Beliefs about intimate partner violence: A survey of the Swedish general public.

Public interventions are considered to be an important means of preventing intimate partner violence (IPV). What people believe about the nature of IPV is likely to determine their propensity to intervene, but little is known at present about IPV beliefs among the general public. In a survey of 650 Swedish citizens, beliefs about the prevalence and causes of IPV, and viable means of intervention were assessed. Respondents estimated, on average, that IPV occurs in almost one quarter of all intimate relationships in Sweden, and that IPV is particularly prevalent in low-income groups, among non-European immigrants, in suburban areas, and in couples under the age of 50 years. Physical violence was believed to be the most frequent form of abuse in male offender-female victim cases, whereas psychological violence was considered most frequent in other combinations of offender and victim gender. Female respondents estimated a higher prevalence of IPV, attributed less blame to IPV victims, and suggested more means of intervention, than did male respondents. The findings are discussed in relation to empirical prevalence estimates, and implications are proposed.

Perpetrator characteristics and blame attributions in a stranger rape situation / Características de los autores y atribución de culpa en una situación de violación por extraños

Both real-life events and research show that rape victims are sometimes blamed for their victimization. The effect of perpetrator characteristics on victim blaming has rarely been studied. In an experiment using a community sample (N= 161), we investigated the effect of the perpetrator’s previous conviction and age, as well as participants’ gender and belief in a just world (BJW) on blame attributions using a vignette methodology. It was predicted that less victim blame and more perpetrator blame would be attributed when the perpetrator had a previous conviction. Results showed that level of BJW was associated with victim blame (positively) and perpetrator blame (negatively). Men blamed the victim more and women blamed the victim less when the perpetrator had a previous conviction. Women blamed the perpetrator more and men less when the perpetrator had a previous conviction. Hence, gender is an important factor in explaining variation in blame attributions (AU)

Tanto los hechos de la vida real como la investigación muestran que a las víctimas de violación a veces se las acusa de victimización. Apenas se ha estudiado el efecto de las características del autor en la culpabilización de las víctimas. En un experimento con una muestra comunitaria ( N= 161) utilizando una metodología de viñetas investigamos el efecto de las condenas anteriores y de la edad del autor, así como el género y su creencia en un mundo justo, en la atribución de culpa. Se predijo que se atribuiría menos culpa a la víctima y más al autor cuando éste había sido condenado anteriormente. Los resultados indican que la creencia en un mundo justo se asociaba (positivamente) a la culpabilización de la víctima y (negativamente) a la del autor. Los hombres culpabilizaban más a la víctima y las mujeres la culpabilizaban menos cuando el autor había sido condenado anteriormente. En consecuencia, el género constituye un factor importante en la explicación de la variación en la atribución de culpa (AU)

Motivational and Cognitive Predictors of the Propensity to Intervene Against Intimate Partner Violence.

A survey using a community-based sample (N = 650) was conducted to identify motivational and cognitive predictors of individuals' propensity to intervene against intimate partner violence (IPV). A hierarchical regression analysis showed that motivational factors accounted for the greatest proportion of the variance in self-reported propensity. Specifically, personal norm (i.e., an individual's felt obligation to intervene) was the strongest individual predictor, followed by affective response (i.e., the extent to which an individual responds to IPV with negative emotions). Although cognitive factors explained only a small portion of the variance, the propensity to intervene was significantly higher for respondents who perceived IPV as a prevalent issue and who did not view the perpetrator as responsible for the solution of IPV. The findings suggest that attempts to facilitate public intervention should target specific, rather than general, aspects of public norms and beliefs about IPV.