Research purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate the extent to which supervisors are universally perceived as abusive across those they supervise. I propose social learning theory and social information processing theory as theoretical bases for understanding collective impression formation among subordinates reporting to the same supervisor. The study, therefore builds on a growing body of abusive supervision literature by analysing intraclass correlations between subordinates' and their co-workers' perceptions of the same supervisor. Research motivation: Studies that examine whether or not subordinates of the same supervisor have similar perceptions of abuse are in short supply. Therefore, this study examines the possibility of objective impression formation with regards to abusive supervision so as to answer the question: Do subordinates and their co-workers mutually perceive the extent to which a supervisor's behaviour is abusive? Research design, approach and method: This study follows a cross-sectional approach to investigate the extent to which subordinates of the same workgroup mutually perceive their supervisor's behaviour as abusive. Purposive sampling was employed to recruit full-time employed Master's of Business Administration (MBA) students from six respected universities in the United States (US). Purposive sampling was further aided by snowball sampling where each subordinate was asked to get two of their own co-workers involved in the study. A total of 1,029 surveys were distributed and 693 completed surveys were returned. The final sample consisted of 210 sets of surveys where responses were received from the focal subordinate and two of his or her co-workers. An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analysis was conducted to determine the strength of intra-group agreement regarding abusive supervision perceptions. Main findings: The results indicate that there is agreement between subordinates' and their co-workers' perceptions of abusive supervision as no significant differences were found between these two groups' assessments of the same supervisor's behaviour. The null hypothesis was accepted. A non-hypothesized finding is that dyadic tenure appears to influence the extent to which supervisory abuse is observed. That is, subordinates and their co-workers may view the same supervisor in the same light, the longer the duration of the supervisor-subordinate relationship. Limitations: The results should be interpreted, bearing in mind that there is limited literature available on abusive supervision at the group level. Furthermore, the results should be considered with caution as the perceptions of abusive supervision were only examined at one point in time, the use of snowball sampling method may be associated with the possibility of sampling bias, and that dyadic tenure was measured with a categorical response (i.e., not treated as a continuous variable). Finally, the results may not be generalisable to the South African context. Future research: It is suggested that future studies should investigate abusive supervision as a group-level phenomenon as few such studies currently exist. Additionally, future studies should examine the extent to which social learning and social information processing approaches contribute to the establishment of mutual perceptions about supervisory abuse. Researchers may also investigate the occurrence of abusive supervision at the group level through the lens of an alternative theoretical framework such as social identity theory. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Human Resource Management / MCom / Unrestricted

Women and children who turn to domestic violence shelters for help witness about the violence they and their companion animal have experienced. There are strong emotional bonds between humans and animals, which domestic violence perpetrators can use to hurt or control their partner. In fear that the domestic violence perpetrators will harm the animal if the victim tries to leave the relationship, thus she remains in the relationship to protect the animals. The aim of this study was to investigate how animal welfare officers work to discover the link between animal abuse and human violence. Moreover, how animal welfare officers help the victims in such relationships. The study was conducted using an inquiry and telephone interviews. The result of this study showed that the majority of animal welfare officers in Sweden work to discover the link during animal welfare inspection. With education, guidelines and cooperation with other authorities, they have the possibility to help abused animals and humans. In conclusion, animal welfare officers have an important role in dealing with abused animals and humans. They might be the first ones to discover violence and can thereby help the victims away from the domestic violence perpetrator.

Literature on child abuse supports the conception that physical abuse is a multidetermined behavior. Multifaceted treatment programs have shown some promise in dealing with the heterogeneity of abusive parents. Most of the reported comprehensive intervention programs have provided predetermined doses of a variety of treatment components to each subject. The intent of this study was two-fold: (a) to provide treatment components based on assessment of the parent and (b) to train the parent to a specified level of competency. A multiple baseline design was used in this clinical study of six agency-referred, physically abusive parents. Based on initial assessment and ongoing observation, subject parents were provided with one or two of four available parent-training components (child behavior management, cognitive modification, relaxation, and systematic desensitization). Treatment effects on 16 dependent variables were measured by self-report, coded audiotape, coded observation, physiological measures, and reports of abuse to public agencies. Results indicated improvement by all the subjects on most of the dependent variables (i.e., 77 of 90 comparisons). However, only three of the six subjects met all of the predetermined criteria for termination of all intervention. Subjects met 15 of 22 training competency criteria. Reductions in abuse indicators were maintained on most of the dependent measures during 30- and 90-day follow-up probes. Only one subject was re-reported for child abuse during the year following treatment. The low attrition rate was seen as a function of assessment.

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Childhood sexual abuse is represents a significant public health problem in the United States, as 21% of U.S. children experience sexual victimization prior to age 18. Research dedicated to preventing further sexual victimization has identified factors that influence the development of sexually abusive behavior. The abused-abuser hypothesis suggests that a prior history of sexual victimization may increase the risk of engaging in sexually abusive behavior among some victims. Some research has also investigated the relationship between characteristics of an individual's experiences of sexual abuse and the characteristics of their own sexually abusive behavior, but such research is scarce with inconsistent findings. For the present study, we first hypothesized that childhood sexual victimization is more prevalent among those who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior than those who have not. We also posited that among those who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior, their own sexual abuse experiences contribute to victim Page 188 2017 Appalachian Student Research Forum choice, the age at which they begin sexually abusing others, and the frequency of abuse. Our sample (N=529; 100% male; 84.7% Caucasian; M = 17.71) consisted of participants from two larger studies of university students with no known history of sexually abusive behavior (n = 286; 84.6% Caucasian; M = 20.18) and youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors and received residential treatment in the Southeastern U.S (n = 243; 84.8% Caucasian; M =14.79). Data from university students were self-reported, while data from the residential youth were coded from archival records. Results of a chisquare analysis revealed that youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior were significantly more likely to have experienced childhood sexual abuse than non-sexual abusers,  2 (1, N=523) =210.788, p = .000. Additionally, within the sample of youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior, correlations were used to examine relationships between characteristics of their own sexual perpetrators and their victim choice. Results indicate being victimized by a male is significantly associated with having a male victim (r= .143, p=.033), being victimized by a relative is associated with sexually abusing a relative (r=.148, p=.024), and being victimized by a non-relative is associated with sexually abusing a non-relative (r=.194, p=.033). Findings thus far indicate that youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior have not only experienced greater sexual victimization than non-sexual abusers, but that the characteristics of their sexual perpetrators may relate to how they sexually abuse others, specifically with regard to victim choice. Additional analyses will examine whether these characteristics of sexual victimization influence the age of onset of their sexual offending and their number of arrests, sexual offenses, and victims. Future directions and limitations will also be explored.

This dissertation examines what happens when employees witness supervisory abuse in the workplace. In particular, it explores whether-and when-employees will respond to witnessing supervisory abuse of a coworker by engaging in prosocial actions aimed at benefitting the target of abuse. In doing so, it extends work on abusive supervision. Traditionally, abusive supervision research has focused on the impact of abuse on the victim him/herself. However, this work explores the impact of abusive supervision on third party observers. In addition, because abusive supervision represents a form of organizational injustice, this dissertation extends both work on abusive supervision and third party reactions to injustice by considering the positive, prosocial reactions abuse might trigger in employees.

In this study, I draw on research on goal setting, stress, and aggression to examine contextual antecedents of abusive supervision. I suggest that a characteristic of the supervisors' goals (viz., goal difficulty) can contribute to abusive supervisory behaviors through the effect it has on the supervisors' level of hindrance stress. I also propose that this mediating process is moderated by two characteristics of the supervisors' rewards (viz., goal-contingent reward and reward interdependence). Thus, I suggest a moderated mediation model predicting supervisors' hindrance stress acts as a mediator of the relationship between supervisors' difficult goals and abusive supervision. Moreover, I also posit that the mediation is stronger when the supervisors' rewards are contingent on goal attainment and their subordinates' performance. With a sample of 257 supervisor-subordinate dyads, I find that supervisors' hindrance stress partially mediates the relationship between supervisors' difficult goals and abusive supervision. However, the results revealed that this mediating effect is not moderated by the characteristics of the supervisors' rewards that were examined. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are identified and future research is discussed.