The maltreatment of children is unarguably an important social concern, the negative effects of which have been well-documented in the literature over the past two decades. Research on the etiology of maltreatment, however, has yielded few strong conclusions regarding the characteristics of abusive parents. There is much disagreement with respect to the personality or psychological attributes of those parents who maltreat their children (Belsky, 1993), and the question of how those characteristics are differentially associated with the subtypes of abuse has not been adequately addressed. Furthermore, although the extant literature has consistently agreed that maltreatment contributes to poor psychological outcomes for adolescents it is less clear how these outcomes differ depending upon the type and severity of maltreatment (Trickett & McBride-Chang, 1995). The current study sought to identify those personality attributes that are both predictors and effects of abuse. Scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory- 2nd edition (MMPI-2) were examined to determine personality variables associated with perpetration of each of four major classifications of abuse. Further, scales from the MMPI-Adolescent version (MMPI-A) were utilized to determine those personality variables in adolescents that may be affected by each of those four categories. This study hypothesized that clear patterns would emerge in which certain personality variables are predictive of the type of abuse that parents engage in, and each type of abuse is predictive of the manifestation of certain personality characteristics in adolescents. The effects of gender were also analyzed. Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A data and abuse histories of 100 pairs of offending parents and maltreated adolescents. Results indicated significant direct effects of parent personality on abuse subtype, abuse subtype on adolescent personality, parent personality on adolescent personality, and one significant mediation effect of parent personality on adolescent personality through abuse subtype. Additionally, gender was found to significantly affect the engagement in and experience of abuse, and one significant interaction of gender and abuse subtype on adolescent personality was discovered. Results are of practical importance in designing abuse intervention and prevention programs and inform the current understanding of the intergenerational transmission of abuse. / text

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-50).

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 3148. Adviser: John R. Herbold. Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-166).

Empirical research in the areas of substance abuse (Beattie & Longabaugh, 1997; Beattie & Longabaugh, 1999; Falkin & Strauss, 2002; Gordon & Zrull, 1991; Humphreys & Noke, 1997; Mohr et al., 2001; Zywiak, Longabaugh & Wirtz, 2002) and general antisocial behavior (Browning, 2002; Capaldi, Dishion, Stoolmiller & Yoerger, 2001; Dishion, Patterson & Griesler, 1994) and a theoretical model of sexual assault perpetration (DeKeseredy & Schwartz, 1993; DeKeseredy, 1990a; DeKeseredy, 1988; Schwartz & DeKeseredy, 1997) highlight the role of peer groups' attitudes and behaviors in shaping those of their members. Intimate partner violence (IPV) among men's parents (Arriaga & Foshee, 2004; Doumas, Margolin & John, 1994; Silverman & Wiliamson, 1997) and peer groups (Abbey, McAuslan, Zawacki, Brown & Messman-Moore, 2010; Clinton, & Buck, 2001; Capaldi et al., 2001; Raghavan, Rajah, Gentile, Collado, & Kavanagh, 2009; Reed, Silverman, Raj, Rothman, Decker, Gottlieb, Molnar, & Miller, 2008; Silverman & Williamson, 1997) is also related to their own perpetration of IPV, specifically. However, existing research is yet to examine the extent to which men participating in batterer intervention programs (BIPs), a common form of treatment for perpetrators of IPV, receive messages about the perpetration of IPV from within their social networks, or whether or how BIP participants contribute to dialogues about abuse within their social networks. The purposes of the current study were to (1) describe the members of BIP participants' social networks and the ways in which they communicate about IPV with BIP participants, and (2) to describe how BIP participants address IPV with the members of their social networks, and the social network members with whom they do so. Focus groups with BIP facilitators and participants were conducted to develop inventories of abuse-relevant behaviors. One hundred and two BIP participants were surveyed to describe the members of their social networks, how the members of their social networks address the perpetration of IPV, and how BIP participants communicate about IPV to the members of their social networks. A series of multilevel models were tested to examine the characteristics of BIP participants' social networks and patterns of communication about abuse therein. An additional focus group provided interpretations of the quantitative findings. Findings reveal that the current sample of BIP participants has social networks that are smaller than those of the general population, and which consist of their current and former partners, friends and roommates, bosses and coworkers, family of origin, children, in-laws, and others. Participants' network members engage in behaviors that convey both pro-abuse and anti-abuse attitudes to BIP participants, participants engage in indirect anti-abuse behaviors with their social network members, and participants are less satisfied with network members who engage in more pro-abuse behaviors. Primary implications of the current study include (1) the understanding of BIP participants as bystanders who actively intervene in abuse-relevant social norms in their social networks; (2) a detailed picture of how and from whom BIP participants receive support for the perpetration of IPV; and (3) the creation of two new behavioral inventories that may be used to explore patterns and effects of abuse relevant communication in greater depth.

No description available.

1 online resource ([8], 326 leaves) / Criminal and Procedural Law / LLD

Very little is known about the actual living experiences of Malaysian women who are in a domestic violence relationship. This current study attempts to redress this shortfall by listening to the women s stories, understanding their home-life situations and ultimately offering ideas, strategies as well as information to prevent domestic violence in Malaysia. Underpinned by a feminist perspective, a qualitative approach was employed to explore the abused women s accounts in relation to domestic violence impacts, barriers to violence disclosure, as well as useful resources for support of women victims in dealing with domestic violence. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 women who identified themselves as victims and survivors of domestic violence perpetrated by their husbands/ex-husbands. Via the analysis of thematic, six major themes were identified to be the impact of domestic violence, as described by the participants. The impacts include physical injuries, mental health problems, social isolation, a growing faith as well as adverse effects on the children and on the women s self-worth. The study also found that many of these abused women were reluctant to disclose abuse because they wanted to conceal those violence experiences from others because of Malaysian perception on disclosing marital affairs, they were concerned about the children s well-being, they felt partly responsible in provoking the violence, and they admitted to lacking knowledge on the provisions of support available for domestic violence victims in the country. From other aspect, the women also struggled to avoid negative labels given for being disrespectful to their men. In addition, the findings revealed four main themes related to the underlying issues on the needs and support of domestic violence service provisions that women drew on in their accounts: theme 1, unpleasant experiences when accessing the services; theme 2, the problems with procedures in disclosing and in the help-seeking process; theme 3, the usefulness of services and theme 4, women s needs and support mechanisms. As a review, the results gained from this present study prove the existence of domestic violence in Malaysian families. Indeed, the interference of cultural values as well as religious beliefs upheld by the Malaysian community was greatly associated with its occurrence. In relation to Malaysia, cultural as well as religious beliefs play a significant role in moulding its people. The results presented seem to add interesting knowledge to the existing literature, where battered Muslim women in Malaysia perceive their violence experiences as a motivation to surrender themselves to God and seek spiritual assistance as one of the impacts due to domestic violence problems. Further, the women s misapprehension of Islamic concepts such as disobedience and nusyuz (to the male partner) has made disclosing violence experiences difficult. Over and above this, the researcher found that the mechanisms of domestic violence resource provisions are worthy of investigation. The findings from this research demonstrate helpful and unhelpful provision of services identified by abused women, in particular relating to institutions in the nation. Prior to ending, this research proposes a number of recommendations for change in regards to formal supportive network resources, education on violence against women at the societal level, as well as the implication of the findings for the development of domestic violence social policy and practise in Malaysia.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This study examines the effects of unit-level culture on abusive supervision. Utilizing Baumeister and colleagues' (2000) self-regulatory resource depletion model as an explanatory framework, I argue that aggressive unit-level culture will increase the incidence of abusive supervision, whereas people- and team-oriented unit-level cultures will decrease the incidence of abusive supervision. In line with these arguments, I then examine the degree to which those effects are mediated by ego depletion. In sum, I argue that aggressive unit-level culture will increase, while people- and team-oriented cultures will reduce, the amount of supervisor ego depletion, which then increases the incidence of abusive supervision. Using Hobfoll et al.'s (1990) Social Support Resource Theory, I further argue that the relationship between unit-level culture and ego depletion is moderated by supervisor home social support. I tested my model using a sample of 340 nurses and 52 nursing directors working in a large hospital system in the Southwestern United States. I was unable to demonstrate support for my model as hypothesized. However, I am able to contribute to the literature concerning antecedents to abusive supervision by showing that alternative conceptualization of culture impact abusive supervision. Further, I show that aggressive norms mediate the relationship between aggressive culture and abusive supervision. I also contribute to the literature examining resource depletion in the workplace by demonstrating the buffering role of supervisor home social support on ego depletion. Implications and future directions are discussed.