The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. 

Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: 

Document Title: Violence Against Women: An Examination of 

Developmental Antecedents Among Black, 

Caucasian, and Hispanic Women 

Author(s): Jana L. Jasinski 

Document No.: 189243 

Date Received: 08/14/2001 

Award Number: 2000-WT-VX-0002

This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. 

To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federallyfunded grant final report available electronically in addition to

traditional paper copies.

 

Opinions or points of view expressed are those 

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect 

the official position or policies of the U.S. 

Department of Justice.
PROPERTY OF 

National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) 

Rockville, MD 20849-6000 

' Box6000 

Violence Against Women: An Examination of Developmental 

Antecedents Among Black, Caucasian, and Hispanic Women 

' 

Final Report For Grant #2000-WT-VX-0002 

March 2 1,2001 

Principal Investigator: Dr. Jana L. Jasinski 

Department of Sociology & Anthropology 

University of Central Florida 

Orlando, FL. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
-..,, 

Table of Contents 

I 

a Final Report 

Technical Procedures Used 

Appendix A: NSFH Supporting Documentation 

Appendix B: Exhibit 1 

ULUI 1-l If 

thc /(jo.tr'-I j hJu2 h - 

J ~rrmr4~n) AIL hi "4 

Appendix C: SPSS Syntax for merging of data files 

Appendix D: Wave 1 and Wave 2 Variables 

Appendix E: SPSS Syntax for variable computations 

Appendix F: Descriptives of SPSS system file used for analyses 

Appendix G: Papers 

Paper 1 : Physical violence among Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic 

couples: Ethnic differences in persistence and cessation (Forthcoming 

Violence & Victims) 

Paper 2: Pregnancy and violence against women: An analysis of longitudinal data 

(Forthcoming Journal of Interpersonal Violence) 

Paper 3: Personality and Violence: Inside the mind of violent men (Presented at 

the 2000 Annual Meetings of the American Society of Criminology, 

November 2000, Under Review Journal of Interpersonal Violence) 

Paper 4: Alcohol and patterns of male violence (To be presented at the annual 

meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society - April 2001) 

Paper 5: Sex Role Ideology and Violence (To be presented at the annual meetings 

of the American Society of Criminology - November 2001) 

Paper 6: Social Support and Violent Behavior 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
.-“I, 

Final Report for Grant #2000-WT-VX-0002 

Violence against women: An examination of developmental antecedents among Black, 

Caucasian, and Hispanic women 

Principal Investigator: Dr. Jana L. Jasinski 

Department of Sociology & Anthropology 

University of Central Florida 

Orlando, FL 

Project Description 

b 

The aim of this study was to examine the factors related to different patterns of 

male violence against women. To accomplish this goal, information from the National 

Survey of Families and Households Waves 1 and 2 (Sweet, Bumpass, & Call, 1988) was 

used to examine both situational and individual characteristics associated with moving 

into and out of violent relationships. 

Much of the research on violence against women uses a unidimensional 

theoretical framework. In contrast, the current study used a multidimensional framework 

encompassing both intra-individual and sociocultural perspectives. Guided by these 

theoretical frameworks, this project focused on the relationship between previously 

established risk factors for intimate partner violence including stressors related to work, 

economic status, and role transitions (e.g. pregnancy), as well as family power dynamics, 

1 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
status discrepancies, and alcohol use and violence against women. Many of these areas 

have been previously examined using cross sectional data. Using the two waves of the 

NSFH, however, made it possible to examine these areas as they are related to different 

patterns of male violence. This project addressed the following specific research 

questions: 

1. To what extent do Caucasian, Black, and Hispanic individuals engage in 

physical violence with their partner? How do these relationships change 

over time? 

2. How are socioeconomic stressors associated with violent relationships among 

Caucasian, Black, and Hispanic couples? How do these relationships change 

over time? 

3. To what extent are changes in patterns of physical violence against women 

associated with different stages of a relationship (e.g. cohabitation, early 

marriage, pregnancy, marriage)? 

4. To what extent do culturally linked attitudes about family structure (family 

power dynamics) predict violence among Caucasian, Black, and Hispanic 

couples? Do these attitudes change over time? What influences the change? 

How is this related to violence against women? 

5. To what extent do family strengths and support systems contribute to the 

cessation of violence among Caucasian, Black, and Hispanic couples? 

6. What is the role of alcohol use in violent relationships among Caucasian, 

Black, and Hispanic couples? 

2 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
Scope and methodology 

Data Source. The data used for this project come from the first and second Wave 

of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) conducted by members of 

the Center for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Sweet 

et al., 1988; Sweet & Bumpass, 1996). The files and all documentation for the data were 

obtained from the web site for the Center for Demography and Ecology at the University 

of Wisconsin-Madison (http://wwv.ssc.wisc.edu/cde/nsfhwp/home.htm) (Supporting 

documentation is located in Appendix A). 

NSFH Wave 1. The NSFH represents a very unique source of data about 

American families. It was designed to cover a broad range of family structures, 

processes, and relationships with a large enough sample to permit subgroup analysis 

(Sweet et al., 1988; Sweet & Bumpass, 1996). The first Wave of the NSFH (NSFHl) 

was conducted in 1988 and included a national probability sample of 13,017 respondents. 

Interviews were conducted with a cross sectional sample of households and an 

oversample of Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, single parent families, families with 

stepchildren, cohabiting couples and recently married persons. One adult in each 

household was randomly selected as the primary respondent. Eligible respondents 

included persons age 19 and older, living in households, and able to be interviewed in 

either English or Spanish. The interview consisted of both self-administered instruments 

and interviewer administered questions. A shorter self-administered questionnaire was 

also given to the spouse or cohabiting partner of the primary respondent. Information 

3 

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not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
***, , 

0 

was collected regarding the respondent’s family living arrangements in childhood, marital 

and cohabiting experiences, education, fertility, alcohol use, employment histories, kin 

contact, and economic and psychological well being. 

NSFH Wave 2. Five years after the original interview, the sample from the first 

Wave (NSFHI) was reinterviewed (NSFH2). The second Wave consisted of face to face 

interviews with surviving members of the original sample, a personal interview with the 

current spouse or partner, a personal interview with the original spouse or partner in 

situations where the relationship had ended, phone interviews with children who were 

age 5- 18 in the original interview who were now age 10-23, proxy interviews with a 

surviving spouse or relative in situations where the original respondent had died or was 

too ill to be interviewed, and a telephone interview with a randomly selected parent of the 

main respondent. For the purposes of this study, the analytical sample focused on only 

those couples that were cohabiting or married at the Time of the first Wave of the study 

and still with the same person at the Time of the second Wave (N=3,584). To address 

some of the specific research questions, further reductions were made in the sample 

(Please refer to the detailed discussions below of each research question for more specific 

information regarding the analytical sample for that question). 

In both Waves of the NSFH several identical questions were asked regarding 

marital conflicts. Both married and cohabiting respondents were asked how often they 

used various tactics including heated arguments and hitting or throwing things at each 

other to resolve their conflicts. In addition, respondents were asked if any of their 

arguments became physical, how many of their fights resulted in either the respondent or 

their partner hitting, shoving, or throwing things, and if any injuries resulted as a 

4 

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not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
consequence of these fights. These data, obtained from both the respondent and the 

partner, provided the information with which to classify respondents into one of four 

groups (Appendix B Exhibit 2): 

o Non- Violent (Men who never use violence against their female partners) 

(N=3 133,87.4%) 

o New Violent (Men who are not violent in Wave 1 but are violent in Wave 2) 

(N=138, 3.9%) 

o Persistent Abusers (Men who are violent in both Wave 1 and 2 (N=95,2.6%) 

o Violence Cessation (Men who were violent in Wave 1 but stopped their violence 

by Wave 2) (N=217,6.1%) 

Limitations of previous research 

Although the research on violence against women has developed tremendously 

over the past twenty years, there are still many areas in which research is needed 

(Cromwell & Burgess, 1996; Jasinski & Williams, 1998). There is, for example, 

relatively little empirical information regarding the cessation and persistence of intimate 

violence against women, as much of the research has focused on identifying risk factors 

that predict male violence (Aldarondo, 1996; Aldarondo & Sugarman, 1996). In 

particular, there is very little empirical information regarding violence among minority 

groups, especially Hispanic individuals (West, 1998). Much of the research specifically 

focused on violence against women also uses cross sectional research designs usually 

with information from only one person in the couple (Kaufman Kantor, Jasinski, & 

5 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
Aldarondo, 1994; Straus, 1990; Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980). Longitudinal studies 

would be most appropriate for examinations of patterns of violent relationships, however, 

high attrition rates pose a serious challenge to the generalizability of findings. Moreover, 

some researchers suggest that attrition rates are higher among more violent individuals 

(Feld & Straus, 1990). 

The NSFH provides a valuable resource with which to address these gaps in the 

literature. Since the study design included oversamples of previously understudied 

groups (i.e. Blacks, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans) racial and ethnic comparisons are possible. 

The research design also included the use of both English and Spanish versions of the 

questionnaire allowing less acculturated Hispanic individuals to participate in the study. 

In addition, the inclusion of individuals at different stages of their intimate relationships 

(cohabiting, newly married, married) allows examination of the continuity of violence in 

intimate relationships. Finally couple data provides more reliable information about the 

relationship characteristics (Bohannon, Dosser, & Lindley, 1995; Szinovacz, 1983; 

Szinovacz & Egley, 1995). The longitudinal nature of the NSFH makes it possible to 

look at transitions in and out of violent relationships. By classifying relationships into 

one of four different groups it will be possible to distinguish factors that determine group 

membership and how these factors change over time. Moreover, information about the 

presence of violence in relationships was obtained from both individuals in the 

relationship, making the data much more reliable. 

Because of the size of the project, it was broken down into separate, more 

manageable projects modeled after the original research questions. Each of these 

separate projects is summarized below. 

6 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
Detailed Findings 

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Cessation and Persistence of 

Male Violence Against Women 

The concepts of persistence and desistance have played an integral part in 

research on criminal careers, however, research on these patterns of behavior has been 

somewhat limited with regard to intimate partner violence (Fagan, 1989). Although more 

and more researchers are beginning to focus on the possibility and importance of 

different patterns of intimate partner violence, the literature in this area is still lacking. 

For example relatively few of the studies have used large samples (e.g. (Wofford, 

Mihalic, & Menard, 1994) ). In fact, many of what can be considered landmark studies in 

this area have relied on relatively small samples (Aldarondo & Kaufman Kantor, 1997; 

Aldarondo & Sugarman, 1996). Moreover prior research has relied on information from 

only one of the individuals in the intimate relationship. A growing body of research 

suggests that more complete data can be obtained when information on violent behavior 

comes from both individuals in the relationship (Bohannon et al., 1995; Szinovacz, 1983; 

Szinovacz & Egley, 1995). Existing research on patterns of intimate partner violence 

has also all but ignored the issue of race/ethnicity. However, prior work finding 

increased incidence rates of partner violence among minority families (e.g. (Gelles & 

Straus, 1988)) suggests that race and ethnicity are important factors to include in intimate 

partner violence research. Most likely the failure to consider race and ethnicity in this 

7 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
type of research is the result of already small sample sizes that would make analyses by 

racial or ethnic group impossible. 

In contrast, the present study is able to add to the literature in a number of ways. 

First, the sample size is larger than those from previous studies. Not only did this make 

more complicated analyses possible, but the larger sample size, together with a deliberate 

sampling design allowed for analyses focused on racial and ethnic differences in violent 

behavior. Additionally, information in the present study could be considered more 

reliable as information was collected from both members of the couple. Finally, the 

collection of data at two points in time makes it possible to conduct longitudinal analyses. 

With this improved source of data, the present study addressed the following two 

questions: 1. Are there racial/ethnic differences in patterns of violent behavior? 2. Do 

these differences remain when other theoretically relevant variables, such as 

socioeconomic status, age, and marital status are introduced into the model? The results 

are summarized below: 

o After taking into account demographic factors racelethnicity was 

associated with violence cessation and initiation only. Specifically, 

African American men were more likely to have stopped their violence 

compared to white and Hispanic men. African American men were also 

more likely to have initiated violence between the first and second survey 

wave. 

Among Hispanic couples, increased employment at the second wave and 

cohabitation were related to persistent violence and decreased employment 

at the second wave was associated with violence initiation. 

8 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
Among African American couples, youth was related to persistent 

violence, youth and decreased emp’loyment levels were related to new 

violence, and lower employment levels were associated with violence 

cessation. 

o Among white couples, youth was associated with persistent violence, 

violence initiation, and violence cessation. Lower levels of employment at 

the time of the second survey administration were associated with new 

violence. 

Although this study does improve upon existing research, it is not without 

limitations. Although the sample could be broken down by racial and ethnic; grouping, 

the sample sizes of the African American and Hispanic samples were very small relative 

to the Caucasian sample and the cell sizes were too small to consider Hispanic national 

origin groups, the importance of which has been demonstrated by prior research 

(Kaufman Kantor et al., 1994). Information was also only available regarding two points 

in time separated by five years. Although behaviors may have changed from the first to 

the second wave, we don’t really know what happened during that five-year period to 

understand the factors that may have influenced changes in behavior. 

Despite these limitations, however, the current study does address the 

multidimensional nature of violent behavior suggesting that not only are there different 

types of batterers, but also that there may be different mechanisms that lead to particular 

types of behaviors. In addition, the larger sample size may it possible to consider racial 

and ethnic differences, something that has been addressed in a limited manner in other 

research of this type. Finally, the ability to use information obtained from both members 

9 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
of a couple is of vital importance for more reliable and valid research and contributes to 

the strength of the present study. 

Although much of the existing research suggests that pregnancy may be a time of 

increased risk for violence, at least for some women, (Berenson, Stiglich, Wilkinson, & 

Anderson, 1991 ; Gelles, 1974; Smikle, Sorem, Stain, & Hankins, 1996; Webster, Sweett, 

& Stolz, 1994) these same studies have often relied on anecdotal reports from pregnant 

women, or hospital samples of pregnant women for their information. Although this 

research is able to effectively assess the dynamics of violence against pregnant women, 

without a comparison group of women of the same age who are not pregnant, it is unable 

to determine if pregnant women are at a greater risk of assault by their male partners 

compared to women who are not pregnant (Bullock & McFarlane, 1989; Campbell, 

Poland, Waller, & Ager, 1992; Stark & Flitcrafi, 1995; Stewart, 1994). Additionally, this 

body of research is primarily focused on examining the consequences of violent behavior 

for the infant (e.g. preterm labor, fetal death, low birth weight) (Parker, McFarlane, & 

Soeken, 1994; Webster, Chandler, & Battistutta, 1996). At the same time, research 

utilizing national probability samples, although able to investigate whether or not 

pregnancy puts women at risk for violence by their intimate partner, has generally lacked 

information on the context of the violence (Gelles, 1990; Jasinski & Kaufman Kantor, In 

press). The present study addresses these issues by using a large nationally representative 

sample containing detailed information on pregnancy status as well as other pregnancy 

IO 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
related issues. Specifically the following research questions were addressed: Is 

pregnancy itself, or are other pregnancy related issues associated with violence against 

women? Do these relationships remain when theoretically relevant control variables, 

such as race, age, and socioeconomic status are included? The sample for this part of the 

project was slightly different than other parts of the project as it only included individuals 

of childbearing age (Please see full text of paper in the Appendix for more details). The 

results for this part of the project are summarized below: l 

o Once other variables, such as age, were taken into account, pregnancy 

itself was not significantly associated with any of the violence patterns. 

However, other important risk factors remained significant. Couples who 

were cohabiting at the time of both the first and the second wave of the 

survey were at a significantly greater risk for persistent violence. In 

addition, they were also at a greater risk for new violence. Younger men 

were more likely to have started violent behavior by Wave 2. 

o Several other pregnancy related factors, however, were related to specific 

patterns of violence. 

o Specifically, having a first child during the second wave of the 

survey was significantly associated with a greater chance of 

violence cessation. In this same model, couples who were 

cohabiting at both waves were significantly more likely to 

experience persistent violence. In addition, youth was significantly 

associated with all violence categories. 

11 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
CI Couples in which the male partner perceived that the pregnancy 

that occurred during the second wave of the survey happened 

sooner than intended were at four times the risk of experiencing 

persistent violence. In addition, couples that were cohabiting 

during both waves of the survey year were more than five tim'es 

more likely to experience persistent violence. Youth was the only 

I 

4 

factor significantly associated with violence cessation. 

Furthermore, youth was also significantly associated with new 

fi 

vi 01 ence. 

Similar to previous research using national samples (Gelles, 1990; Jasinski & 

Kaufman Kantor, In press), multivariate analyses in the current study revealed that many 

of the pregnancy related factors were no longer significantly associated with any of the 

violence categories once control variables were introduced into the models. The current 

study did find, however, several significant pregnancy related factors. For example, 

having a first child was associated with violence cessation. The implications of this 

finding, however, are somewhat double sided. On the one hand, this is consistent with 

prior work suggesting that the birth of a child may provide a time of respite for 

previously abused women (Campbell, Harris, & Lee, 1995; Campbell, Oliver, & Bullock, 

1993). At the same time, it would be inappropriate to suggest that women victims 

actively try to get pregnant as a strategy to stop violence. In addition to factors related to 

violence cessation, the present study found that persistent violence was more likely to 

occur among couples in which the male partner perceived that the pregnancy of his 

female partner occurred sooner than intended. Possible explanations for this pattern of 

12 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
behavior include jealousy of the unborn child and the perception that the pregnancy 

would interfere with the woman’s role as caretaker for her partner (Campbell et al., 1995; 

Campbell et al., 1993). It is also possible that a pregnancy not planned by the male 

partner might represent something that he could not control and therefore increase the 

risk for violence. 

Unfortunately, although several of the pregnancy related factors were 

significantly associated with one or more of the violence patterns, there is no way to 

determine actual causal order, as the questions relating to both violence and pregnancy 

use a reference period of the previous year. In other words, respondents were asked to 

indicate whether or not physical fight or pregnancy occurred sometime in the year prior 

to the survey rather than on a specific date. This made it impossible to determine if the 

violence occurred before pregnancy, during pregnancy or both. Gazamarian and 

associates (1 995) have suggested that violence and pregnancy may be related in a number 

of ways. For example, violence may increase the chances for an unintended pregnancy. 

At the same time, unwanted pregnancies may increase stress, and result in a greater level 

of violence. Moreover. a1 though pregnancy related factors were significant in several of 

the multivariate models: the explained variance for these models was very small (3-5%). 

Nevertheless, this study offers important information regarding the relationship between 

pregnancy and intimate partner violence. 

. 

0 

13 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
Increasingly, attention is being drawn to variations in psychological pathology 

among batterers (Dutton, Saunders, Starzomski, & Bartholemew, 1994; Gondolf, 1988; 

Holtzworth Munroe & Stuart, 1994) as one possible risk marker for intimate partner 

t 

violence. Profiles of violent men suggest that they are extremely jealous (Bowker, 1983; 

Holtzworth Munroe, Stuart, & Hutchinson, 1997; Saunders, 1992), have low self esteem 

I 

(Goldsmith, 1990; Gondolf, 1988; Neidig, Friedman, & Collins, 1986; Pagelow, 1984), 

and exhibit poor communication and social skills (Browning & Dutton,, 1986; Holtzworth 

Munroe, 1992; Murphy: Meyer, & O'Leary, 1994; Rounsaville, 1978). A number of 

researchers have also found that violent men ofien have aggressive or hostile personality 

styles (Beasley & Stoltenberg, 1992; Dutton & Starzomski, 1993; Heyman, O'Leary, & 

Jouriles, 1995; Maiuro, Cahn, & Vitaliano, 1986). Although this body of research 

suggests the importance of psychological characteristics as potential risk factors for 

intimate partner violence, it is far from definitive. Much of this research, for example, 

uses small samples of men in some kind of treatment program, consequently limiting the 

generalizability of the findings. Furthermore, psychological factors are ofien considered 

independent of social structural factors and relationship characteristics that may also be 

associated with violent behavior. In contrast, the current study uses a large, national 

sample of couples to investigate personality, structural, and relationship characteristics as 

risk markers for intimate partner violence. Because the questions regarding personality 

characteristics were self-assessments, the sample for this part of the project was limited to 

men only reporting on their own characteristics and behavior. Details regarding the 

14 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
specific sample and measures used can be found in the full text of the paper in the 

Appendix. The results of this part of the project are listed below. 

o After taking into account a number of demographic factors personality 

characteristics seemed to be related to patterns of male violence against women. 

o Higher levels of hostility, greater relationship conflict, and cohabitation 

were associated with persistent violence. 

4 

o Men with higher hostility scores, African American men, and men 'who 

experienced greater relationship conflict during the first wave of the 

survey were likely to have stopped using violence against their female 

partner by the second wave of the survey. 

o Men who began to use violence by the time of the second wave of the 

survey had lower mastery scores, were younger, were cohabitating, and 

had greater levels of relationship conflict at the second survey 

administration. 

In order to develop prevention and intervention programs the results of empirical 

research need to be generalizable. Furthermore, to be successful, programs may need to 

address the influence of both individual and social structural factors on the propensity to 

engage in violent behavior. The current study moves the body of literature one step 

closer to this goal by examining the relationships among personality characteristics, 

relationship factors, socio-demographic variables, and patterns of violent behavior in a 

large national sample of men. The results suggest that, in fact, it is important to consider 

a variety of different factors in addition to personality as risk markers for patterns of 

violent behavior. 

15 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
Alcohol is the drug most commonly associated with violence (Fagan, 1990, 

1993), and substance abuse is a consistent finding in many of the profiles of abusive men. 

However, physical violence is not an inevitable consequence of any intoxicant usage. 

Alcohol-related family assaults have been explained in many ways pointing to the 

importance of social context, (eg, fights over a spouse's drunkenness which lead to 

violence). In addition, other research has revealed significant effects of a family history 

of violence and current alcohol use on the incidence of violence against women 

(Kaufman Kantor, 1990, 1993). The results of the part of the project looking at the 

relationship between alcohol and patterns of male violence are summarized below: 

Men who had a problem with alcohol at Time 1 and who were 

heavy drinkers at Time 2 were more likely to be persistently 

violent. 

Women who lived with problem drinking partners (not necessarily 

their current partner) were more likely to be in a persistently 

violent relationship. 

Couples who were cohabiting at both Wave 1 and Wave 2, and in 

which the male partner was young were also at a greater risk of 

persistent violence. 

16 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
I 

o The only alcohol related variable significantly associated with 

violence cessation was whether or not the female partner lived with 

an alcoholic partner. Youth was also associated with violence 

cessation. 

o Younger men were more likely to have initiated. new violence 

against their partner. 

The findings regarding the relationship between alcohol use and violence 

perpetrated against women is consistent with prior research. Alcohol use is associated 

with male violence against women. The current study, however, was able to provide 

more details about the relationship between alcohol use and different patterns of male 

violence. One of the most interesting findings, for example, was that none of the alcohol 

variables were significantly associated with violence initiation, however, heavy and 

problematic drinking were related to persistent violence. In addition, persistently violent 

men, compared with non-violent men were more likely to have grown up with a problem 

drinker, It is possible that as an adult these men were modeling the drinking behavior, 

and perhaps violence as well, that they witnessed in their family of origin. Unfortunately, 

this part of the project is the most severely limited and should be considered exploratory 

in nature. The rates of alcohol use and abuse are extremely low and the measures used 

during the second wave are different from those used at the first wave making 

comparisons about the changes in drinking behavior impossible. Nevertheless, the results 

do support prior work in this area. 

17 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
Gender Role Ideology and Male Violence Against Women 

A number of explanations have been offered to explain male violence against 

women. Cultural norms supporting unequal family power structures or traditional gender 

roles play a key role in many of these explanations and may help explain some of the 

variation in patterns of male violence. The results summarizing the relationship between 

sex role ideology and male violence patterns are listed below: 

I 

0 

0 

0 

Couples in which the female partner held more egalitarian attitudes at 

Time 1 and the male partner held less egalitarian attitudes at Time 1 were 

more likely to be persistently violent. 

Couples who continued to cohabit and in which the male partner was 

young were more likely to be persistent. 

Egalitarian attitudes of the female partner and youthfulness of the male 

partner were predictive of new violence. 

The findings regarding the relationship between gender role ideology and patterns 

of male violence are consistent with prior research in this area. One of the unique 

contributions of this part of the project, however, is that rather than simply looking at the 

presence or absence of violent behavior, four different patterns, persistence, initiation, 

cessation, and non-violence, were examined. Gender role ideology, particularly men’s 

traditional ideas about gender were associated with persistent violence, but not violence 

initiation. This kind of information suggests that continually violent men have very 

traditional ideas about the roles of women, whereas men who are newly violent do not. 

18 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
Social Support and Violent Behavior 

Family stress has been viewed as a significant etiological factor in the onset of 

marital conflict and violence (Farrington, 1986; Gelles & Straus, 1979; Straus, 1980), but 

such investigations have relied mainly on cross sectional data, limited the measurement 

of stress to a summative index of recent life events, and paid little attention to moderating 

effects. A large literature indicates that social support is generally found to buffer the 

effects of stress (Thoits, 1983; Turner, 1983). There is some prior evidence based on 

comparisons of African American and Anglo families that families embedded in strong 

social support networks perceived as supportive may also be more able to withstand 

stresses, and consequently experience less family violence (Cazenave & Straus, 1979). 

However, there are also problems inferring causality from cross sectional data since 

severely violent families may physically isolate family members to prevent public 

awareness of the abusive behavior. It may also be difficult to assess social supports if 

measurement is limited to the frequency of contacts, as distressed individuals will be 

most likely to make more help-seeking attempts. The results of the analysis looking at 

social support, measured in terms of different types of help received and the availability 

of someone to call for help, are summarized below: 

o The amount of help actually received is not related to violent behavior. 

Women who reported they had no one to ask for financial help at the Time 

of the first Wave (the only Wave the questions were asked) were more 

likely to experience violence cessation by the Time of the second Wave. 

19 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
L 

o A lack of transportation help and a lack of repair help at Time 1 were 

related to violence cessation. 

The results of the analyses looking at one form of social support, help received, 

suggest that women in violent relationships may be extremely isolated from outside 

contacts. It may also indicate that non-specific help in areas unrelated to violence, do not 

result in changes in that violent behavior. For example, the data collected for the NSFH 

did not include information on violence specific help, such as help from police, shelter 

advocate, hotline, or criminal justice system. This type of assistance is likely to be of 

more use in altering patterns of violent behavior. It is also possible that women who did 

receive help left the violent relationship, and as this part of the project only included 

individuals who were involved with the same partner at the time of both the first and 

second wave, no conclusions can be drawn regarding the effect of social support on all 

individuals in violent relationships. 

Conclusions and Implications 

Over twenty years of research, together with media attention has created an image 

of intimate violence against women as one pattern of violence escalation and persistence, 

until stopped by the termination of the relationship or some outside intervention. Recent 

research, however, suggests that this is only one of several different patterns of violence 

against women (Aldarondo, 1996; Aldarondo & Kaufman Kantor, 1997; Aldarondo & 

Sugarman, 1996). For example, men may begin to use violence in their relationship, 

persist in their use of physical violence, stop their violence, or never use violence at all. 

20 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
The small amount of research that considers the possibility of multiple types of 

relationships, however, is limited by a lack of developmental data with which to 

effectively evaluate changes in the occurrence of violence over time, a reliance on 

information provided by only one partner in the couple, and small sample sizes. The 

current project was able to address each of these issues. 

This secondary data analysis study has contributed to both practice and policy in a 

number of ways. By using an integrated theoretical framework, this research was able to 

examine an improved multidimensional model of violence against women. It also added 

to the literature by identifying risk factors for intimate violence against women and 

evaluating the relationship between these risk factors and different patterns of male 

violence. The impact of research demonstrating both different patterns of violent 

behavior and different risk markers for each violence type is an important area for 

consideration that can provide a more focused approach for prevention and intervention 

efforts. Acknowledging the existence of multiple courses of violence is an important step 

in understanding the relationships among etiological variables for each relationship 

pattern. What is important for one pattern of violence against women may not be 

relevant for another pattern. This is especially important for the enhancement of 

treatment programs and better targeting of intervention efforts. 

The results from this study, for example, suggest that level of employment is 

related in different ways to different patterns of violence for different racial/ethnic 

groups. It is imperative, therefore, that individuals who design and implement prevention 

and intervention efforts are aware of these differences and respond accordingly. This 

may entail stress reduction programs offered through employers for individuals working 

21 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
" =-<d 

I 

overtime, or perhaps lobbying for better paying jobs or more full time employment for 

individuals who are underemployed. Regardless of the specific prevention or 

intervention effort, the results from the current study suggest that the same factors that 

might increase the initial risk for violent behavior may not affect whether or not this 

behavior continues. Therefore it may be most important to target efforts specifically 

toward those factors that are most applicable to the behavior that is being addressed. 

The results from this project also suggest that thorough assessments of pregnancy 

*I , 

related stressors, including areas such as mistimed or unplanned pregnancies should be 

part of every prenatal care program. This should also include information from both 

members of the couple, as this study has demonstrated the importance of both individuals 

wanting the pregnancy. This study also found that for some couples, physical violence 

stopped at the time of the birth of the first child. Although this is a positive sign, it does 

not tell us whether or not the violence continues after the child is born. It is imperative, 

therefore, that pregnant women also be screened for previous violence in their 

relationship, and be provided with information about available services if they should 

need them either during or after the child is born. Health care providers should also 

provide follow-up services to women postpartum in order to prevent any re-occurrence of 

violent behavior. 

Part of the project focused on personality characteristics of men. The results of 

analyses finding a relationship between relationship conflict, a hostile personality styles 

and violence suggest that that one part of a treatment program may need to include 

activities designed to assist men in their interactions with their intimate partner. This is 

not to suggest that marriage counseling is the way to stop violent behavior. Instead, 

22 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
similar to dating violence prevention programs aimed at young adults, it suggests that 

individuals should be taught ways to manage the conflict that might occur in their 

relationships. 

The results of this study also suggest that any examination of patterns of violent 

behavior needs to consider risk markers representing different levels of analysis including 

both individual and social structural in order to arrive at a more complete picture. 

Effectively stopping violence against women must include efficient and appropriate ways 

of preventing reoccurrence. Increasing knowledge about the persistence and cessation of 

violence will provide the necessary foundation for developing more effective prevention 

measures. In addition, a greater awareness of the complexities of the patterns of violent 

relationships will also improve targeting of intervention programs and thus, improve 

allocation of funding and other resources 

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not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

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29 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
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FROPE RTY OF 

Naticjnal Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) 

Bcx 6000 

Rockville, MD 20849-6000 ,---**- 

30 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
Technical Procedures Used 

The data used for this project come from the first and second Wave of the 

National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) conducted by members of the 

Center for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Sweet, 

I, 

Bumpass, & Call, 1988; Sweet & Bumpass, 1996). The files and all documentation for 

the data were obtained from the web site for the Center for Demography and Ecology at 

the University of Wisconsin-Madison (http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cde/nsfiwp/home.htm) 

(Supporting documentation is located in Appendix A). Fifieen different data files were 

I 

merged to create one data file for Wave 2 of the NSFH which was then merged with the 

Wave 1 data file to create one master file (See Appendix C for the SPSS syntax). 

Identical variables from Wave 1 and Wave 2 were identified and then examined to see if 

the variables contained information from both respondent and partner (Appendix D). 

New variables, including both composite variables (e.g. self esteem, hostility, 

depression), and husband and wife versions of the variables (using information from both 

respondent and partner) (See Appendix E for syntax for computed variables) were then 

constructed. Once the new variables were constructed they were grouped into 6 

categories: Demographic, Personality, Alcohol and Drug Use, Relationship Stages, 

Gender Role Attitudes, Division of Labor, Fairness in Household Chores, Social Support, 

and Isolation. Husband to wife violence variables were also created for each Wave of the 

survey (see Appendix F for descriptives of SPSS system file). 

All analyses were weighted using a relative weight created by dividing the weight 

by the mean of the weight. 

I 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.
4 

Sweet, J., Bumpass, L., & Call, V. (1 988). The design and content of the 

national survey of families and households (NSHF Working Paper #I). Madison, WI: 

Center for Demography and Ecology. 

Sweet, J. A., & Bumpass, L. L. (1 996). The National Survey of Families 

and Households - Waves 1 & 2: Data description and documentation. Madison: 

University of Wisconsin. 

2 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has

not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of

Justice.