The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing the decision of lesbian victims of domestic violence to call or not to call the police.

The main goal of this study was to develop assessment and intervention guidelines that will provide practitioners with a framework to develop and implement batterer intervention programmes. The development of batterer intervention programmes must be informed by risk-based assessment and the study has identified this as a priority. This priority was informed by the popular notions that batterer intervention by itself, is futile and that intervention efforts were misdirected and useless. The author was of the opinion that if specific risk markers were identified, the batterer intervention efforts could be a tool to influence the values, beliefs and dangerous behaviours of abusive men. This study attempted to formally identify those risk factors that should be considered with batterers so that appropriate guidelines for assessment and intervention could result.

PhD (Sociology) / Department of Social Work

How might we encourage playful yet provocative attitudes to explore unfamiliar methods? This thesis investigates how interaction designers can use unusual and thought-provoking methods in their design process. It focuses on understanding the challenges, limitations and opportunities of these types of approaches. The thesis explores the use of an abusive game probe as a way to spark conversations between participants and designers. The abusive game probe has the potential to generate meaningful and insightful outcomes. The proposed abusive game probe provided difficulties, being a unique and untested method. The topic of abuse presents challenges such as ethical consideration, which still requires further research. While determining its effectiveness can be complex, the main purpose is to encourage designers to embrace unexpected and unknown elements. This thesis provides guidance for future designers to incorporate these methods into their research, continue on this project or venture out and create new and alternate methods as contributions to the field of interaction design.

Background: Child maltreatment is a serious health concern in the United States (U.S.) affecting as many as one in four children throughout their lifetime (Finkelhor, Turner, Ormond, & Hamby, 2013). In 2013, a reported 678, 932 victims of child maltreatment were reported to Child Protective Services (CPS), and of those cases 1,520 were fatal (CDC, 2015a). Out of all the various types of child maltreatment, Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is the leading cause of child abuse deaths in the U.S. (CDC, n.d.). While current research has focused on validating the effectiveness of educational interventions, very few studies have analyzed the efficacy of individualized, patient-centered action plans. Such data would be beneficial to assess the usefulness of action plans in preparing caregivers for coping with an inconsolable infant at home. Purpose: To enhance caregiver knowledge about SBS and to provide parents with the skills and resources necessary to cope effectively and efficiently at home when unable to console their infant. Methods: This study utilized a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design. Participants were recruited from the Franciscan Women’s Health Associates located at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington and were members of the Centering prenatal groups. The entirety of the study was completed during these groups including the pre-test, intervention, action plan, and post-test. Data was analyzed through the utilization of descriptive statistics as well as a paired t test. Results: Overall, results revealed that participant (n=26) knowledge significantly improved after the educational intervention (p=0.000) with a mean score of 87.56% on the pre-test and a mean score of 95.38% on the post-test. In addition, a majority of participants (57.5%) found both the action plan and the education to be extremely useful. Discussion: The results of this study were consistent with current evidence indicating that education on SBS, the dangers of shaking, and healthy coping mechanisms significantly impacts caregiver knowledge. In addition, a majority of participants viewed the action plans favorably identifying that they would be beneficial if they felt frustrated. Future research is warranted to gather more information on the long-term outcomes of educational interventions as well as individualized action plans.

The purpose of this study is to examine domestic violence as it occurs in same-sex male relationships. Data were collected by in-depth interviews with twenty-five gay males, who were between the ages of 23 and 43, and who had previous experience being in a homosexual relationship where domestic violence was present. The major findings of this study include the respondents': 1) definitions of domestic violence and abuse; 2) the type of domestic violence or abuse personally experienced; and 3) reasons they believe domestic violence or abuse occurs in these types of relationships. This study illustrates the need for further research in this area of domestic violence and for programs or services targeted for this specific population.

Although numerous studies examining variables related to child abuse have been done in recent years, little is known about how abusing parents perceive their abused children's attitudes and behaviors. The present study attempted to examine parental perceptions of personality characteristics of children as a function of whether the parent abused the child. The Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) was utilized to obtain parental perceptions of their children's attitudes and behaviors. Twenty parents consisting of 10 abusers and 10 nonabusers were contacted through social agencies. Parents and children were matched for age, sex, and race. Of the 16 personality variables studied, only one significantly differentiated the two groups. Abused children were perceived as significantly more withdrawn than the nonabused matched sample. Results of this study suggest that various personality types are involved in the abusive cycle. Further research is needed to explore this promising area.

This dissertation focuses on using one tangible component of filicide, the method or weapon used by a parent to kill a child, as a means by which to understand parental psychology. An evolutionary psychological perspective (e.g., Buss, 2004; Bjorklund & Pellegrini, 2002; Daly & Wilson, 1988; Tooby & Cosmides, 1992) can provide insight into our understanding of filicide. Questions that have not been asked by previous researchers may come to the fore by using an evolutionary perspective as a guide for investigating filicide and its surrounding circumstances and contexts. I present the results of three empirical studies using archival data on filicides recorded in Chicago, Illinois. In Study 1, I present the results of an investigation of parental psychological differences evidenced by the methods of filicide, for filicides recorded between 1965 and 1994. The key results of Study 1 are: (a) while overall (i.e., non-genetic and genetic parents combined), beating was the method of filicide used most often, the percentage of filicides committed by non-genetic parents by beating significantly exceeded the percentage of filicides committed by genetic parents; (b) in contrast, the percentage of filicides committed by non-genetic parents by asphyxiation was significantly less than the percentage of filicides committed by genetic parents. In Studies 2A and 2B, I present the results of an investigation using the 1965-1994 dataset as well as a dataset of filicides-suicides recorded between 1870 and 1930. The key results of these two studies indicate that filicide-suicide may be more likely to occur in certain contexts (e.g., multiple-victim killings) and in certain circumstances (e.g., following paternal filicide). In the final chapter, I discuss the key findings, identify limitations of the current research, and present several future directions for research. / by Viviana A. Weekes. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Thesis advisor: Karen Kayser / Abstract As there is an increasing awareness of the occurrence of domestic violence among South Asian immigrants, a need for cultural-sensitive interventions and community education are necessary to break the silence of victims. In order for us to begin the process of breaking the silence, there is need for a paradigm shift that can more accurately capture the experience of South Asian immigrant victims. This paradigm shift requires us to move away from blaming culture for the violence but to look at socialization, acculturation processes and mutuality in relationships as factors that may lead to increased acceptance of abusive tactics in marital conflicts. Using a sample of predominately first generation South Asian immigrants (N= 50), in the United States, the present study investigates the perception of acceptance of a husband's use of abusive conflict tactics to manage marital conflicts. Approximately half of the sample completed online surveys measuring South Asian immigrants' perception of acceptance of marital conflicts and the rest completed a paper survey. Through various statistical analyses such as regression, one-sample t-tests and chi-square, South Asian immigrants demonstrated higher levels of acceptance when it was perceived that the wife violated a social norm and when they perceived the wife as less educated. In addition, South Asian male immigrants who perceived that their own wives were not meeting their needs were more likely to rate the abusive tactics of the husband in the Abusive Conflict Tactics Perception Scale (ACPTS) as acceptable. The findings have implications for domestic violence advocates who are seeking to educate the community on domestic violence by challenging the misperceptions that abuse in marital relations is a direct result of cultural norms rather than socialization that can transcend culture. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

The central themes of the thesis are the limits of democracy, the qualities that distinguish it from other political regimes, the criteria necessary for its existence, and the character of the regimes that arise if one or more of these criteria are not met. The first part of the thesis presents fundamental concepts and theories that deal with these questions, the goal of the second part is to apply these theoretical considerations to a particular case, namely Hungary. The first part focuses primarily on the definition of democracy and non-democracy, on the functioning and characteristics of regimes in the "grey area" between democracy and authoritarianism, on the definitions of relevant terms and on the ways in which various theories of democracy, authoritarianism and hybrid regimes approach these concepts and definitions. The first chapter presents the theories of democracy that are relevant to the discussion about hybrid regimes: the minimalist concept, the procedural minimum and the extended procedural minimum. The second chapter focuses on the definition of the opposite of democracy, the third chapter presents a cognitive-linguistic approach to the links between democracy and authoritarianism. The last two chapters of the first part offer a brief overview of the theories of hybrid regimes and...