Journal of interpersonal violence
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J Interpers Violence · Apr 2004
Comparative StudyAttributions about perpetrators and victims of interpersonal abuse: results from an analogue study.
This analogue study (written vignettes and videotapes) examines the influence of victim-perpetrator relationship (spouse or acquaintance), sex of perceiver, and type of abuse (psychological vs. physical) on attributions about victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse. College student participants (73 men, 108 women) were randomly assigned to condition. As expected, type of relationship influenced observer perceptions. ⋯ Sex-of-perceiver effects were also obtained. Women held the perpetrator more responsible and assigned less blame to the victim than did men. Legal and clinical implications are then discussed.