Internal and External Barriers to Help Seeking: Voices of Men Who Experienced Abuse in the Intimate Relationships.

This qualitative study explores internal and external barriers to help seeking among 41 men from four English-speaking countries who self-reported victimization from a female intimate partner. Twelve online focus groups were conducted and themes were identified inductively at a semantic level. Six identified themes represented four internal (blind to the abuse, maintaining relationships, male roles, and excuses) and two external barriers to help seeking (fear of seeking help and nowhere to go). Most participants who avoided seeking help did so due to their own lack of recognition of abuse and ability to assess their risk of harm, attempts to keep the family intact, masculine stereotypes, and excuses for their partner's abuse. Some men who expressed an interest in seeking help were discouraged from it due to fear for their personal safety, a potential revictimization in the legal system, and the lack of support services available to men. This research suggests that the individuals who are abused in relationships, service providers, and the public at large could benefit from professional training about gender inclusive approaches to intimate partner abuse.

Examining Men's Experiences of Abuse From a Female Intimate Partner in Four English-Speaking Countries.

This qualitative study explores the experiences of men who self-report victimization from a female intimate partner in four English-speaking countries. Forty-one men who reported any type of intimate partner abuse (IPA) from a female partner were recruited via targeted advertising in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Twelve online focus groups were conducted across countries using a phenomenologically informed design. Thematic analysis was carried out from an inductive and realist epistemological position and themes identified at a semantic level. This approach was taken to directly reflect the men's experiences and perspectives, ensuring the voices of this hard-to-reach and overlooked population were heard. Three themes were identified across the countries: an imbalanced experience of harm; living with sustained abuse; and knowledge is power for men experiencing IPA. It was found that most participants underwent physical harm in the context of coercive control and experienced abuse over long periods of time. They were slow to recognize the magnitude of their partners' behavior and act upon it for a range of reasons that are described in detail. In addition, promoting knowledge about the victimization of men by women, using appropriate language and active learning, was found to be important in helping the men gain autonomy and agency to break the pattern of abuse and aid their recovery. The implications of the findings for developing male-friendly IPA policy, practice, and services are discussed, in addition to the need for innovative research methodology to access hard-to-reach populations.

An Exploratory Study of the Prosecution of Fatal Child Maltreatment: Criminal Charges Filed Against Presumed Perpetrators in the United States in 2017.

In the United States child maltreatment fatalities (CMFs) do not usually meet the standard for manslaughter or murder, resulting in convictions of lesser crimes and little jail time. This exploratory study examined the charges brought against suspected CMF perpetrators in 2017. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted using data obtained from the Nexis Uni newspaper database, that has over 40,000 high quality media sources, for the year 2017. We found that the most frequently used charges were endangering the welfare of a child and murder, the former of which was more related to neglect-deaths and the latter to physical abuse-deaths. There was no difference between charges for male and female perpetrators. Practical implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Using Technology to Conduct Focus Groups With a Hard-to-Reach Population: A Methodological Approach Concerning Male Victims of Partner Abuse in Four English-Speaking Countries.

Research shows that the experiences of male victims of partner abuse (PA) are often denied by the public and the professionals who are charged to support PA victims. Recruiting female victims for research on PA victimization is relatively easy because there are existing structures to serve this group of victims. Thus, male victims are considered a hard-to-reach (HTR) population, and studying them can be difficult. This article focuses on the use of technology to collect qualitative data from male PA victims in an international study focusing on male victims. The researchers used their own professional networks to recruit and screen a convenience sample of male victims of female-to-male PA, in four different English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, England, and the United States. Four web-based, video-enabled, focus groups were held for each country-for a total of 12 groups and 41 male participants. This article addresses recruitment methods, the use of technology in data collection, protecting the confidentiality of male victims, methods for informed consent, and lessons learned to facilitate future research.

Male Victims of Female-Perpetrated Partner Violence: A Qualitative Analysis of Men's Experiences, the Impact of Violence, and Perceptions of Their Worth.

There has been a recent increase in the amount of research on male victims of female-perpetrated partner violence (PV) but research needs to be conducted to understand how the patterns of abuse persist in these relationships. In the current study, the experiences of 59 male PV victims in the USA, recruited through online advertisements in professional networks and websites (e.g., agencies that specialize in male victims of PV), were explored through a thematic analysis. Analyses suggested that the help seeking process of male PV victims is complex and heterogeneous and can often lead to further negative consequences due to various structural, cultural, social, and organizational factors. The findings also highlight the potential societal issues that male victims perceived as contributing to male victimization and lack of available resources for them. The results are discussed in terms of its implications for agencies, service providers, and general societal attitudes that are relevant to raising awareness about this phenomenon.

Concordance Between Parents in Perpetration of Child Mistreatment: How Often Is It by Father-Only, Mother-Only, or by Both and What Difference Does It Make?

Research on child mistreatment tends to focus on the mother or the father as the abusing parent, even though there is wide agreement that both theory and practice should deal with child maltreatment as a family system problem. Most children have the benefit or the risk of more than one caretaker for substantial periods of their lives, most often two parents or stepparents. This article is intended to illustrate the value of research which uses concordance analysis (CA) to identify children who experienced three dyadic concordance types (DCTs) of mistreatment: father-only, mother-only, or both parents, including single-parent combinations of caretakers. A concordance approach that identifies possible abusers in addition to the presenting parent using the three DCTs is a practical first step toward a family system perspective to enhance child abuse theory, research, and practice.

Influence of Intimate Terrorism, Situational Couple Violence, and Mutual Violent Control on Male Victims.

The goal of the current study is to test - among samples of men - some previous findings relative to Johnson's (2008) typology of partner violence (PV). Among samples of exclusively women, Johnson has found that the frequency and severity of PV - and victims' mental health - are worse for female victims of intimate terrorism (IT) than of situational couple violence (SCV). However, such findings have rarely been tested in male victims of PV. Furthermore, although Johnson posits that mutual violent control (MVC) is relatively rare, other research suggests that it is about as common as IT and may be associated with worse PV and health. We examined the relative frequency and severity of various forms of PV, and the relative health and mental health between men who (a) experienced IT versus SCV, and (b) experienced IT versus MVC. Our two samples were 611 men who sought help for PV victimization and 1,601 men from a population-based sample. Our analyses showed that across samples, men who were victims of IT had significantly worse mental health than men who experienced SCV, and IT victims experienced more severe and frequent PV, including physical, sexual, and non-physical forms of PV. Male victims of IT had worse mental and physical health than either men who perpetrated IT or experienced MVC, but men involved in MVC were involved in relationships with more types of PV than either male IT perpetrators or victims. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for Johnson's typology, future research, and service providers.

An exploratory analysis of the notable activities of U.S. child death review teams.

Child death review teams (CDRTs) focus on the prevention of child deaths, but a comprehensive understanding of their activities is lacking. This exploratory study addressed this gap through a qualitative analysis of reported CDRT activities using the "spectrum of prevention" framework. We collected state-level CDRT reports published 2006-2015, recorded their activities (n = 193), and coded them using the "spectrum of prevention" framework. The highest percentage (64.2%) of activities was categorized under "fostering coalitions and networks." We recommend that CDRTs increase their reporting of activities so others can better understand their potential impact on preventing child deaths.

Testing if Social Services Prevent Fatal Child Maltreatment Among a Sample of Children Previously Known to Child Protective Services.

The purpose of this article was to examine the potential impact of child welfare services on the risk for fatal child maltreatment. This was conducted using a subsample of children who were identified as "prior victims" in the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System from 2008 to 2012. At the multivariate level, the analyses show that case management services act to protect children from death as do family support services, family preservation services, and foster care, but that the results vary by type of maltreatment experienced. The author recommends that before strong conclusions are drawn, additional research in this area is warranted.

Children's Exposure to Partner Violence in Homes Where Men Seek Help for Partner Violence Victimization.

In the last several decades, the field of family violence has paid increasing attention to children's exposure to partner violence (CEPV). Most of this research has focused on the children of women seeking help for partner violence (PV) victimization. In this paper we examine exposure to PV among children of men who sought help for PV victimization (n=408), as compared with children of men in a population-based sample (n=666). We examined children's exposure to psychological, physical, and sexual PV and also examined CEPV that is perpetrated by women, men, or both partners. The results show that CEPV is higher among children of helpseeking men than among children of men from the population-based sample, and that most of that PV is perpetrated by the female partner. We did not find differences in CEPV based in child age or gender. We discuss implications for the field of family violence professionals.

Relative Influence of Various Forms of Partner Violence on the Health of Male Victims: Study of a Helpseeking Sample.

Researchers argue that partner violence (PV) is a multidimensional and heterogeneous phenomenon that needs to be measured in multiple ways to capture its range, extent, severity, and potential consequences. Several large scale, population-based studies show that about 40%-50% of PV victims in a one-year time period are men; this finding is consistent whether the study focuses on physical PV or a combination of several forms of PV. However, no one has investigated how the different forms of PV contribute to male victims' poor mental health, although research suggests that physical, psychological, and sexual PV contribute unique variance to female victims' poor health. The current study investigated how six forms of PV - physical, sexual, severe psychological, controlling, legal/administrative (LA), and injury - contributed to the poor health of 611 male victims of PV who sought help. We found that the combination of PV contributed significant unique variance to men's depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, physical health, and poor health symptoms, after controlling for demographic and other traumatic experiences. The common variance among the forms of PV victimization was the strongest contributor to victims' poor health; the types of PV that contributed the most unique variance were controlling behaviors, LA aggression, sexual aggression, and injury. Discussion focuses on the research and practice implications of these findings.

Children Whose Fathers Seek Help for Partner Violence Victimization: Descriptive Characteristics and Their Behavioral Health as Compared to a Population-Based Sample.

Children whose parents seek help for partner violence (PV) victimization are at an increased risk for internalizing and externalizing behavioral health problems. The literature has examined this phenomenon primarily among children of battered women. This study examines the sociodemographic characteristics and behavioral health of children whose fathers have sought help for PV victimization and compares them to children of men from the general population. Children whose fathers sought help for PV victimization were less likely to live with their fathers. Bivariate analyses showed that children of male victims had elevated scores in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-related areas of behavioral health; many of these findings remain in multivariate analyses, especially among older children. The implications of the results are discussed for researchers and social service practitioners.

The mental health of male victims and their children affected by legal and administrative partner aggression.

The authors recently developed a psychometrically valid measure of legal and administrative (LA) intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization (Hines, Douglas, & Berger, 2014). The current article explores the impact of actual and threatened LA aggression on the mental health of male physical IPV victims and their children. In the current study, a sample of 611 men who sought help after experiencing physical IPV from their female partners completed a survey assessing the types and extent of IPV that occurred in their relationship, including LA aggression, their own mental health outcomes, and the mental health of their oldest child. A series of OLS regressions indicated that after controlling for covariates, actual LA aggression was associated with more symptoms of PTSD and depression in male victims, and that both threatened and actual LA aggression were associated with higher levels of affective and oppositional defiant symptoms in the men's school age children. The current findings suggest that it is important to screen couples for the presence of LA aggression and male partners and their children should be referred for mental health treatment if LA aggression is occurring in the relationship. Aggr. Behav. 42:346-361, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sexual Aggression Experiences Among Male Victims of Physical Partner Violence: Prevalence, Severity, and Health Correlates for Male Victims and Their Children.

Although research has documented the prevalence and health correlates of sexual aggression among women who have experienced severe partner violence (PV), no research has documented the parallel issues among male victims of severe PV. Research also suggests that children of female victims of both physical and sexual PV have worse mental health than children of female victims of physical PV only, but no research has assessed the mental health of children whose fathers experienced both physical and sexual PV. We surveyed 611 men who experienced physical PV from their female partners and sought help. We assessed the types and extent of various forms of PV, the men's mental and physical health, and the mental health of their oldest child. Results showed that almost half of the men experienced sexual aggression in their relationship, and 28 % severe sexual aggression. Increasing levels of severity of sexual aggression victimization was associated with greater prevalence and types of other forms of PV. In addition, greater levels of severity of sexual aggression victimization among the men was significantly associated with depression symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, physical health symptoms, and poor health, and attention deficit and affective symptoms among their children. These associations held after controlling for demographics and other violence and trauma exposure. Discussion focused on the importance of broadening our conceptualization of PV against men by women to include sexual aggression as well.

Health problems of partner violence victims: comparing help-seeking men to a population-based sample.

BACKGROUND: National population-based studies show that 40%-50% of physical partner violence victims in a 1-year time period are men. However, studies assessing the health concerns related to partner violence victimization tend to focus on women, and none have assessed the health of male physical partner violence victims who sought help for their victimization. PURPOSE: To understand men's mental and physical health concerns that may be related to partner violence victimization. METHODS: In 2012-2013, two samples of men-611 physical partner violence victims who sought help and 1,601 men from a population-based sample-completed online questionnaires on their demographics, various types of partner violence victimization, physical health, mental health, and other risks. Data were analyzed using logistic regression, log binomial models, and robust Poisson models in 2013. RESULTS: In comparison to the population-based sample of men, male partner violence victims who sought help had significantly poorer health, particularly with regard to post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, high blood pressure, sexually transmitted diseases, and asthma. These differences remained after controlling for sample differences in demographics, substance use, previous traumatic exposure, and social support. CONCLUSIONS: Practitioners should assess for health problems among partner violence victims and for partner violence victimization among men presenting with health problems.

A self-report measure of legal and administrative aggression within intimate relationships.

Although experts agree that intimate partner violence (IPV) is a multidimensional phenomenon comprised of both physical and non-physical acts, there is no measure of legal and administrative (LA) forms of IPV. LA aggression is when one partner manipulates the legal and other administrative systems to the detriment of his/her partner. Our measure was developed using the qualitative literature on male IPV victims' experiences. We tested the reliability and validity of our LA aggression measure on two samples of men: 611 men who sustained IPV and sought help, and 1,601 men in a population-based sample. Construct validity of the victimization scale was supported through factor analyses, correlations with other forms of IPV victimization, and comparisons of the rates of LA aggression between the two samples; reliability was established through Cronbach's alpha. Evidence for the validity and reliability of the perpetration scale was mixed and therefore needs further analyses and revisions before we can recommend its use in empirical work. There is initial support for the victimization scale as a valid and reliable measure of LA aggression victimization among men, but work is needed using women's victimization's experiences to establish reliability and validity of this measure for women. An LA aggression measure should be developed using LGBTQ victims' experiences, and for couples who are well into the divorce and child custody legal process. Legal personnel and practitioners should be educated on this form of IPV so that they can appropriately work with clients who have been victimized or perpetrate LA aggression.

Fatal and non-fatal child maltreatment in the US: an analysis of child, caregiver, and service utilization with the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data Set.

The purpose of this study was to compare children who are fatally and non-fatally maltreated in the United States. In this first national-comparison study, we used the Child Abuse and Neglect Data Set of children and families who encounter/receive support from child welfare services. We found that children who were fatally maltreated were younger, were more likely to live with both their parents, and that their families experienced more financial and housing instability compared to non-fatally maltreated children. Overall, families in which children die use/receive fewer social services, as compared to families in which children live. We discuss the results with regard to child welfare practice and research.

Predicting potentially life-threatening partner violence by women toward men: a preliminary analysis.

Researchers have documented predictors of life-threatening violence by men toward women. Little research has assessed predictors of life-threatening violence toward men by women. We investigated such predictors in a sample of 302 men who sustained partner violence (PV) and sought help. Based on prior research on women as victims, we examined the following as potential predictors: demographics of the participant, his female partner, and their relationship; relationship power imbalances; her use of various forms of PV; her alcohol/drug use; his use of various forms of PV; his mental health and substance abuse; and his help seeking and social support. Logistic regressions indicated that there were 2 consistent predictors: the female partner's frequency of physical PV and the number of sources from which the participant sought help.

The extent of evidence-based information about child maltreatment fatalities in social science textbooks.

Previous research has established that child welfare workers lack important information about child maltreatment fatalities and risk factors leading to death. Further, training has not been associated with improvements in knowledge. The authors assessed the presence of evidence-based information about child maltreatment fatalities and risk factors for death in 24 social science textbooks about child abuse and neglect or child welfare. The results indicate that basic information, such as definitions and incidence rates of child maltreatment fatalities are routinely included in social science textbooks, but information about child, parent, and household risk factors are not, and that inaccurate information is often included. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress among child welfare workers who experience a maltreatment fatality on their caseload.

Annually, 1,000-2,000 child welfare workers experience the death of a child client. The child welfare field has paid increasing attention to the impact of workplace trauma events on the psychological distress of child welfare workers. In this article the author assesses the relationship between experiencing a maltreatment fatality and workers' posttraumatic stress among a multi-state sample of 385 child welfare workers. Results indicate that a maltreatment fatality is not associated with higher rates of posttraumatic stress. Among child welfare workers who experienced a fatality, those who feel greater culpability for the death report higher levels of posttraumatic stress. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.