title: Typology of reactions to intimate partner violence among men and women arrested for partner violence.
abstract: This study examined behavioral and emotional responses to partner-initiated violence reported by men and women court-ordered to domestic violence counseling. Respondents provided Likert-type ratings of behavioral and emotional responses to their partners' initiated violence. Cluster analysis to determine heterogeneity of emotional and behavioral responses resulted in a three-cluster solution. The profile for Cluster 1, predominantly male, showed no specific behavioral or emotional reaction pattern. Cluster 2 respondents, evenly split between males and females, but comprising a high proportion of all of the female participants, reported frequently doing what the partner wanted and attempting to escape. Emotional responses experienced by Cluster 2 respondents were anger, insult, and fear. Cluster 3, predominantly male, reported a frequent tendency to use force in response and escape when their partners initiated physical violence. Emotionally, Cluster 3 participants reported experiencing high levels of anger and insult, and relatively low levels of fear and low levels of amusement. Implications of these findings for development of gender-based intervention strategies will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA. lkh@mcw.edu
authors.forename: L Kevin
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Hamberger
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guse
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States