Journal of interpersonal violence
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J Interpers Violence · Jan 2021
Bidirectional Relations Between Dating Violence Victimization and Substance Use in a Diverse Sample of Early Adolescents.
Substance use and dating violence victimization are common in adolescence and represent significant public health concerns. Although theoretical accounts suggest a bidirectional association between substance use and victimization within dating relationships, this has not been tested during early adolescence. Thus, the current study examined bidirectional associations between physical and psychological dating violence victimization and substance use across 6 months among an ethnically diverse sample of early adolescents. ⋯ Results showed that higher levels of physical dating violence victimization at Wave 1 predicted increased substance use at Wave 2. Higher levels of substance use at Wave 1 predicted increased physical and psychological dating violence victimization at Wave 2. Findings highlight the importance of prevention efforts for dating violence and substance use early in adolescence.
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J Interpers Violence · Dec 2020
Accounting for Multiple Nonfatal Strangulation in Intimate Partner Violence Risk Assessment.
Nonfatal strangulation is a prevalent, underreported, and dangerous form of intimate partner violence (IPV). It is particularly important to assess for strangulation among abused women as this form of violence may not leave visible injury. The most severe negative physical and mental health consequences of strangulation appear to be dose-related, with those strangled multiple times or to the point of altered consciousness at higher risk of negative sequelae. ⋯ The DA and DA-I are intended to be used as a collaboration between IPV survivors and advocates as tools for education and intervention. Whether or not an IPV survivor has been strangled, she should be educated about the dangerous nature of strangulation and the need for medical intervention should her partner use strangulation against her. This evidence-based adaptation of the DA and DA-I may assist practitioners to assess for and intervene in dangerous IPV cases.
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The criminal offense of stalking is somewhat different to other offenses due to the repetitive, innocuous, and often multifaceted nature of the crime. Given that stalking constitutes a number of different behaviors, such as violence and threats, research on stalking recidivism becomes difficult as recidivism can be defined in a number of ways. This study utilized a dataset of Western Australia Police Force incident reports, comprising a sample of 404 stalking offenders. ⋯ The four definitions ranged from narrow (a new stalking charge) to broad (any new criminal charge). The results of the study show that stalkers reoffend quickly, however our understanding of how fast and which offender characteristics predict recidivism, is dependent on how we define recidivism. This highlights the importance of considering how stalking recidivism is defined in future works and may explain current differences in stalking recidivism findings.
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J Interpers Violence · Nov 2020
Sexual Victimization Among Men: A Qualitative Analysis of the Twitter Hashtag #UsToo.
The present study sought to characterize use of the hashtag #UsToo on Twitter to disclose or comment on men's experiences of sexual victimization. A sample of 281 original content, English-language tweets containing the hashtag were collected from Twitter over five consecutive weekdays. Thematic content analysis was conducted by a three-person coding team (full team consensus, achieving 100% agreement). ⋯ When responding to the hashtag, users commented on the emotional impact of victimization, provided positive responses within the forum (i.e., advocacy, call to action, raising awareness, and prosocial reactions), and also engaged in negative responses within the forum (i.e., distracting attention away from the experiences of victims, egocentric responses which called attention to themselves or others, and otherwise harmful reactions). Despite the popularity of the #MeToo hashtag to disclose personal experiences of violence victimization, Twitter users were unlikely to utilize the hashtag #UsToo to disclose personal experiences of sexual victimization. Results highlight a divergence between online behavior in response to a call for men's disclosure of sexual victimization using the hashtag #UsToo versus online behavior in response to a call for women's disclosure of sexual victimization using the hashtag #MeToo.
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J Interpers Violence · Nov 2020
The Intersection of Gender Identity and Violence: Victimization Experienced by Transgender College Students.
College students disproportionately experience victimization, stalking, and relationship violence when compared with other groups. Few studies explore victimization by the gender identity of college students, including those who identify as transgender. The purpose of this study is to explore the rates of violence experienced by transgender students compared with male and female college students. ⋯ Transgender students experienced the highest odds in crimes involving sexual victimization, including attempted sexual penetration (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 9.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [6.17, 14.59], d = 1.00), sexual penetration without consent (aOR: 9.06, 95% CI = [5.64, 14.53], d = 0.94), and being in a sexually abusive relationship (aOR: 6.48, 95% CI = [4.01, 10.49], d = 0.48), than did male students. Findings reveal increased odds of victimization among transgender students when compared with male and female students. Results demonstrate the need for more comprehensive violence prevention efforts in college settings.