracts from recently published research as compiled by Safety Lit.  I read the title of each violence related study. For those that catch my interest, I read the abstract.  From those studies, I work with my colleagues at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center to get copies of the article that have appear to have implications for prevention practice.

Then I learn that the conclusion does not always fit what was actually studied. Or that I cannot figure out how the research leads to the conclusion.

I am not a researcher.  During my studies for my masters degree I learned to be a good consumer of research. I interpret research and know many of the questions to ask.  But I am not an expert on statistical methods nor am I always able to understand how they actually did the research.

This week I saw the interesting title of an article, Vulnerable adolescent participants’ experience in surveys on sexuality and sexual abuse: Ethical aspects from the journal Child Abuse and Neglect.  This study explores an important question about the possible discomfort of adolescents when they participate in a survey about sexuality and sexual abuse.

But as read the analysis, I do not understand what they are doing. This might be excellent research; but its methodology is too much for my skills to understand. If I cannot read research, what about people who have even less experience with research.  My colleagues at VAWnet create Applied Research papers to address this – but we need to understand research.

What do you do to understand research?

The abstract and full citation of the article follows.

Vulnerable adolescent participants’ experience in surveys on sexuality and sexual abuse: Ethical aspects.

Priebe G, Bäckström M, Ainsaar M. Child Abuse and Neglect 2010; ePublished April 18, 2010

Click here for a link the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Publishing)

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to study the discomfort experienced by adolescents when answering questions in a survey about sexuality and sexual abuse and to investigate factors that may determine possible experience of discomfort. The research focused particularly on vulnerable adolescents-sexually abused and sexually inexperienced.

METHOD: Adolescents in their final year of high school in Estonia (n=1,334) and Sweden (n=3,401) who had completed a survey about experiences of sexuality and sexual abuse answered additional questions about experiences of discomfort related to the survey questions.

RESULTS: A majority of the participants did not feel discomfort when completing the survey. This was also the case for the two vulnerable groups. Experience of penetrating sexual abuse, sexual inexperience, mental health problems, rape myth acceptance, gender, immigrant background, and country were included in a structural equation model. Experience of penetrating sexual abuse was not significantly related to discomfort in the final model, while sexual inexperience was associated with increased discomfort (standardized coefficient .20) and rape myth acceptance was the strongest indicator of discomfort (.27). The total amount of explained variance was 17%.

CONCLUSIONS: Our data do not support the view that adolescents in general or vulnerable subgroups such as sexually abused or sexually inexperienced adolescents experience discomfort when answering a survey about sexuality and sexual abuse. As discomfort ratings were not highly related to any of the predictors further research is needed that includes other factors. It is important to follow existing ethical guidelines since there may always be some individuals who feel discomfort.

In the study recently ePublished in the Journal Prevention Science, the authors Woodin and O’Leary examine a violence prevention program for couples with a history of at least one act of male-to-female physical violence in the current relationship.

Domestic violence advocates warn against activities that may place someone at great risk, such as couple-based interventions. This program includes an assessment that includes interviewing both partners together.

The study finds the use of motivational interviewing to reduce future physical aggression (as compared to those who receive “minimal non-motivational” feedback.)

What do you think?

The full citation and abstract follow:

A Brief Motivational Intervention for Physically Aggressive Dating Couples.

Woodin EM, O’Leary KD. Prevention Science 2010; ePublished April 17, 2010.

Click here to see the abstract on the journal’s website.

(Copyright © 2010, Springer Science+Business Media)

Motivational interviewing is a brief non-confrontational intervention designed to enhance motivation to reduce harmful behavior (Miller and Rollnick 2002). The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of motivational interviewing as a targeted prevention approach for partner aggression in emerging adulthood. Participants were 50 college dating couples between 18 and 25 years old who reported at least one act of male-to-female physical aggression in their current relationships. After completing a 2-hour assessment session, half of all couples were randomly assigned to a 2-hour individualized motivational feedback session targeting physical aggression and risk factors for aggression. The remaining couples received minimal, non-motivational feedback. Follow-up surveys were conducted 3, 6, and 9 months later. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that, compared to the control condition, the motivational feedback intervention led to reductions in physical aggression and harmful alcohol use and to less acceptance of female psychological aggression and male psychological aggression (among women only). Lagged analyses indicated that changes in physical aggression were predicted by reductions in psychological aggression and by lower acceptance of both male and female psychological aggression. Reductions in physical aggression predicted lower anxiety and greater relationship investment and male relationship commitment over time. These findings suggest that a brief motivational intervention is a useful prevention approach for high-risk dating couples, with benefits to both individual and relationship functioning.

It is great to see an article in the Journal of The Medical Association of Thailand that calls for a nation wide school-based program to promote gender equity to prevent sexual violence.  When will we see this in the United States?

The full citation, abstract and link to full text follow the jump.

Gender roles, physical and sexual violence prevention in primary extend to secondary school in Samutsakorn Province, Thailand.

Chamroonsawasdi K, Suparp J, Kittipichai W, Khajornchaikul P. Journal of The Medical Association of Thailand 2010; 93(3): 358-65.

Click here for full text.

(Copyright © 2010, Medical Association of Thailand)

OBJECTIVE: To enhance positive attitude and life skills on gender roles to prevent physical and sexual violence.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: A whole school-based participatory learning program using a quasi-experimental study with pre and post test design was conducted among 2 schools during June-September, 2005. The experimental group, were 134 students in a primary school and 179 students in a secondary school. While the control group, were 122 students in a primary school and 95 students in secondary school.

RESULTS: Means score of attitude toward gender roles before implementation in the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group (p < 0.05). After implementation, the means score in the experimental group was not significantly different from the control group (p > 0.05). Means paired different score (after-before) between the two groups was significantly different (p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION: A whole school-based program on gender roles and violence prevention is suitable for youths and should be merged as school curricula and expanded as a nationwide program at all level of education. Gender equity should be taught at an early childhood. Parental involvement in school-based activities should be negotiated.

Each week I review summaries of the titles and abstracts for newly published articles to find research relevant to prevention of sexual violence and domestic violence. Yet, without reading the article, I will not know how they came to those findings. Here is an example of the methods used for a study recently published in the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology titled Understanding Men’s Perceptions of Risks and Rewards in a Date Rape Scenario.

This study was conducted by looking how college males respond to a scenario where after picking up a women with a reputation for being “loose” and being “pretty drunk” they go to her apartment:

After listening to music for a few minutes, Susan turns down the lights and begins to kiss you and rub your penis through your pants. In response, you begin to kiss and fondle Susan’s breasts. You then reach under her skirt and begin to attempt to remove Susan’s clothes. Susan tells you that she thinks she is not interested in having sex but does not try to physically stop you.

The researchers then examined the men’s perceptions of potential costs and benefits associated with having sex in this hypothetical situation. (The scenario was presented after being exposed to either viewing photographs of fully clothed models, photographs of nude women or 10-minute segment of video that depicted an adult male and adult female engaging in consensual intercourse.) The researchers found

75% of the men reporting the possibility of legal consequences (including arrest, rape charges, conviction, and a jail or prison sentence). Participants also indicated potential positive outcomes of having sex with Susan in this situation, and nearly 29% of the respondents reported some type of future romantic or sexual relationship with her.

The researchers use a “rational choice perspective” to understand how men perceive costs and benefits. While the study does not examine actual behaviors, the researchers suggest that the behavior intentions are important to predict future action.

It is helpful to understand how the researchers came to their conclusion of implications for prevention:

Achieving longer-term attitudinal and behavioral change may require a broader focus not just on changing attitudes but on changing the perception of risks and rewards of sexual aggression.

What do you think about the method of this study? Do you think that behavior is primarily influenced by perceptions of risks and rewards?

Below is the full citation and abstract:

Understanding Men’s Perceptions of Risks and Rewards in a Date Rape Scenario.

Bouffard LA, Bouffard JA. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 2010; ePublished April 2, 2010.

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Sage Publications)

Existing research on date rape has identified important correlations between rape-supportive attitudes and sexual aggression. What remains unclear is the mechanism by which these attitudes are translated into sexually aggressive behavior. This study borrows from a rational choice framework to explore the relationship between attitudes, perceptions of the risks and rewards of engaging in date rape, and self-reported hypothetical aggression in a date rape scenario. Results suggest that rape-supportive attitudes are related to particular patterns of identified risks and rewards of date rape as well as to the self-reported likelihood of engaging in date rape behavior. This supports a perspective that certain attitude structures may alter the risks and rewards that potential offenders consider in deciding whether or not to engage in sexual aggression. Implications for future research and prevention programs are discussed.

In a study recently ePublished in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, the authors found for women students an association between non-consensual sexual experiences prior to arriving at college and drinking behaviors after the first year of college.  Though the publication reads 2010, the study is based on data collected in 1991.

The discussion describes implications for prevention efforts. When the authors suggest “campus-sponsored sexual assault prevention presentations typically do not discuss alcohol as a risk factor” based on a 1991 publication, it does not really provide information that is helpful today.

What I really want to see is more research on prevention programs themselves.  Hopefully this will be the follow-up study.

The full citation and abstract are below:

Nonconsensual Sexual Experiences and Alcohol Consumption Among Women Entering College.

Ross LT, Kolars CL, Krahn DD, Gomberg ES, Clark G, Niehaus A. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2010; ePublished March 17, 2010.

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Sage Publications)

The authors investigated the relationship between pre-college non-consensual sexual experiences (NSEs) and drinking among women entering college. College women (N = 797) at a midwestern university in the USA participated. Eighteen percent reported one or more NSE prior to arriving at college. Having a pre-college NSE was associated with recent drinking, binge drinking, and negative drinking consequences. The authors discuss implications for intervention and prevention programs targeting college women.

A recent study published in the Journal of American College Health shows that alcohol is the most common “date rape drug.”  While there is much attention toward concern about what drugs may be slipped into someone’s drinks, this study found that most rapes of college women were preceded by voluntary alcohol consumption.

What are the implications for college rape prevention programs?

The full citation and abstract follow the jump.

Forcible, drug-facilitated, and incapacitated rape and sexual assault among undergraduate women.

Lawyer S, Resnick H, Bakanic V, Burkett T, Kilpatrick D. Journal of American College Health 2010; 58(5): 453-60.

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Heldref Publications)

Objective: To examine the prevalence of drug-related sexual assaults, identify the frequency of assaults that occur following voluntary versus involuntary drug or alcohol consumption, and identify contextual correlates of drug-related assaults. Participants: College-student females (n = 314). Methods: Volunteers reported experiences with forcible and drug-related sexual assaults in the spring semester of 2004. Follow-up queries regarding the most severe drug-related assaults determined whether the assaults followed voluntary or involuntary alcohol or drug consumption. Results: 29.6% (n = 93) of the respondents reported a drug-related sexual assault or rape; 5.4% (n = 17) reported a forcible sexual assault or rape. Voluntary incapacitation preceded 84.6% of drug-related assaults and involuntary incapacitation preceded 15.4% of drug-related assaults. The majority of drug-related assaults (96.1%) involved alcohol consumption prior to assault. Conclusions: Drug-related sexual assaults on college campuses are more frequent than are forcible assaults and are most frequently preceded by voluntary alcohol consumption.

In the article recently published in the journal International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, the author Pradubmook-Sherer examines the relationships of many factors to attitudes about dating violence among Thai youth.  The factors examined include class (using school type as the proxy), delinquency, self-esteem and school performance.

In the conclusion, Pradubmook-Sherer discussed the implication for prevention programs:

Educational programs that confront students’ beliefs that violence is an acceptable response in dating relationships must be established. Intervention programs on these issues and on gender relationships should start even before high school. Because of the indicated cultural and gender differences, we recommend that culturally sensitive intervention programs should target specific groups, according to their special needs, in the area of dating violence.

Below is the full citation and link to the article.

Youth Attitudes Toward Dating Violence in Thailand.

Pradubmook-Sherer P. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 2010; ePublished February 24, 2010

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Sage Publications)

This study assessed the occurrences and intensity of psychological, physical, and sexual attitudes toward dating violence among Thai youths, and examined possible variables related to the formation of these attitudes. The random sample consisted of 1,296 male and female adolescents from high school, vocational school, and out-of-school groups. Thai youths in general reported attitudes that were supportive of dating violence. The variables more closely related to attitudes toward dating violence were personal variables. Peer influence, partner relationships, and family characteristics were related to higher support for dating violence. Females reported higher endorsement of dating violence than males. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed, and recommendations for policy makers are drawn.

Donna Martsolf

(19 min) This is an interview with Dr. Donna S. Martsolf and Dr. Claire Burke Draucker of the College of Nursing at Kent State University, and Terri Heckman, Director of the Battered Women’s Shelter of Summit and Medino Counties. They talk about their use of an innovative, qualitative research design to develop a theoretical framework that describes, explains, and predicts how dating violence unfolds during adolescence. They share their insights into teen dating violence that have come from their work, and some of the implications of this research for prevention. 

The following abstract describing this research can be found here on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Control and Prevention’s Grantee Abstracts page. 

 Abstract:

Dating violence among adolescents is a prevalent public health problem with serious proximal and distal effects, including increased risk for adult intimate partner violence. An in-depth explanatory theory that is focused on the development of dating violence during adolescence and informed by the perspective of those who have experienced adolescent dating violence has not been developed. The lack of theory has hindered efforts to develop dating violence prevention programs that show evidence of long-term efficacy. The purpose of the proposed research is to use an innovative, qualitative research design to develop a theoretical framework that describes, explains, and predicts how dating violence unfolds during adolescence. The specific aims are to:

• a) Identify common processes by which adolescents respond to their experiences of dating violence from a narrative/life course perspective,
• b) Develop a typology of common trajectories of violent events that occur over the course of adolescent dating relationships from a situational/events perspective,
• c) Examine the influence of social circumstances on adolescents’ experiences of dating violence, and
• d) Use grounded theory methods to analyze and integrate information about the processes, trajectories, and influential social circumstances in order to create the theoretical framework.

The project will be conducted by a collaborative team of university and community-based researchers. Women and men between the ages of 18 and 21 living in one of 12 Summit, Medina, or Portage counties in Ohio who have experienced dating violence as adolescents will be recruited by a community-based recruitment strategy developed by the researchers. In-depth interviews will be used to obtain narratives of the participants’ responses to dating violence and detailed descriptions of the violent events they experienced. These data will be supplemented by narratives of professionals who work with adolescents at risk for dating violence and information regarding community responses to dating violence. Grounded theory methods will be used to analyze the data and develop the theoretical framework. The university / community collaborative research team, with the assistance of a consultant who is a world renowned expert on interpersonal violence, will determine the implications of the theory for prevention efforts.

Here are two articles published at the end of 2009 with the opposite conclusions about the influence of pornography on sexual assault.

While in a 2009 article in the journal Aggression and Violence Behavior, Ferguson and Hartley argue that “it is time to discard the hypothesis that pornography contributes to increased sexual assault behavior” the 2009 article ePublished in the journal Child Abuse Review author Michael Flood comes to a very different conclusion: “especially among boys and young men who are frequent consumers of pornography, including of more violent materials, consumption intensifies attitudes supportive of sexual coercion and increases their likelihood of perpetrating assault.”

What research, evidence and resources do you find useful to understand the influence of pornography on rape? How do you address pornography in your rape prevention program?

Below are the full abstracts and citation of the articles.

The harms of pornography exposure among children and young people

Flood, M. Child Abuse Review 2009 18 (6): 384–400, ePublished November 2, 2009

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site. Click here for full text on Michael Flood’s web site XY Online.

(Copyright © 2009, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Exposure to pornography is routine among children and young people, with a range of notable and often troubling effects. Particularly among younger children, exposure to pornography may be disturbing or upsetting. Exposure to pornography helps to sustain young people’s adherence to sexist and unhealthy notions of sex and relationships. And, especially among boys and young men who are frequent consumers of pornography, including of more violent materials, consumption intensifies attitudes supportive of sexual coercion and increases their likelihood of perpetrating assault. While children and young people are sexual beings and deserve age-appropriate materials on sex and sexuality, pornography is a poor, and indeed dangerous, sex educator.

The pleasure is momentary…the expense damnable?: The influence of pornography on rape and sexual assault.

Ferguson CJ, Hartley RD. Aggression and Violence Behavior 2009; 14(5): 323-329.

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Elsevier Publishing)

The effects of pornography, whether violent or non-violent, on sexual aggression have been debated for decades. The current review examines evidence about the influence of pornography on sexual aggression in correlational and experimental studies and in real world violent crime data. Evidence for a causal relationship between exposure to pornography and sexual aggression is slim and may, at certain times, have been exaggerated by politicians, pressure groups and some social scientists. Some of the debate has focused on violent pornography, but evidence of any negative effects is inconsistent, and violent pornography is comparatively rare in the real world. Victimization rates for rape in the United States demonstrate an inverse relationship between pornography consumption and rape rates. Data from other nations have suggested similar relationships. Although these data cannot be used to determine that pornography has a cathartic effect on rape behavior, combined with the weak evidence in support of negative causal hypotheses from the scientific literature, it is concluded that it is time to discard the hypothesis that pornography contributes to increased sexual assault behavior.

In the recently published study in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Parent and peer predictors of physical dating violence perpetration in early adolescence: tests of moderation and gender differences, the authors find some potentially important difference between adolescent males and females linked to dating violence:

Whereas parental involvement was unrelated to physical dating aggression for girls, boys who reported that their parents monitored them more closely reported lower levels of perpetration. A contrasting gendered pattern was shown for parental support for nonaggressive solutions. Girls (but not boys) who perceived their parents’ to be more supportive of non- aggressive solutions reported lower levels of PPDV.

This study suggests that prevention programs should recognize that some factors are different for boys and girls.  Thus, prevention programs cannot use “one size fits all” and need to tailor its messages.

Very interesting concepts.

What do you think?

P.S. The researchers use a seven question measure to find that

Among the dating youth, 29% (15% of the total sample) reported perpetrating at least one act of physical violence against their boyfriend=girlfriend. A greater proportion of girls (31%) than boys (27%) reported perpetrating at least one act of partner violence.

Interesting to see just as I read Losing the “gender” in gender-based violence this week about just this point.

Here is the abstract and full citation:

Parent and peer predictors of physical dating violence perpetration in early adolescence: tests of moderation and gender differences.

Miller S, Gorman-Smith D, Sullivan T, Orpinas P, Simon TR. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 2009; 38(4): 538-50.

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates)

This study examined parenting and peer predictors of physical dating violence perpetration during early adolescence and tested moderation among these predictors and gender. Participants were 2,824 ethnically diverse sixth-grade students with a recent boyfriend/girlfriend who was part of a multisite, longitudinal investigation of the development and prevention of violence among middle school students. Those students who reported having a boyfriend/girlfriend reported significantly more drug use and delinquent activity and were more likely to be male. Twenty-nine percent of youth with a boyfriend/girlfriend reported perpetrating physical aggression against their boyfriend/girlfriend. Parenting and peer variables were significant predictors of physical dating violence. However, gender moderated the association between parenting practices and physical dating violence, with parental monitoring inversely linked to dating violence for boys and parent support for nonaggression inversely linked to dating violence for girls. Parent support for aggression also moderated the association between peer deviancy and reported perpetration. Finally, gender moderated the interaction between peer deviancy and parent support for nonaggressive solutions.

Gender based violence is a term used throughout the world. That is, used everywhere except the United States.  Here we use a wide range of terms: domestic violence, intimate partner violence and dating violence (usually used to describe young people’s relationships).

In a commentary in the recent issue of Violence Against Women, Elizabeth Reed and colleagues express concern about “losing the ‘gender’ in gender-based violence.” They go further to describe this problem as “the missteps of research on dating and intimate partner violence” which “ignores the world beyond our databases.”

Reed and her colleagues review the literature and suggest that

it is clear why the WHO and other major health authorities describe IPV as gender based, with the vast burden in regards to health, development, and economic security borne by women and girls.

Yet, they found in a review of the literature on dating violence, an overwhelmingly large percentage of the research is framed as gender-neutral where violence is often seen as reciprocal. I have found this pattern to be true as I review the recent research studies.  When I wrote a blog about this research I often highlight what the instrument was used, as the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) which measures primarily a count of acts and does not account for the context. Scales like this typically lead to findings described as gender neutral. (Click here for a critique of this scale.)

I especially like how Reed and her colleagues describe the problem with this approach.

Use of this “reciprocal violence” framework for understanding adolescent and adult IPV ignores the world beyond our databases. We should not frame and interpret research in the absence of well-accepted historical and political realities. That is not to say that both males and females cannot or do not enact unhealthy relationship behaviors, including aggression or that such unhealthy relationship behaviors do not negatively impact both males and females. Such behaviors, however, likely have differing etiologies and are displayed differently based on the gender of the actors.

This commentary provides some useful concepts to consider when reviewing research on dating violence.

The full citation is below:

Losing the “gender” in gender-based violence: the missteps of research on dating and intimate partner violence.

Reed E, Raj A, Miller E, Silverman JG. Violence Against Women 2010; 16(3): 348-54.

Click here for a link to the abstract on the journal web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Sage Publications)

The web site has replaced the brochure as the primary public statement about organizations.  How times have changed – I remember in the 1990s when working at a domestic violence agency I tried to get permission to start a web site.  While approval was delayed (I was asked “why do we need a web site?”), I decided to ask for forgiveness (nor permission), and went ahead to work with a volunteer to register the URL ourselves and set up a simple site.

Now the first thing to learn about an organization (or a person) we is check the web site.  In a recent paper in the journal Sexualities, Tatiana Masters analyzes the content of six men’s anti-rape web sites (Men Against Sexual Violence, Men Can Stop Rape, Men Ending Violence, Men Stopping Rape, The Safety Net and Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.)

In today’s era of blogs and fast changing content, web site are not necessarily static – they may change content everyday (as we do here at CALCASA.org). Content analysis done in the past may not be relevant today.

It is interesting to look at the question of how men and rape is framed in web sites, as the author examines. Masters suggests in her conclusion that “Making men both part of the problem and part of the solution in this way could lead to more powerful anti-rape messages.”

What are you looking for in web site focusing on men and rape prevention?

The full abstract follows:

‘My Strength is Not for Hurting’: Men’s Anti-Rape Websites and their Construction of Masculinity and Male Sexuality.

Masters NT Sexualities 2010; 13(1): 33-46.

Click here for a link to the abstract on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Sage Publications)

Acquaintance sexual assault prevention in the USA has largely comprised educational programs for women on college campuses and has left an unmet need for interventions targeted at men in the general community. Men’s anti-rape websites attempt to address this need. This article describes a sample of six such sites and examines them for insights into the social discourses on masculinity and male sexuality that they both produce and reflect. Findings indicate that these sites construct alternative masculinities, using socio-sexual behavior to delineate the boundary between ‘good’/non-rapist and ‘bad’/rapist masculinity, and use the rhetorical strategy of othering the rapist, with a few interesting exceptions. Sites’ depictions of consensual sex and rape are also briefly described. Implications of these discourses for rape prevention are discussed.

As I review the new research published each week on sexual violence and intimate partner violence, sometimes I feel a tension between trusting science and trusting my own beliefs.  There are times that existing research indicates something that I do not believe. In those moments I have to reevaluate my beliefs and determine where I stand.  Sometimes current research will shift my thinking; and there are times that a research study does not convince me, either because the research was framed problematically, is limited in its scope, and/or is not answering the crucial question.

This brings me to a recent study on rape prevention written by Foubert et. al. ePublished in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.  This study examines The Men’s Program, which is described in this study as had having long-term success in changing men’s attitudes and behaviors about rape (according to studies previously conducted by Foubert et. al.)

The program is designed to increase men’s empathy with survivors of sexual assault.  Here is the description of the program from the article:

…presenters of The Men’s Program show a DVD describing a male-on-male rape experience designed to teach men how a rape experience might feel describing a male-on- male rape experience designed to teach men how a rape experience might feel. After the video is shown, presenters process the video, noting the presumably heterosexual orientation of the perpetrators… and they follow this by making connections between a male-on-male and a male-on-female rape experience to facilitate empathy toward rape survivors. Later, men are taught how to support a rape survivor. Men then learn the basics of defining sexual consent and hear strategies for confronting peers as bystanders when they overhear others tell jokes about rape, act in ways that demean women, or brag about abusing women. Following that, men are taken through a guided imagery of a woman close to them who experiences rape under the influence of alcohol while a bystander watches and does nothing. … Participants then brainstorm ways that they could intervene in situations where an alcohol-related rape might occur. The program itself lasts about 1 hr and is usually presented by four undergraduate male peer educators, often part of peer education groups named One in Four…

I am uncomfortable with this program.  The video used in it was designed to train male law enforcement officers to understand what the experience of female victims of sexual assault.  Its graphically highlights the grotesqueness of the rapists and of the actual assault. I can see how the video has impact on male participants as they are guided to consider the experience of being violated. But I am unsure that will lead men to see their own behavior as the same way as the male-on-male stranger rape described in the video.

And I have several questions: Does this video retraumatize men who have been sexually assaulted? Would the homophobia of some men be reinforced by the situation portrayed in the video?

Based on my experiences as a sexual violence prevention educator and the approaches that I am comfortable with, I would not use this video in prevention program.

Yet, in this study and in several other studies Foubert et. al. have demonstrated positive results in reducing rape acceptance myths and decreasing self-reported likelihood of raping.  How do I balance the results of these studies with what I think about the prevention program itself? Do these scientific findings warrant overriding my thoughts on this program?

In my understanding of evidence bases, there are several types of evidence: research based evidence, experiential evidence and contextual evidence.  To understand the use of evidence we need to consider all types, not only evidence from research. (Click here for a PreventConnect web conference describing of these types of evidence.)

I really like this recent study’s use of qualitative measures to ask college student men about the impact of the program after they participated in a One in Four presentation. (The students were evaluated at the end of their Sophomore year after being exposed to the program as first-year students in September) I share with the researchers the value of gathering data when using the method of asking open questions like “Are any of your attitudes now different as a result of seeing the program?” and “Have there been any situations in which you have behaved any differently in any situation as a result of seeing the program?” These types of questions provide a systematic way to collect information on how a prevention program makes an impact on its participants. In fact, I often recommend this methodology as part of a good strategy to evaluate prevention programs.

When I read this study and reviewed previous research, I had to reexamine my concerns. After considerable reflection, I still remain skeptical about aspects of this program:

• One hour presentations alone seem unlikely to really change behavior. One hour is not long enough to process both attempts at empathy enhancement and effective bystander intervention skills training. The program’s bystander training is limited to having participants brainstorm bystander responses. Research on effective prevention programs suggests that dosage (the amount of time receiving information) is an important element for useful change in prevention work. I do think that one hour presentations could be a useful piece of a comprehensive prevention effort.
• An empathy-based framework for prevention is problematic in sexual violence.  While empathy seem intuitively helpful to understand a victim perspective, it is not clear to me that this approach is what changes a potential perpetrating behavior. Once agin, empathy makes sense to me as part of a prevention effort.
• While the authors claim in this article that “…Schewe also reported that depicting a man as a survivor always led to lowering rape myth acceptance or likelihood of raping yet depicting a female survivor in programs for men either increased men’s rape myth acceptance or their likelihood of sexual aggression.” (Italics in original) My review of Schewe’s chapter find only the recommendation that when conducting empathy exercises, interventions should include a male as a victim.  I did not see any claims of always lowering rape myth acceptance or likelihood of sexual aggression. The apparent exaggeration in this study is troublesome to me.
• I would like to see more research on this program conducted by an independent researcher in a replicated setting, instead of all of the research conducted only by the developer of the program.
• And I don’t like the key element of the prevention program – the use of the video.

I want to see effective strategies that lead to men not raping women. I want to see positive results. And I want to use research to improve our prevention efforts.

And I want a program that I can stand behind.

Is The Men’s Program a way to do this? What do you think?

See below for full citation and abstract on this article.

In Their Own Words: Sophomore College Men Describe Attitude and Behavior Changes Resulting From a Rape Prevention Program 2 Years After Their Participation.

Foubert JD, Godin EE, Tatum JL. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2009; ePublished December 29, 2009.

Click here for a link to the abstract on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

The study conducted involved assessing students from a Southeastern public university during two academic years, after their participation in an all-male sexual assault peer education program. The study findings revealed that 79% of 184 college men reported attitude change, behavior change, or both. Furthermore, a multistage inductive analysis revealed that after seeing The Men’s Program, men intervened to prevent rapes from happening. Participants also modified their behavior to avoid committing sexual assault when they or a potential partner were under the influence of alcohol. Implications for future research were discussed.

In a study in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, the authors show the differences between different data sources about sexual assault prevalence.  In particular, the paper contains detailed charts highlighting the differences between the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS).

Later in 2010 we will get the first estimates from a new survey, the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Surveillance System. Until then, this article is helpful to understand how surveys collect their data.

Here is the full abstract and the full citation:

An Assessment of State Level Sexual Assault Prevalence Estimates.

Potter SJ, Laflamme DJ. Maternal and Child Health Journal 2010; ePublished January 25, 2010

Click here for a link to the abstract on journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Springer Science+Business Media)

The purpose of our research is to compare sexual violence prevalence rates from three sources of state level data. Public health officials, legislators and other policymakers often require state-level sexual assault prevalence estimates to justify funding and rationalize both new and ongoing sexual violence prevention programs, as well as programs for victims. We compared survey design and resulting prevalence rates of the three surveys frequently used at the state level: the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) extrapolations, and replications of the NVAWS. Although the specificity of the questions used in the NVAWS provides a clearer picture of the prevalence of sexual assault than the BRFSS questions, the sexual violence module on the BRFSS survey has the advantage that it is used regularly by some states. Currently available female sexual assault prevalence estimates differ widely at the state level but can be used when interpreted with informed caution. The new National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Surveillance System holds promise for providing better estimates in the future.

In a study recently epublished in the Journal of Sex Research, the authors examined the relationship between sexual assault histories and how much people drank that evening.

In examining research it is important to understand how the study was conducted and understand how much we can generalize the findings in order to integrate the understanding of the research into prevention practice.

For this study the data was collected at the San Diego, California border with Tijuana, Mexico. Sexual Assault histories were determined by asking four questions derived from Koss and Oros’ Sexual Experiences Survey:

Have you ever been in a situation where you became so sexually aroused that you could not stop yourself even though the person didn’t want to have sex?

Have you ever persuaded someone to have sexual intercourse with you by giving her drugs or alcohol?

Have you ever persuaded someone to have sexual intercourse with you when she did not really want to by pressuring her with continual arguments?

Have you ever been in a situation where you used some degree of physical force (twisting an arm, holding down, etc.) to try to make a person engage in kissing or petting when they did not want to?

The study found that individuals who having sexually assaulted someone in the past drank more during their evening in Tijuana.  However, the study did not demonstrate a link between drinking that evening and committing acts of sexual assault.

Here is the full citation and abstract:

Sexual Assault Histories and Evening Drinking Among Young American Men in a High-Risk Drinking Environment.

Mumford EA, Kelley-Baker T, Romano E. Journal of Sex Research 2009; ePublished December 29, 2009

Click here for a link to the abstract on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality)

This study surveyed young American men traveling to Tijuana, Mexico from San Diego, California for a weekend night out, collecting responses both southbound at the outset of the evening and northbound upon return at the end of the evening. Among 650 males, we examined the relationship between sexual histories and attitudes and alcohol use, both historically and on their night in Tijuana. Respondents with a history of coercing sex drank more in Tijuana and were more likely to binge drink. Although estimating sexual assaults committed by these males on the evening in question was not possible, this research establishes the link between a history of sexual assault and the blood alcohol concentration of young men resulting from an evening in a timeout environment.

I was reading the new study Risk Recognition and Intimate Partner Violence thinking about the concept of “risk recognition” – that is ability to detect danger.  And I have questions.

• Are these beneficial skills as the authors suggest?
• What are the implications of having “risk recognition” as the primary goal of a prevention program?
• Does it unintentionally absolve potential perpetrators from responsibility for violence?
• Does it unintentionally place the burden for prevention on the potential victim?
• How do we responsibility integrate risk reduction strategies into a comprehensive prevention initiative?

In this study the authors state the following in their implications section:

“However, it is important to note that we are not suggesting that we can train victims to effectively predict such violent behavior, as there is no real way to predict unpredictable behavior (Langford, 1996); this would lead to a false sense of control. We are only suggesting that we may be able to teach victims to recognize abusive behavior—even “minor” forms such as name calling and grabbing—as soon as it occurs.”

As I have written before about feminist self defense, empowering women to take action should be part of a comprehensive prevention effort. What is the role of “risk recognition” in this?

What do you think?

Here is the full citation and abstract:

Risk Recognition and Intimate Partner Violence.

Witte TH, Kendra R. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2009; ePublished December 29, 2009

Click here for a link on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

The objective of this study was to determine whether female victims of physical forms of intimate partner violence (IPV) displayed deficits in risk recognition, or the ability to detect danger, in physically violent dating encounters. A total of 182 women watched a video depicting a psychologically and physically aggressive encounter between heterosexual dating partners and made repeated judgments about the interaction. Results from this study provided evidence for the validation of this methodology and found that history of physical forms of IPV was associated with risk recognition ability, such that victims of IPV were less likely to recognize the danger involved in the video vignette compared to nonvictims. Results showed important implications for IPV prevention programs.

In this recently published study in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, the researchers found a home visiting program to reduce intimate partner violence.

Note: this study uses the Conflict Tactics Scale. Some researchers have concerns about that tool.

The full citation and abstract follow the jump.

Reducing maternal intimate partner violence after the birth of a child: a randomized controlled trial of the Hawaii healthy start home visitation program.

Bair-Merritt MH, Jennings JM, Chen R, Burrell L, McFarlane E, Fuddy L, Duggan AK. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine 2010; 164(1): 16-23.

Click here for a link to the abstract on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, American Medical Association)

OBJECTIVES: To estimate whether home visitation beginning after childbirth was associated with changes in average rates of mothers’ intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration as well as rates of specific IPV types (physical assault, verbal abuse, sexual assault, and injury) during the 3 years of program implementation and during 3 years of long-term follow-up.

DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial.

SETTING: Oahu, Hawaii.

PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred forty-three families with an infant at high risk for child maltreatment born between November 1994 and December 1995. Intervention Home visitors provided direct services and linked families to community resources. Home visits were to initially occur weekly and to continue for at least 3 years.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women’s self-reports of past-year IPV victimization and perpetration using the Conflict Tactics Scale. Blinded research staff conducted maternal interviews following the child’s birth and annually when children were aged 1 to 3 years and then 7 to 9 years.

RESULTS: During program implementation, intervention mothers as compared with control mothers reported lower rates of IPV victimization (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73-1.01) and significantly lower rates of perpetration (IRR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.72-0.96). Considering specific IPV types, intervention women reported significantly lower rates of physical assault victimization (IRR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.71-1.00) and perpetration (IRR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.70-0.96). During long-term follow-up, rates of overall IPV victimization and perpetration decreased, with nonsignificant between-group differences. Verbal abuse victimization rates (IRR, 1.14, 95% CI, 0.97-1.34) may have increased among intervention mothers.

CONCLUSION: Early-childhood home visitation may be a promising strategy for reducing IPV.

The new article epublished in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Intimate Partner Aggression Perpetrated and Sustained by Male Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam Veterans With and Without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, describes another opportunity for prevention efforts.

The full citation and abstract follow the jump.

Intimate Partner Aggression Perpetrated and Sustained by Male Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam Veterans With and Without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Teten AL, Schumacher JA, Taft CT, Stanley MA, Kent TA, Bailey SD, Dunn NJ, White DL. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2009. ePublished December 18, 2009

Click here for the  abstract on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) consistently evidence higher rates of intimate partner aggression perpetration than veterans without PTSD, but most studies have examined rates of aggression among Vietnam veterans several years after their deployment. The primary aim of this study was to examine partner aggression among male Afghanistan or Iraq veterans who served during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and compare this aggression to that reported by Vietnam veterans with PTSD. Three groups were recruited, OEF/OIF veterans with PTSD (n = 27), OEF/OIF veterans without PTSD (n = 31), and Vietnam veterans with PTSD (n = 28). Though only a few comparisons reached significance, odds ratios suggested that male OEF/OIF veterans with PTSD were approximately 1.9 to 3.1 times more likely to perpetrate aggression toward their female partners and 1.6 to 6 times more likely to report experiencing female perpetrated aggression than the other two groups. Significant correlations among reports of violence perpetrated and sustained suggested many men may have been in mutually violent relationships. Taken together, these results suggest that partner aggression among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with PTSD may be an important treatment consideration and target for prevention.

Yuck!

I admit that the article, The “Participating Victim” in the Study of Erotic Experiences Between Children and Adults: An Historical Analysis was hard for me to read.  I understand the value of recognizing that children have sexual feelings, but I find the frame of this article troublesome.  If the term “participating victim” is vanishing from the research literature, I celebrate that development.

And why does the term “erotic experiences between children and adults” have to be used in research journals in 2009?

Abstract and full citation follow the jump.

The “Participating Victim” in the Study of Erotic Experiences Between Children and Adults: An Historical Analysis.

Malón A. Archives of Sexual Behavior 2009; ePublished December 29, 2009

Click here for the link to the abstract on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Springer Science+Business Media)

During the 20th century, erotic experiences between minors and adults occupied a position of increasing interest, both public as well as scientific. In this area of research, one of the most notable evolutions in how these experiences are treated has been the progressive disappearance and/or the intense redefinition of what earlier researchers called “participating victims,” i.e., minors apparently interested in accepting and/or sustaining these relationships. The present work, through a comparative analysis of the literature, seeks to substantiate this transformation during the second third of the 20th century. It will also argue that this evolution can be fundamentally explained in terms of the intense emotional, moral, and ideological importance that is ascribed to these experiences in the rise of the current victimological paradigm. Finally, this study endeavors to contribute to the understanding of childhood and the scientific study of child sexuality as well as of these experiences with adults.

Recent articles by highlight the links between alcohol and sexual coercion for perpetration and drug use associated with intimate partner violence. This recent article ePublished in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence examines the role of alcohol experiences on protective behaviors.

Prevention cannot be done solely by trying to ensure that potential victims protect themselves. Nor does it seem reasonable to expect potential perpetrators to individually realize that their behavior is wrong. How can we change the environment around alcohol experiences that will reduce sexual violence?

The full abstract and link to journal’s web site follow the jump.

Coercive Sexual Experiences, Protective Behavioral Strategies, Alcohol Expectancies and Consumption Among Male and Female College Students.

Palmer RS, McMahon TJ, Rounsaville BJ, Ball SA. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2009; ePublished December 29, 2009.

Click here for a link to the abstract on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

Alcohol use and sexual assault on college campuses are highly prevalent and the focus of numerous prevention and intervention efforts. Our goals were to gain a greater understanding of the relationship between coercive sexual experiences, utilization of protective behavioral strategies and alcohol expectancies and consumption among male and female college students. We surveyed 370 college students regarding their past year experiences and found that 34% of women and 31% of men reported unwanted sexual contact, 6% of women and 13% of men reported engaging in sexually coercive behavior, and 4% of women and 9% of men reported experiencing both unwanted contact and engaging in sexually coercive behavior. Findings indicated students who experienced unwanted sexual contact reported significant differences in alcohol expectancies. More specifically, those who engaged in sexually coercive behaviors had significantly higher sex-related alcohol expectancies. In addition, recipients of unwanted contact reported higher alcohol consumption, used fewer protective strategies when drinking, and experienced more negative consequences due to their alcohol use. Results suggest that campus alcohol and sexual assault prevention efforts should include information on alcohol expectancies and use of protective strategies.

I find the social-ecological model to be a helpful concept in understanding prevention because it highlights the importance of thinking beyond the individual level to create lasting change.  However, so much of the research on sexual violence and intimate partner violence focused on the individual.

I was pleased to see the recently epublished study Neighborhood Characteristics as Predictors of Male to Female and Female to Male Partner Violence. While the study did not find links between intimate partner violence and the neighborhood characteristics examined, the study asks the of type questions that researchers should investigate.

What community based measures do you think might be associated with sexual violence and intimate partner violence?

For the full citation and link to the abstract on the journal’s web site follow the jump.

Neighborhood Characteristics as Predictors of Male to Female and Female to Male Partner Violence.

Caetano R, Ramisetty-Mikler S, Harris TR. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2009; ePublished December 29, 2009

Click here for the abstract on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

This article examines the association between neighborhood characteristics at the census tract-level, couples’ perceived neighborhood social cohesion and informal social control, and male-to-female (MFPV) and female-to-male (FMPV) partner violence in the United States. Data come from a second wave of interviews (2000) with a national sample of couples 18 years of age and older who were first interviewed in 1995. The path analysis shows that poverty is associated with perceived social cohesion and perceived social control as hypothesized. However, there is no significant mediation effect for social control or social cohesion on any type of violence. In the path analysis, Black ethnicity is associated with social cohesion, which is associated with MFPV. Intimate partner violence (IPV), as a form of domestic violence, may not be as concentrated in high-poverty neighborhoods as criminal violence. IPV may be more determined by personal and dyadic characteristics than criminal violence.

Note: This study used the revised Conflict Tactics Scale. As I have noted before, many researchers have concerns about this instrument.

In a study recently published in the journal Substance Use and Misuse the authors explore factors related to sexual abuse perpetrators.  The study examines the role of alcohol while men watched a video in which a young man and woman engaged in consensual kissing and touching and then were asked to imagine how they would respond if they wanted to have sex, but the woman was unwilling because a condom was not available.

The findings appear to highlight that multiple factors (alcohol consumption, hostility, misperception) interact; so there are no “magic bullets” to address the issue.  The authors explore potential prevention implications. These suggestions (targeted interventions that help men identify the effects that alcohol has on their treatment of women; communication skills programs and brief interventions using elements of motivational interviewing and nonconfrontational techniques) are not tested in the study.

The full abstract and link to the study on the Journal’s web site follow the jump.

Alcohol’s role in men’s use of coercion to obtain unprotected sex.

Abbey A, Parkhill MR, Jacques-Tiura AJ, Saenz C. Substance Use And Misuse 2009; 44(9-10): 1329-48.

Click here for a link to the abstract on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Taylor and Francis Group)

Past sexual victimization has been identified as a predictor of women’s sexual risk-taking. In order to develop effective prevention and treatment programs, research is needed that examines perpetrators’ characteristics. Thus, the goal of this study was to examine predictors of men’s willingness to use coercive strategies to obtain sex without a condom. Male college students (n = 72) completed a survey that assessed past sexual assault perpetration, hostility, past misperception of women’s sexual cues, usual alcohol consumption, and usual condom use. One month later, they participated in an alcohol administration study and watched a video about a couple in a consensual sexual situation. Participants were asked to evaluate how justified they would be in using a variety of coercive strategies to make the woman have unprotected sex. In hierarchical multiple regression analyses, there was a significant main effect of past perpetration such that men who had previously committed sexual assault felt more justified using coercive strategies to obtain unprotected sex than did nonperpetrators. Acute alcohol consumption did not have a main effect; however, it interacted with hostility and misperception. Among participants who consumed alcohol prior to watching the video, the greater their preexisting hostility, the more justified they felt in using coercion. Similarly, the more frequently drinkers had misperceived women’s sexual intentions in the past, the more justified they felt in using coercion. Based on these findings, several specific suggestions are made for prevention and treatment programs, including targeted communication skills and normative feedback interventions.

In the article Drug Use and Intimate Partner Violence Among College Students, the authors explore how different drugs may have a different relationship to intimate partner violence. They found users of cannibas and depressants to have higher rates of use of physical violence.

One caveat: the researcher uses the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) to measure the violence. While this scale is statistically valid, many researchers are critical of its use. For example, in this study the researcher found that women committed physical abuse slightly more (but not statistically significant) than men. The report findings are consistent with other research using CTS2 that generally indicate that women commit more physical abuse than men.

Drug Use and Intimate Partner Violence Among College Students: An In-Depth Exploration.

Nabors EL. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2009; ePublished December 1, 2009

Click here for a link to the abstract on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

College students experience an extremely high level of violence among intimate partners during their college careers, with prevalence rates ranging between 20% and 50%. Because intimate partner violence (IPV) among college students is such a widespread problem, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to this type of abuse. Studies using a variety of samples demonstrate that drug use is one such factor. However, research to date fails to identify specific types of drugs linked to college students’ use of violence against intimates. In an attempt to fill this void, this exploratory study uses data from the Relationship Characteristics Study, which was conducted in 2001 and includes a sample of 1,938 college students, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between college students’ drug use and IPV perpetration than the current literature allows.

On Thursday a new federal study was released and it noted that “3 out of every 25 youths in state and privately run juvenile correctional facilities have experienced at least one incident of sexual victimization.”

The study, which is the first of its kind, “brings attention to the need for more training and accountability for staff members at such facilities, said Linda McFarlane, deputy executive director of Just Detention International, a nonprofit human rights organization that works on preventing abuse in detention centers.”

When I have hired staff or recruited volunteers for domestic violence or sexual assault organizations, I did not necessary look for extensive knowledge about the issues. I wanted to see if and how they dealt with victim-blaming.  Did they hold battered women responsible for being abused?  Did they consider rape victims to have done something wrong? (as Ask Amy recently did when she said “You were a victim of your own awful judgment.”)

I am concerned when I read in the abstract of the recent article “ ‘But sometimes I think . . . They put themselves in the situation’ : exploring blame and responsibility in interpersonal violence.” in the journal Violence Against Women that volunteers hold attitudes that blame victims.

What do you think?

The full abstract and citation is after the jump.

“But sometimes I think . . . They put themselves in the situation”: exploring blame and responsibility in interpersonal violence.

Thapar-Björkert S, Morgan KJ. Violence Against Women, 2010; 16(1): 32-59.

Click here for a link to the journal.

(Copyright © 2010, Sage Publications)

This article draws on narratives of volunteers working with women who have experienced violence. It explores how institutional discourses nurture a culture of blame and responsibility. Using qualitative data, it examines the ways in which women victims are seen as complicit in their own victimization. An indirect consequence of the blame/responsibility dichotomy is that victims are depicted as deserving their fate. There is, therefore, a culture of resignation in which violence is normalized. It proposes that if institutional practices are embedded in a feminist tradition, they can provide a more sustainable framework for challenging sexual and domestic violence.

In the article recently published online in the journal Child Maltreatment, the authors examine juvenile prostitution and child sexual abuse.

Full citation and link to the article on the journal web site follow the jump.

Conceptualizing Juvenile Prostitution as Child Maltreatment: Findings From the National Juvenile Prostitution Study.

Mitchell KJ, Finkelhor D, Wolak J. Child Maltreatment 2009; ePublished November 18, 2009.

Click here for a link on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

Two studies were conducted to identify the incidence (Study 1) and characteristics (Study 2) of juvenile prostitution cases known to law enforcement agencies in the United States. Study 1 revealed a national estimate of 1,450 arrests or detentions (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1,287-1,614) in cases involving juvenile prostitution during a 1-year period. In Study 2, exploratory data were collected from a subsample of 138 cases from police records in 2005. The cases are broadly categorized into three main types: (a) third-party exploiters, (b) solo prostitution, and (c) conventional child sexual abuse (CSA) with payment. Cases were classified into three initial categories based on police orientation toward the juvenile: (a) juveniles as victims (53%), (b) juveniles as delinquents (31%), and (c) juvenile as both victims and delinquents (16%). When examining the status of the juveniles by case type, the authors found that all the juveniles in CSA with payment cases were treated as victims, 66% in third-party exploiters cases, and 11% in solo cases. Findings indicate law enforcement responses to juvenile prostitution are influential in determining whether such youth are viewed as victims of commercial sexual exploitation or as delinquents.

Abuse on the internet is in the news now.  While the topic may be sexting or online predators, how do violence prevention efforts address online risks?  Prevention efforts need to do more than provide warnings.  Not many years ago anti-online abuse campaigns cautioned people not to put their pictures online. As the online environment changes so do our prevention efforts need to change. That’s Not Cool is one example of reaching out to teens on this issue.

An article in the recent issue of the journal Pediatrics examines risk factors of internet-initiated victimization of adolescent girls.

Here is the full abstract and link to the journal’s web site:

Childhood abuse, avatar choices, and other risk factors associated with internet-initiated victimization of adolescent girls.

Noll JG, Shenk CE, Barnes JE, Putnam FW. Pediatrics 2009; 123(6): e1078-83.

Click here for the abstract of the article on the journal web site.

(Copyright © 2009, American Academy of Pediatrics)

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine the risk factors for Internet-initiated victimization of female adolescents. In particular, it was expected that girls who experienced childhood abuse would show higher vulnerability than their nonabused peers. In addition, the study examined how provocative self-presentations might be related to online sexual advances and offline encounters.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Adolescent girls aged 14 to 17 years who had experienced substantiated childhood abuse (N = 104) were demographically matched with nonabused girls (N = 69) and surveyed regarding Internet usage, maternal and paternal caregiver presence, substance use, high-risk sexual attitudes, and involvement with high-risk peers. To measure online self-presentation, participants each created avatars, which were quantified according to the degree of provocative physical features.

RESULTS: Forty percent of the sample reported experiencing online sexual advances, and 26% reported meeting someone offline who they first met online. Abused girls were significantly more likely to have experienced online sexual advances and to have met someone offline. Having been abused and choosing a provocative avatar were significantly and independently associated with online sexual advances, which were, in turn, associated with offline encounters.

CONCLUSIONS: A history of childhood abuse may increase Internet-initiated victimization vulnerability. Parents should be aware of the ways in which their adolescents are presenting themselves online. Making adolescent girls and their parents aware that provocative online self-presentations may have implications for sexual solicitation might help to ward off sexual advances and might help prevent Internet-initiated victimizations. Practitioners should consider standard inquiry into Internet and media usage an aspect of comprehensive care.

What makes someone take bystander action to intervene?  A new paper in the journal Spanish Journal of Psychology examines the role of bystander perceptions and differences when one considers intervening or mediating in an abusive situation. The full citation and link to the article follow the jump:

Public responses to intimate partner violence against women: the influence of perceived severity and personal responsibility.

Gracia E, Garcia F, Lila M. Spanish Journal of Psychology 2009; 12(2): 648-56.

Click here for a link to the article

(Copyright © 2009, Complutense University of Madrid)

This paper explored public willingness to act when exposed to cases of intimate partner violence against women, by analyzing the influence of perceived severity and personal responsibility on two types of responses: mediating and reporting to the police. Results (N = 419) yielded main effects of personal responsibility for both types of responses. No main effects of perceived severity were found. A significant interaction between perceived severity and personal responsibility was found only for reporting responses. Results are discussed in light of the helping behavior research tradition. Implications for public education and advocacy programs are also considered.

To prevent sexual violence, we need to understand both factors that contribute to the problem; and develop a theory on how our efforts can prevent it. Donna Garske of Transforming Communities talks about having a “Theory of the Problem” and a “Theory of Change.”

I find this to be a very helpful set of concepts.  While each of these theories need to compliment each other, they are not the same.  For example, it is not reasonable to expect that understanding why rape happens (theory of the problem) is sufficient to change behavior.  What we have learned from behavior theory is that more than information is necessary to change someone’s behavior.

First, how do we develop our theory of the problem? I thought about this when I saw the first line of the abstract of the new article Sexually Coercive Behavior in Male Youth: Population Survey of General and Specific Risk Factors: “Little is known about risk/protective factors for sexually coercive behavior in general population youth.”

If we want to prevent perpetration of sexual violence, we need to draw on lessons learned on why people rape.  Some people look at David Lisak’s work on the “Undetected Rapist.”  Recently VAWnet put out a Applied Research brief on Using Rapist Risk Factors to Set an Agenda for Rape Prevention I am part of a newly developed Prevention Committee of the Association for the Treatment of Sex Offenders (ATSA) to bridge the work of sex offender management and prevention.

Lets get a better understanding of what we are trying to prevent. Then we have to develop our “theory of change” that fits.

Here is the full abstract and a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

Sexually Coercive Behavior in Male Youth: Population Survey of General and Specific Risk Factors.

Kjellgren C, Priebe G, Svedin CG, Langstrom N. Archives of Sexual Behavior 2009; ePublished November 4, 2009

(Copyright © 2009, Springer Science+Business Media)

Little is known about risk/protective factors for sexually coercive behavior in general population youth. We used a Swedish school-based population survey of sexual attitudes and experiences (response rate 77%) and investigated literature-based variables across sexually coercive (SEX), non-sexual conduct problem (CP), and normal control (NC) participants to identify general and specific risk/protective factors for sexual coercion. Among 1,933 male youth, 101 (5.2%) reported sexual coercion (ever talked or forced somebody into genital, oral, or anal sex) (SEX), 132 (6.8%) were classified as CP, and the remaining 1,700 (87.9%) as NC. Of 29 tested variables, 25 were more common in both SEX and CP compared to NC youth, including minority ethnicity, separated parents, vocational study program, risk-taking, aggressiveness, depressive symptoms, substance abuse, sexual victimization, extensive sexual experiences, and sexual preoccupation. When compared to CP youth only, SEX youth more often followed academic study programs, used less drugs and were less risk-taking. Further, SEX more frequently than CP youth reported gender stereotypic and pro-rape attitudes, sexual preoccupation, prostitution, and friends using violent porn. Finally, in a multivariate logistic regression, academic study program, pro-rape attitudes, sexual preoccupation, and less risk-taking independently remained more strongly associated with SEX compared to CP offending. In conclusion, several sociodemographic, family, and individual risk/protective factors were common to non-sexual and sexually coercive antisocial behavior in late adolescence. However, pro-rape cognitions, and sexual preoccupation, were sexuality-related, specific risk factors. The findings could inform preventive efforts and the assessment and treatment of sexually coercive male youth.

In the recent article in the journal Young, Norwegian researchers explore young people’s perceptions of responsibility in sexual abuse situations. While the focus of the article examines perceptions of scenarios between an adult male and minor female, the issue of how we address young people’s perceptions of themselves is also important for our rape prevention efforts.

The authors point out that legally there is a clear dividing line between “…children, who cannot consent, and adults, who have an unrestricted capacity to consent.” However, adolescents perceive themselves as having the capacity to make sensible decisions. While recognizing teen agency is respect their our agency, our culture often blames the victim when a young female is seen as “responsible” for putting herself in harms way.

The authors conclude that it would be fruitful for prevention efforts to “deconstruct the simplistic and problematic binary of innocent girls versus responsible young women that so often underscores discussions in this field.”

Here is the full citation and link to the abstract on the journal’s page.

Responsible victims? Young people’s understandings of agency and responsibility in sexual situations involving underage girls.

Smette I, Stefansen K, Mossige S. Young 2009; 17(4): 351-373.

Click here to link to the abstract of the article

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

Most countries have a legal age of consent, setting the minimum age for the involvement of a young person in sexual relationships. Engaging in a sexual relationship with a person below this age is defined as abuse, even if the minor has consented. At the same time, underage young people often see themselves as knowledgeable agents across a range of situations, including having sexual relations with older persons. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, this article examines the role of the construction of agency in young people’s understanding of different types of sexual situations — from consented sex to situations of physical coercion — involving a minor girl and an adult man. How do constructions of agency affect the labelling of different situations and the attribution of responsibility to the persons involved? The article further discusses how the concept of agency interlinks with gendered sexual scripts in the process of interpretation, thereby reproducing gendered vulnerabilities. The concluding section considers how a contextual approach to youth agency may inform preventive efforts.

The new Child Trends’ Research Brief “Tell It Like It Is: Teen Perspectives on Romantic Relationships” highlights findings from focus groups asking teens themselves about their relationships.  While the authors highlight the policy and programmatic impact on STIs and teen pregnancy, violence in teen relationships emerges as an issue in the focus groups.

The report finds that despite teens having “…a clear understanding of what makes a romantic relationship a healthy one…. teens have low expectations for experiencing these qualities in their own relationships.”

Finding information from teens about their perceptions of relationships is an important element in developing and implementing teen dating violence prevention programs. If the program intends to promote positive relationships this information is very important.

Thanks to Lisa Fujie Parks of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence for sharing this report with me.

During an event last weekend for Shalom Bayit, a Bay area organization dedicated to ending domestic violence in the Jewish community,  I was talking to a rabbi who co-chairs their Rabbinic Advisory Council. The rabbi told me that after addressing domestic violence for the last ten years, he is more dedicated than ever to educating young people.

I responded that I want to focus on how to change culture – I see education as only one step of the process.  And faith communities can play a vital role in helping shape values and culture.

In a recent article appearing on the journal Social Science Research, the authors explore the role the Catholic Church plays in people’s experiences with domestic violence.

The full citation and link to the article on the journal’s web site follows the jump.

Religion and intimate partner violence in Chile: macro- and micro-level influences.

Lehrer EL, Lehrer VL, Krauss RC. Social Science Research 2009; 38(3): 635-43.

Click here for a link to the journal.

A similar version of the article is available as IZA Discussion Paper No. 4067, March 2009

(Copyright © 2009, Elsevier Publishing)

The Catholic Church has had a strong influence on the Chilean legal and social landscape in ways that have adversely affected victims of intimate partner violence; e.g., it succeeded until just five years ago in blocking efforts to legalize divorce. At the same time, quantitative studies based on survey data from the United States and other countries show a generally favorable influence of religion on health and many other domains of life, including intimate partner violence. The present study explores the puzzle posed by these seemingly opposing macro- and micro-level forces. Results based on data from the 2005 Survey of Student Well-Being, a questionnaire on gender-based violence administered to students at a large public university in Chile, show that moderate or low levels of religiosity are associated with reduced vulnerability to violence, but high levels are not. This non-linearity sheds light on the puzzle, because at the macro level the religious views shaping Chile’s legal and social environment have been extreme.

The journal Violence Against Women has published online a study suggesting that a human rights approach is more holistic.  As I have blogged before, a human rights approach to violence against women prevention is common everywhere in the world except the United States.

What do you think?  Would the rape and domestic violence prevention movement benefit from a human rights approach?

The full citation and link to the abstract of the article from SafetyLit follows the jump.

“How Would That Help Our Work?”: The Intersection of Domestic Violence and Human Rights in the United States.

Morgaine K. Violence Against Women 2009; ePublished October 22, 2009.

Click here for the article or for the DOI:

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

This qualitative study explores whether individuals working within the domestic violence (DV) field in the United States have utilized a human rights framework and identifies potential benefits of this framework. Using the critique and experiences of women of color as a focal point, data were gathered through interviews with key individuals working with national and regional DV and human rights organizations. This article focuses on challenges within the mainstream DV movement and how a human rights approach could potentially ameliorate some of these concerns by supporting a more holistic approach to DV and increasing coalition building and community engagement.

I have only read the abstract of the article “Pornography and attitudes supporting violence against women: revisiting the relationship in nonexperimental studies.”

For more information about the relationship between pornography and child sexual exploitation see this bibliography from the Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Exploitation.

Full citation and link to abstract on journal’s web site from SafetyLit after the jump.

Pornography and attitudes supporting violence against women: revisiting the relationship in nonexperimental studies.

Hald GM, Malamuth NM, Yuen C. Aggressive Behavior 2009; ePublished October 27, 2009.

Click here for the article.

(Copyright © 2009, John Wiley and Sons)

A meta-analysis was conducted to determine whether nonexperimental studies revealed an association between men’s pornography consumption and their attitudes supporting violence against women. The meta-analysis corrected problems with a previously published meta-analysis and added more recent findings. In contrast to the earlier meta-analysis, the current results showed an overall significant positive association between pornography use and attitudes supporting violence against women in nonexperimental studies. In addition, such attitudes were found to correlate significantly higher with the use of sexually violent pornography than with the use of nonviolent pornography, although the latter relationship was also found to be significant. The study resolves what appeared to be a troubling discordance in the literature on pornography and aggressive attitudes by showing that the conclusions from nonexperimental studies in the area are in fact fully consistent with those of their counterpart experimental studies. This finding has important implications for the overall literature on pornography and aggression.

CALCASA is proud to be hosting the 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference in Los Angeles. To get announcements, registration information and other updates, CALCASA is proud to be hosting the 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference in Los Angeles click here.

In an article in the recent issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, researchers are examining patterns of intimate partner violence victimization from adolescence to young adulthood. While this research appears to be preliminary, better understanding of these patterns may assist the development of appropriate prevention programs.

The full citation and abstract from SafetyLit follow the jump.

Patterns of intimate partner violence victimization from adolescence to young adulthood in a nationally representative sample.

Halpern CT, Spriggs AL, Martin SL, Kupper LL. Journal of Adolescent Health 2009; 45(5): 508-16.

Click here for a link the article in the journal or the DOI.

(Copyright © 2009, Elsevier Publishing)

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of patterns of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization from adolescence to young adulthood, and document associations with selected sociodemographic and experiential factors.

METHODS: We used prospective data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to group 4134 respondents reporting only opposite-sex romantic or sexual relationships in adolescence and young adulthood into four victimization patterns: no IPV victimization, adolescent-limited IPV victimization, young adult onset IPV victimization, and adolescent-young adult persistent IPV victimization.

RESULTS: Forty percent of respondents reported physical or sexual victimization by young adulthood. Eight percent experienced IPV only in adolescence, 25% only in young adulthood, and 7% showed persistent victimization. Female sex, Hispanic and non-Hispanic black race/ethnicity, an atypical family structure (something other than two biologic parents, step-family, single parent), more romantic partners, experiencing childhood abuse, and early sexual debut (before age 16) were each associated with one or more patterns of victimization versus none. Number of romantic partners and early sexual debut were the most consistent predictors of violence, its timing of onset, and whether victimization persisted across developmental periods. These associations did not vary by biological sex.

CONCLUSIONS: Substantial numbers of young adults have experienced physical or sexual IPV victimization. More research is needed to understand the developmental and experiential mechanisms underlying timing of onset of victimization, whether victimization persists across time and relationships, and whether etiology and temporal patterns vary by type of violence. These additional distinctions would inform the timing, content, and targeting of violence prevention efforts.

In order to better understand sexual violence, intimate partner violence and dating violence, researchers will be in contact with survivors.  By bringing up the subject of violence against women, the researchers may prompt emotional reactions. In a new article in the Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, the authors describe how they developed distress protocols.

In the past as a practitioner I had been wary of researchers who did not appear to understand the potential traumatic nature of discussing these difficult issues.  When I talked with the authors last week about their research I appreciated their attentiveness to the needs of survivors in their work conducting qualitative research talking to people about teen dating violence.

I believe we must conduct more research talking directly to people to understand how we can prevent violence against women.

The full citation and abstract is after the jump.

“Developing Distress Protocols for Research on Sensitive Topics”

Claire Burke Draucker, Donna S. Martsolf, Candice Poole, Archives of Psychiatric Nursing Volume 23, Issue 5, Pages 343-350 (October 2009)

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

Two protocols that were developed to address risks related to emotional distress in an ongoing, qualitative, community-based study of adolescent dating violence are presented. The first protocol is for use in telephone screening to identify individuals at high risk of adverse emotional reactions. The second protocol guides interviewer’s responses to emotional distress expressed by participants during in-depth research interviews. The study is briefly described, and the process used to develop the protocols is discussed. The process of developing the protocols caused the authors to reconsider some previously held assumptions about human subject protections in research on sensitive topics.

The American Journal of Public Health has just released online a study comparing intimate partner violence in same-sex and opposite-sex relationships

A full citation and abstract from SafetyLit follows the jump.

Comparisons of Intimate Partner Violence Among Partners in Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Relationships in the United States.

Blosnich JR, Bossarte RM. American Journal of Public Health 2009; ePublished October 15, 2009

Click here for a link to the journal website or the DOI.

(Copyright © 2009, American Public Health Association)

Using 2005-2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, we examined intimate partner violence (IPV) by same-sex and opposite-sex relationships and by Metropolitan Statistical Area status. Same-sex victims differed from opposite-sex victims in some forms of IPV prevalence, and urban same-sex victims had increased odds of poor self-perceived health status (adjusted odds ratio=2.41; 95% confidence interval=1.17, 4.94). Same-sex and opposite-sex victims experienced similar poor health outcomes, underscoring the need both of inclusive service provision and consideration of sexual orientation in population-based research.

Often violence against women prevention efforts in schools focus on educating children. Yet, there may be more impact by training teachers to address the issues in their daily interactions with students.

In the recent Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, among the several articles about violence prevention programs, one article describes a program in Dallas, TX to train teachers and school about the impact on domestic violence on children.

The full citation and abstract from SafetyLit follows the jump.

“Children at risk”: development, implementation, and effectiveness of a school-based violence intervention and prevention program.

Walker SL, Smith DJ Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community 2009; 37(4): 316-25.

Click here for the link or for the DOI:

(Copyright © 2009, Taylor and Francis Group)

Violence impacts the lives of children on a daily basis. In their communities, they witness drive-by shootings, drug deals, and violence in their schools while many endure abuse, neglect, and violent behavior in their homes. Because the traumatizing impact of such exposure disrupts a child’s ability to concentrate and learn, the Dallas Independent School District (ISD) sought content expertise to develop a training vehicle for school district professionals. The program aimed to raise the awareness of educators to problems related to domestic violence and the myriad of circumstances at home and in the community that lead to exposure to violence. Approximately 15,000 faculty and staff of Dallas ISD were educated in the identification, intervention, and prevention of exposure to violence. Referrals and inquiries related to abuse have increased (approximately 70%) while the city of Dallas has witnessed a drop in the number of domestic violence and child abuse offenses.

Peace Over Violence released an advocacy paper entitled Teen Dating Violence and Sexual Violence Policy Project at Miguel Contreras Learning Complex.

The report contains a description of the pilot site characteristics, a definition of the policy project, review of successes and challenges, and recommendations to others who are seeking teen dating and sexual violence policy change in school systems.

You can download the report by clicking here.

In order to develop programs to prevent men from committing sexual assault, we need to understand what we want change.  If all we so is educate men to know that sexual violence takes place, we cannot succeed.  An article “Male sexual coercion: Analysis of a few associated factors” appearing in October 2009 issue of Psychology Reports looks at some potential risk and protective factors among male college students in El Salvador.

Such research does not necessarily indicate the causes of male sexual violence; instead it demonstrates associations.

The findings are generally not surprising: anger, double standards about gender and favorable attitudes toward the use of violence against women are shown to be risk factors. The authors do suggest that religious involvement may be a protective factor.  I am cautious to draw too much from that observation. I wonder if this is specific to religious life in El Salvador or based on some factor common among men who partcipate n religious practice.

The full citation and abstract from SafetyLit appears after the jump:

male sexual coercion: analysis of a few associated factors.

Sierra JC, Gutiérrez-Quintanilla R, Bermúdez MP, Buela-Casal G. Psychology Reports 2009; 105(1): 69-79.

(Copyright © 2009, Ammons Scientific)

The purpose of this study was to assess, in a sample of 700 university students ages 18 to 40 years in El Salvador, the importance of sociodemographic variables (age, having a partner, and frequency of religious practice), personality traits (anger, hostility, and aggressiveness), sexual attitudes, and male chauvinist attitudes (erotophilia, double standard, and rape supportive attitudes) in explaining male sexual coercion. All these variables were assessed. Once the effect of social desirability had been controlled, the analysis showed the importance of trait anger along with a favorable attitude toward the use of violence against women, double standard, and negative attitudes toward sexuality in explaining male sexual coercion. Religious involvement, however, may act as a protective factor against such violence. Multidimensional models are needed to explain sexual violence against women by men in heterosexual relationships.

For the article, search for “male sexual coercion” here.

It is complicated examining the relationship between early childhood trauma and abuse in future relationships.  We do know about the profound impact of early trauma; and, at the same time, we recognize that being abused as a child does not condemn everyone to becoming abused as an adult.

Recently I was looking at some public service announcements that said, in effect, child who witness abuse are condemned to repeat it. This conclusion is overly simplistic and problematic for a public service announcement.  While research can show risk factors, the presence of those risk factors does not necessarily mean it causes the future behavior.

Yet, I still want to examine the research to think about what issues should be addressed in our prevention programs.  Sometimes, I have to be somewhat skeptical of the research.

The journal Child Abuse & Neglect has recently ePublished an article titled Men’s and women’s childhood sexual abuse and victimization in adult partner relationships: A study of risk factors based on a large sample of Canadians. This study found an association only for women, and then concludes the need to teach at-risk women about protective strategies. I am not opposed to this, but it seems an incomplete strategy for prevention.

The full citation and abstract from SafetyLit follow the jump.

Men’s and women’s childhood sexual abuse and victimization in adult partner relationships: A study of risk factors.

Daigneault I, Hebert M, McDuff P. Child Abuse & Neglect 2009; ePublished October 6, 2009.

Click here to see the article from the journal website or from the DOI.

(Copyright © 2009, Elsevier Publishing)

OBJECTIVES: (1) Document the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), childhood physical assault, psychological, physical and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) in a nationally representative sample. (2) Assess the predictive value of CSA and other characteristics of the respondents and their current partners as potential risk factors for IPV. (3) Assess factors predicting IPV in adulthood in a subsample of women reporting CSA.

METHODS: The role of CSA as a risk factor for adult IPV was examined using data from the 1999 Canadian General Social Survey. A national stratified sample of 9170 women and 7823 men with current or previous partners were interviewed by telephone by Statistics Canada. Multiple logistic regressions were used.

RESULTS: CSA consistently predicted IPV for women and men, although this relationship was weaker for men. Age, current marital status and limitations due to physical or mental condition or chronic illness were also predictors of IPV for men and women. For women reporting CSA, age (being younger) or being in a more recent relationship and being limited due to either physical, mental conditions or chronic illness were predictive of adult victimization.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that CSA is associated with a greater risk of IPV beyond sociodemographic risk factors.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: To prevent IPV in women already at risk because of CSA, education about protective strategies seems important, particularly for women with physical or mental limitations, in the beginning stages of intimate relationships or for women with partners who drink excessively.

A new article in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice discusses finding measurable outcomes based on indicators that the community itself has identified as signs of a successful youth violence prevention program. As we look to find ways to evaluate our prevention efforts, we should consider how to engage the community to determine if the prevention program was successful.

For example, I just recently talked with Project ENVISION in New York City about their most recent community participatory action research where they asked community members their perceptions of the potential ways to prevent sexual violence.  (This will be released as a Prevention Connection podcast soon.) Next we need to ask what does successful sexual violence prevention look like?

The full citation and abstract from SafetyLit appears after the jump.

Translating community-specified indicators of program success into measurable outcomes.

Hausman AJ, Hohl B, Hanlon AL, Becker J, Branas CC, Hayden UT, Thomas N, Fein JA. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice 2009; 15(6): E22-30.

Click here for the article or find the article through DOI

(Copyright © 2009, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

BACKGROUND: Community participatory research encourages community involvement in early stages of program development and implementation, but sustainability is dependent on continued community interest and participation. While locally measured outcomes may not be generalizable, evaluations that demonstrate progress on community-specified markers of success can demonstrate a community’s return on investment. The purpose of this study was to outline a process whereby community-identified indicators of successful violence prevention were translated into measurable variables.

METHODS: Focus groups were conducted with key groups within identified neighborhoods experiencing high rates of violence in a large metropolitan area in the northeast United States.

FINDINGS: From these groups, 40 indicators of successful violence prevention programs were expressed by the participants. Of these, 45 percent were matched to existing datasets with relevant variables. Datasets were then reviewed for accessibility. Feasibility of actually obtaining and analyzing data was tested by demonstrating the association between a “translated indicator” and a traditional indicator of violence. Greening data from Landsat satellite were correlated with shootings and mapped over target neighborhoods.

CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that it is possible to develop measurable community-specific indicators for evaluation of youth violence prevention programs and that these indicators have the potential for being generalizable across communities.

info from OVW

Last week, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) released two new publications. One of the publications, Female Victims of Violence, discussed “current finding on nonfatal and fatal violent crimes committed against females.”

The second publication, Crimes Against People with Disabilities, is the “first national study that presents findings about nonfatal violent and property crime experienced by persons with disabilities.”

The Office on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has just released a report on findings from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, the most comprehensive survey to date of children’s exposure to violence in the United States. This survey finds that 6.1 percent of all children surveyed had been sexually victimized in the past year and nearly 1 in 10 (9.8 percent) over their lifetimes.

Click here for a copy of the report.

In a new study published online in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, the authors examined rape myth acceptance scale specific to Korean culture. The study also explored attitudes toward women and sexual double standards to support developing culturally appropriate prevention and intervention programs.

The full citation and abstract from SafetyLit are after the jump.

Rape Myth Acceptance Among Korean College Students: The Roles of Gender, Attitudes Toward Women, and Sexual Double Standard.

Lee J, Kim J, Lim H. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2009; ePublished September 23, 2009

Click here for link to article and here for the DOI.

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

The purpose of the current study was to examine factors that influence rape myths among Korean college students. This study was particularly interested in the ways in which attitudes toward women and sexual double standard affect the relationship between gender and rape myths. Although the incidence of rape is a common concern in many current societies, within each society, the specific components of rape myths reflect the cultural values and norms of that particular society.

A sample of 327 college students in South Korea completed the Korean Rape Myth Acceptance Scale-Revised, the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, and the Sexual Double Standard Scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test hypothesized models.

Results revealed that in three of the four models, rape survivor myths, rape perpetrator myths, and myths about the impact of rape, attitudes toward women were a more important predictor of rape myths than gender or sexual double standard. In the rape spontaneity myths model, on the other hand, sexual double standard was a more important predictor than gender or attitudes toward women.

This study provides valuable information that can be useful in developing culturally specific rape prevention and victim intervention programs.

In a new article published online in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect, the authors focus on cultural protective and risk factors in their discussion about child sexual abuse in Kenya.  I appreciate the examination of cultural practices that may support prevention efforts as a strong method to develop a community based solution.  While this article looks at tribal cultures in Kenya, I wonder where is the work in this country to address cultural protective and risk factors?

The abstract and full citation from SafetyLit follow the jump:

Cultural protective and risk factors: Professional perspectives about child sexual abuse in Kenya.

Plummer CA, Njuguna W. Child Abuse and Neglect 2009; ePublished September 15, 2009

Click here for a link to the article.  Articles can also be found but the DOI

(Copyright © 2009, Elsevier Publishing)

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore perspectives on cultural risks and protective factors among professionals in Kenya.

METHOD: An exploratory/descriptive survey of Kenyan professionals working to prevent or intervene with child sexual abuse was undertaken to determine their perspectives on how tribal culture impacts vulnerability to sexual abuse. Participants at a conference workshop, were grouped according to tribal affiliation and asked to list key factors that they believe increase or decrease risk to children of sexual abuse in that tribe. Participants from seven ethnic groupings (Somali, Miji Kendas, Luo, Kamba, Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Kisii) identified factors which were then categorized by themes using qualitative examination.

RESULTS: Participants identified a number of cultural factors that protect children from sexual abuse as well as those that create risk for sexual abuse. Strong similarities were identified across groups; however in some cases factors viewed as risks by some were viewed as protective by others.

CONCLUSIONS: In this exploratory study in Kenya, professionals identified many culturally supported practices that protect against or create potential risks for child sexual abuse. Awareness of traditions and practices may inform creation of interventions for preventing child sexual abuse.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Cultural/community level factors must be considered in designing prevention and intervention programs, particularly in more collective societies.

Legislature sends CALCASA bills to the governor’s desk

The Legislature passed many of CALCASA’s priority support bills before the end-of-session deadline.

The following is a summary of CALCASA supported bills that have been chaptered. California Statutes are the Chaptered Bills. A bill is “chaptered” by the Secretary of State after it has passed through both houses of the Legislature and has been signed by the Governor.

Mental Health Courts: A Guide to Research-Informed Policy and Practice

from the Council of State Governments Justice Center

The Council of State Governments Justice Center released a new report called, Mental Health Courts: A Guide to Research-Informed Policy and Practice. This guide summarizes the research on mental health court design, function and efficacy.

Understanding National Rape Statistics

Understanding National Rape Statistics, by Dean Kilpatrick and Jenna McCauley (September 2009), is now available at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC).

Lifting Ban on Counseling for Prisoner Rape Survivors

from Just Detention International

Rape is devastating – no matter where the assault occurs. It is also a crime – regardless of whether the victim is detained or lives in the community. Survivors of such crimes need and deserve support services, such as crisis counseling. Unfortunately, in the U.S. today, countless prisoners who are sexually assaulted while incarcerated are excluded from these life-saving services. Why?

California Struggles With Paroled Sex Offenders

By SOLOMON MOORE

Darrell Littleton, a California parole agent, checks on “his guys,” parolees in the Escondido area.

One got drunk and exposed himself to a jogger in a public park. Another was a fire captain until he molested his 13-year-old stepdaughter, went to prison and lost his wife, his job and his home. Now the man sleeps behind a drive-through restaurant.

This week over 300 people join Prevention Connection‘s most recent web conference titled Sustaining a Movement to Prevent Violence Against Women.  Participants engaged lively conversations about what the next steps are for the violence against women prevention movement to advance.

I was impressed with the depth of the discussion. Tonya Lovelace of the Women of Color Network and Patty Wetterling of the Minnesota Department of Health shared their insights about the successes to date for the movement to prevent sexual assault and domestic violence; they also shared where we need to improve.  Below is a word cloud summarizing the participants’ concept of “sustainability.”

Created in www.Wordle.net

Click here to check out the materials and archives from this Prevention Connection web conference.

Understanding National Rape Statistics, by Dean Kilpatrick and Jenna McCauley (September 2009), is now available at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC).

This Applied Research paper provides an overview of how estimates of sexual violence in the United States are produced, with particular emphasis on sources of rape statistics at the national level.

• Click here to download the PDF version.
• Click here to view the paper in HTML.

CALCASA 2008 Report: Research on Rape and Violence

For several years, CALCASA staff have compiled statistics and other information drawn from research into a single report. The most recent comprehensive version report of this report was complied in 2008. This report is a compendium of research on issues related to rape, sexual assault and violence. While all efforts have been made to include research from as many sources as possible, it is inevitable that other valuable sources of research may contain information not included in this report. Statistics cited in this report reflect the importance of including diverse information on these issues. Not all studies cited are scientifically based or have been peer reviewed, however, statistics derived from those sources provide important and credible information on these issues. For this reason, full reference information has been provided for each statistic.

In the future, research examined by CALCASA staff will appear here on our website. You can view this research using the link http://calcasa.org/tag/research

David Wolfe

(16 min) In this interview with David A. Wolfe, Ph.D., ABPP, Prevention Connection’s David Lee explores the theory and practice behind Dr. Wolfe’s article, A School-Based Program to Prevent Adolescent Dating Violence: A Cluster Randomized Trial, recently published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Wolfe, D. A., Crooks, C., Jaffe, P., Chiodo, D., Hughes, R., Ellis, W., et al. (2009). A School-Based Program to Prevent Adolescent Dating Violence: A Cluster Randomized Trial. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 163(8), 692-699.

Dr. Wolfe is the RBC Chair in Children’s Mental Health, and a Professor of Psychology & Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Child Abuse & Neglect. You can learn more about Dr. Wolfe’s work to foster healthy youth relationships and reduce risky behaviours at YouthRelationships.org.

(Go to Interview)

This recent study in the journal Health Care for Women International suggests a helpful process for developing violence against women prevention efforts.  With over 30 years of the violence against women movement we should continue to reexamine what is needed today to prevent abuse.

The full citation and link from SafetyLit follow the jump.

Thai female adolescents’ perceptions of dating violence.

Thongpriwan V, McElmurry BJ. Health Care for Women International 2009; 30(10): 871-91.

DOI: 10.1080/07399330903066392

(Copyright © 2009, Taylor and Francis Group)

We explored how Thai female adolescents describe the meaning and context of dating violence. Twenty-four students, aged 15-17, were purposively recruited from a secondary school in Bangkok for individually audio-taped interviews. The interviews lasted 45- 70 minutes. ATLAS ti 5.2 was selected for content analysis. Five themes emerged, including characteristics of adolescent romantic relationships, influences on adolescent romantic relationships, perceptions of dating violence, cycle of dating-violence experiences, and influences on adolescents’ perceptions of dating violence. The findings indicate a foundation for developing culturally sensitive programs for dating-violence prevention among Thai adolescents.

In the recent issue of Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, a study examines the alcohol use of adolescents who commit sexual assaults of peers.

Here is the citation and abstract from SafetyLit:

Adolescent peer-on-peer sexual aggression: Characteristics of aggressors of alcohol and non-alcohol-related assault.

Young AM, King L, Abbey A, Boyd CJ. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 2009; 70(5): 700-3.

(Copyright © 2009, Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of adolescents involved in alcohol-related and non-alcohol-related sexual assault of peers.

METHOD: A Web-based survey was administered to 1,220 7th- to 12th-grade students from a middle school and high school in southeastern Michigan.

RESULTS: Adolescents who reported alcohol-related and non-alcohol-related sexual aggression had higher levels of impulsivity and more extensive histories of dating, early sexual activity, and alcohol consumption than adolescents who did not assault. Moreover, aggressors of alcohol-related assault had higher levels of past-30-day alcohol use and reported more alcohol-/drug-related problems than aggressors of non-alcohol-related assault.

CONCLUSIONS: Early identification of the characteristics associated with alcohol-related sexual aggression suggests that targeted interventions may be feasible for this group of adolescents at high risk for both sexual perpetration and alcoholism during adulthood.

In the recent issue of the Journal of School Health, S Johnson offers a review of the literature on how the social and/or physical environment influence school violence.  While the concept of school violence should be more specific in including violence against women, I appreciate the approach of examining community-based measures to address violence instead of focusing on individual measures.

I am unsure if the measures found to be relevant to reducing school violence may apply to violence against women, I look to this type of work as a model of how to approach violence against women prevention efforts.

The full citation and abstract from SafetyLit are after the jump.

Improving the school environment to reduce school violence: a review of the literature.

Johnson SL. Journal of School Health 2009; 79(10): 451-65.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2009.00435.x

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122596420/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

(Copyright © 2009, John Wiley and Sons)

BACKGROUND: School violence can impact the social, psychological, and physical well-being of both students and teachers and disrupt the learning process. This review focuses on a new area of research, the mechanisms by which the school environment determines the likelihood of school violence.

METHODS: A search for peer-reviewed articles was made in six databases and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s report on school-violence interventions. Twenty-five articles that attempted to understand the influence of either the school social or physical environment in determining teacher and student perceptions of safety and experiences of violence were included.

RESULTS: Most of the included articles were cross-sectional surveys of junior high or high school students and staff. As articles used different measures of the school physical and social environment, a classification system was created. Using this system, studies show that schools with less violence tend to have students who are aware of school rules and believe they are fair, have positive relationships with their teachers, feel that they have ownership in their school, feel that they are in a classroom and school environment that is positive and focused on learning, and in an environment that is orderly.

CONCLUSION: The school social and physical environment appears to offer intervention opportunities to reduce school violence. However, the lack of consistency in school environment variables as well as the lack of longitudinal and experimental research designs limits the applicability of these finding

In a recent policy brief looking at Rape and HIV in South Africa, the authors included this as their first recommendation: “Rape prevention must focus centrally on changing social norms around masculinity and sexual entitlement, and addressing the structural underpinnings of rape.”

What a great definition for primary prevention! Preventing sexual violence must go beyond changing individuals knowledge, attitudes and beliefs (though it does start there.) Prevention requires transforming a rape culture.  There are many examples from countries other than the United States on how to address these issues.

The citation and more from the Executive Summary can be found after the jump.

Rachel Jewkes, Yandisa Sikweyiya, Robert Morrell, Kristin Dunkle,
Understanding men’s health and use of violence: - interface of rape and HIV in South Africa,
MRC Policy Brief, June 2009 Link to Article

From the Executive Summary:

South Africa has one of the highest rates of rape reported to the police in the world and the largest number of people living with HIV. The rate of rape perpetration is not known because only a small proportion of rapes are reported to the police. There is considerable concern about the links between these two problems. Obviously HIV can be transmitted in the course of rape and this compounds the human rights violation of the rape. Research has established that men who rape and are physically violent towards partners are more likely to engage in sexual risk-taking than other men, and this has raised a concern that they are more likely to be infected with HIV.

The findings highlight the very high prevalence of rape in South Africa and the high prevalence of HIV in the adult population. The prevalence of rape has similarities to that found in other studies in South Africa. The very high prevalence shows that generally rape is far too common, and its origins too deeply embedded in ideas about South African manhood, for the problem which can be predominantly addressed through strategies of apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators.

A much broader approach to rape prevention is required. This must entail intervening on the key drivers of the problem which include ideas of masculinity, predicted on marked gender hierarchy and sexual entitlement of men. Efforts to change these require interventions on structural dimensions of men’s lives, notably education and opportunities for employment and advancement. Our study suggests that the pathway which leads to these ideas and the practices of rape and other forms of violence towards women starts in childhood and strengthening families, and protecting children from exposure to adversity in childhood are critical for ensuring that men in the population develop psychologically as pro-social members of society.

Here is an interesting abstract for a new article from Current Sociology on public understanding of sexual violence in Canada.  The concept of “internet predators” is the newest version of “stranger danger”, a real problem, but not as common as sexual abuse committed by acquaintances.

Here is the citation and abstract from SafetyLit.

From Abusive Families to Internet Predators? The Rise, Retraction and Reconfiguration of Sexual Abuse as a Social Problem in Canada.

Pratt J. Current Sociology, 2009; 57(1): 69-88.

DOI: 10.1177/0011392108097453

http://csi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/57/1/69

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

This article traces the development, retraction and reconfiguration of the way in which sexual abuse has been understood as a social problem in Canada. It looks at the processes of its social construction and situates these within a theoretical framework derived from Ian Hacking’s work on transient mental illness. It argues that sexual abuse was able to flourish as a social problem because of the “ecological niche” constituted by the presence of four vectors: cultural polarity, observability, recognition of victims and expert classification. As this confluence has changed, however, so too has the framework of understanding that had been provided for it, leading to its current retraction and reconfiguration.

In a recently ePublished article in the Journal Child Maltreatment, a study finds that when caregivers talk to their children about child sexual abuse, they emphasize “stranger danger” despite the overwhelming majority of abuse is committed by someone acquainted with the child. The findings are not surprising.  As we consider the best ways to prevent child sexual abuse, we must examine the role of parents and caregivers beyond what they tell their children.  We should not shift the “responsibility” of preventing abuse to children but parents and caregivers should play a role in crating a safe environment for their children.

The full citation and abstract from SafetyLit after the jump:

Caregivers’ Efforts to Educate Their Children About Child Sexual Abuse: A Replication Study.

Deblinger E, Thakkar-Kolar RR, Berry EJ, Schroeder CM. Child Matreatment 2009; ePublished August 31, 2009

Affiliation: Institute at UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine.

DOI: 10.1177/1077559509337408

http://cmx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1077559509337408v1

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

The current investigation examined parental efforts to educate their children about sexual abuse. Approximately 750 surveys were distributed to parents of kindergarten through third grade youngsters (mean age 8.5) in three New Jersey elementary schools. Participants were 289 guardians (39% response rate) who voluntarily completed a survey assessing demographic characteristics, caregivers’ direct or indirect experience with child sexual abuse, and their efforts to educate their children about the issue. As found previously, parents continue to disproportionately focus on strangers as potential offenders and provide limited information particularly in terms of the nature of sexual abuse and the secrecy associated with it. Parents with no direct or indirect experience with child sexual abuse were least likely to talk with their children about the issue in general and when they did so provided less information. These findings were surprisingly similar to earlier investigations despite methodological and sampling differences across investigations. Implications and limitations of the current survey findings discussed.

In the recent edition of Pediatric Nursing, there is a call for pediatric nurses to include efforts to prevent dating violence and sexual violence.

As an advocate for violence against women prevention an important part of our work is for people to include prevention within the scope of their regular functions. Last week I talked with David Wolfe (for an upcoming podcast) where we discussed his work supporting high school teachers use a relationship violence prevention focus to teach subjects they are already teaching such as substance use and sexuality. Now pediatric nurses have this call.

What profession is next?

I hope to see sitcom writers, sports columnists and maybe cooking show hosts find ways to take on the mission to prevent violence against women.

Here is the Pedriatic Nursing article abstract from SafetyLit:

Domestic violence is a paramount issue in society today. One component of this is the violence associated with dating and interpersonal relationships in the teen years. Current research demonstrates that a significant percentage of teens have experienced some degree of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from a dating partner. Pediatric nurses may interface with teens before, during, and after violent episodes. It is important for nurses to know the definitions of dating violence and rape, data about the incidence and prevalence of this issue, risk factors for violence in intimate relationships, dating violence myths, and the potential impact of youth dating violence. Youth perceptions and current research must be analyzed to frame current and potential interventions to reduce teen dating violence. Pediatric nurses have an integral role in counseling teens, ensuring youth safety, and preventing violence in the adolescent years.

Copyright © 2009, Jannetti Publications

Here is an abstract about a new study examining how violence in parent relationships is linked to teen dating violence.  As we develop prevention programs, practitioners must recognize that some youth are more at risk for violence than others.

The abstract was found in SafetyLit.

Reading, writing and ‘rithmatic – the three R’s of basic schooling.  And now the fourth  “R”: Relationships.  In Canada, the CAMH Centre for Prevention Science has developed a 21-session health curriculum on healthy relationships that incorporates dating violence prevention.  Last week I posted an abstract on the Prevent-Connect Email Group about the most recent study published on this program.  A school-based program to prevent adolescent dating violence: a cluster randomized trial.

The Fourth R is described on its web site as “comprehensive school-based program designed to include students, teachers, parents, and the community in reducing violence and risk behaviours.” The 21 session classroom curriculum are lead by teachers and includes training for teachers and outreach to parents.  The program consists of three 7-session units: Personal Safety and Injury Prevention, Healthy Growth and Sexuality and Substance Use and Abuse.    Often dating violence prevention efforts are conducted in is0lation from other prevention efforts – the experience in implementing the Fourth R suggests the value of integrating sexual violence and dating violence with other issues.

As we are looking for “evidence-based” prevention efforts this study demonstrates the successful reduction of use of physical dating violence (using the  Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory). However this effect is for boys only.   While this scale has limitations (like the problematic Conflict Tactics Scale it shows higher rates of violence for females than males: the authors note “such reports do not encompass motivations or circumstances surrounding violent acts or distinguish between acts of offense or defense, which may account for the higher rates of PDV reported by girls.”) the reduction does indicate promise.

This program presents many challenges to implement it. 21 sessions lead by teachers would require restructuring how health programs are taught in the schools.  Sexual violence prevention and dating violence prevention practitioners might be able to learn from this program that the quantity of sessions and integration with other issues may be important tools in developing effective prevention programs.

Here is the abstract from SafetyLit:

A school-based program to prevent adolescent dating violence: a cluster randomized trial.

Wolfe DA, Crooks C, Jaffe P, Chiodo D, Hughes R, Ellis W, Stitt L, Donner A. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 2009; 163(8): 692-9.

DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.69

http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/163/8/692

PMID: 19652099

(Copyright © 2009, American Medical Association)

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether an interactive curriculum that integrates dating violence prevention with lessons on healthy relationships, sexual health, and substance use reduces physical dating violence (PDV).

DESIGN: Cluster randomized trial with 2.5-year follow-up; prespecified subgroup analyses by sex.

SETTING: Grade 9 health classes.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1722 students aged 14-15 from 20 public schools (52.8% girls). Intervention A 21-lesson curriculum delivered during 28 hours by teachers with additional training in the dynamics of dating violence and healthy relationships. Dating violence prevention was integrated with core lessons about healthy relationships, sexual health, and substance use prevention using interactive exercises. Relationship skills to promote safer decision making with peers and dating partners were emphasized. Control schools targeted similar objectives without training or materials.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome at 2.5 years was self-reported PDV during the previous year. Secondary outcomes were physical peer violence, substance use, and condom use. Analysis was by intention-to-treat.

RESULTS: The PDV was greater in control vs intervention students (9.8% vs 7.4%; adjusted odds ratio, 2.42; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-6.02; P = .05). A significant group x sex interaction effect indicated that the intervention effect was greater in boys (PDV: 7.1% in controls vs 2.7% in intervention students) than in girls (12.1% vs 11.9%). Main effects for secondary outcomes were not statistically significant; however, sex x group analyses showed a significant difference in condom use in sexually active boys who received the intervention (114 of 168; 67.9%) vs controls (65 of 111 [58.6%]) (P < .01). The cost of training and materials averaged CA$16 per student.

CONCLUSION: The teaching of youths about healthy relationships as part of their required health curriculum reduced PDV and increased condom use 2.5 years later at a low per-student cost.

Below is an abstract from an article in Sociology raising questions about rape and social class. Most research conducted throughout the world does find an overrepresentation of women with lower income having higher rates of abuse. While it is important to recognize that anyone from any social class can be raped, class does play a role. In our efforts to address sexual violence, we must examine the intersection with issues such as racism, classism, heterosexual privilege, ageism, etc.

Rape and Respectability: Ideas about Sexual Violence and Social Class

Phipps A. Sociology 2009; 43(4): 667-683.

DOI: 10.1177/0038038509105414

(Copyright © 2009, Sage Publications)

Women on low incomes are disproportionately represented among sexual violence survivors, yet feminist research on this topic has paid very little attention to social class. This article blends recent research on class, gender and sexuality with what we know about sexual violence. It is argued that there is a need to engage with classed distinctions between women in terms of contexts for and experiences of sexual violence, and to look at interactions between pejorative constructions of working-class sexualities and how complainants and defendants are perceived and treated. The classed division between the sexual and the feminine, drawn via the notion of respectability, is applied to these issues. This piece is intended to catalyse further research and debate, and raises a number of questions for future work on sexual violence and social class.

From www.safetylit.org

Since 2005, CALCASA has conducted the MyStrength Campaign adapted from Men Can Stop Rape‘s media and Men of Strength Clubs.  This social marketing campaign seeks to engage young men to stand up and speak out against sexual violence.  In a recent article appearing in the journal Men and Masculinities, Michael Murphy critiques the posters from the campaign. This article is not an actual study but is an essay analyzing the content of the posters. While I agree that the posters do raise some issues (as do all images in our culture) I strongly believe these posters are very effective tools for prevention of sexual violence.

The posters are used in CALCASA’s implementation of the MyStrength Campaign. the posters are professionally designed and very intentional in their construction.  We used focus groups to test messages and images with our primary audience in a variety of setting and languages.

Most importantly, the campaign is not only the posters. Instead the posters invite a valuable conversation. Actual change does not come from viewing posters; changes in social norms and behavior will come from the discussion that results from viewing the posters. To be am effective campaign, CALCASA, in partnership with Men Can Stop Rape, developed a comprehensive set of activities including MyStrength Clubs, launch events and community action projects.

In California we have created a space to explore the issues raised in the posters. In our interactions with young people, we explore issues raised by these posters.  Ultimately, I judge these materials by how they support an effort to prevent sexual violence.

Here is the abstract of the article.  Men Can Stop Rape has written a response to this article.

Can “Men” Stop Rape? Visualizing Gender in the “My Strength is Not for Hurting” Rape Prevention Campaign

Michael J. Murphy mjmurphy@wustl.edu Men and Masculinities 2009, ePublished February 19, 2009

The study analyzes the “My Strength is Not for Hurting” rape prevention public media campaign through the lens of feminist visual culture studies, arguing that the campaign sends contradictory and confusing messages to boys and men about rape and sexual assault. It also touches on the implications of the campaign’s appropriation of a commercial advertising aesthetic; the tendency to objectify women and silence their voices; and complications resulting from efforts to include racial and sexual diversity.

doi:10.1177/1097184X09331752 http://jmm.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1097184X09331752v1

Here is an abstract from an article about a recent study from Canada. The curriculum is the 4th R. Once I do a complete reading of this article I will share my thoughts. I am curious about the larger change seen in boys.

A school-based program to prevent adolescent dating violence: a cluster randomized trial.

Wolfe DA, Crooks C, Jaffe P, Chiodo D, Hughes R, Ellis W, Stitt L, Donner A. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 2009; 163(8): 692-9.

Affiliation: CAMH Centre for Prevention Science, 100 Collip Cir, Ste 100, London, ON N6G 4X8, Canada. David_Wolfe@CAMH.net

DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.69

http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/163/8/692

PMID: 19652099

(Copyright © 2009, American Medical Association)

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether an interactive curriculum that integrates dating violence prevention with lessons on healthy relationships, sexual health, and substance use reduces physical dating violence (PDV).

DESIGN: Cluster randomized trial with 2.5-year follow-up; prespecified subgroup analyses by sex.

SETTING: Grade 9 health classes.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1722 students aged 14-15 from 20 public schools (52.8% girls). Intervention A 21-lesson curriculum delivered during 28 hours by teachers with additional training in the dynamics of dating violence and healthy relationships. Dating violence prevention was integrated with core lessons about healthy relationships, sexual health, and substance use prevention using interactive exercises. Relationship skills to promote safer decision making with peers and dating partners were emphasized. Control schools targeted similar objectives without training or materials.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome at 2.5 years was self-reported PDV during the previous year. Secondary outcomes were physical peer violence, substance use, and condom use. Analysis was by intention-to-treat.

RESULTS: The PDV was greater in control vs intervention students (9.8% vs 7.4%; adjusted odds ratio, 2.42; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-6.02; P = .05). A significant group x sex interaction effect indicated that the intervention effect was greater in boys (PDV: 7.1% in controls vs 2.7% in intervention students) than in girls (12.1% vs 11.9%). Main effects for secondary outcomes were not statistically significant; however, sex x group analyses showed a significant difference in condom use in sexually active boys who received the intervention (114 of 168; 67.9%) vs controls (65 of 111 [58.6%]) (P < .01). The cost of training and materials averaged CA$16 per student.

CONCLUSION: The teaching of youths about healthy relationships as part of their required health curriculum reduced PDV and increased condom use 2.5 years later at a low per-student cost.

from www.safetylit.org