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01-05-2007 | Original Article

Early Exposure to Violence in the Family of Origin and Positive Attitudes towards Marital Violence: Chinese Immigrant Male Batterers vs. Controls

Authors: Xiaochun Jin, Morris Eagle, Marianne Yoshioka

Published in: Journal of Family Violence | Issue 4/2007

Abstract

This study examined self-reported early exposure to violence in the family of origin and positive attitudes towards marital violence as risk factors in court-referred Chinese immigrant male batterers (N = 64) versus controls (N = 62). Early exposure to violence was positively correlated with marital violence, but it alone did not differentiate the batterers from the controls, as both groups were widely exposed to it. While it was significantly correlated with marital violence in the batterer group, it was significantly correlated with depression in the control group. Positive attitudes towards marital violence were not only correlated with marital violence but also sufficient to differentiate the batterers from the controls. It also partially mediated the effect of early exposure to violence on marital violence. These two risk factors together accounted for 21.9% of the variance in marital violence over and above sociodemographic variables and marital dissatisfaction. Research and treatment implications based on these findings were outlined.

Copyright © 1998 by The Psychological Corporation, a Harcourt Assessment Company. Chinese translation copyright © 2001 by The Psychological corporation, a Harcourt Assessment Company. Translated, adapted, and reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

We would like to thank Patrick Ross, Ph.D., for directing us to this simple way of examining the mediating effect among our three variables.

We chose part correlation, because by squaring the part correlation coefficients, our results would be identical to the results from testing three separate regression equations as recommended by Baron and Kenny (1986).

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Title: Early Exposure to Violence in the Family of Origin and Positive Attitudes towards Marital Violence: Chinese Immigrant Male Batterers vs. Controls
Authors: Xiaochun Jin
Morris Eagle
Marianne Yoshioka
Publication date: 01-05-2007
Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers
Published in: Journal of Family Violence / Issue 4/2007
Print ISSN: 0885-7482
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2851
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9073-3

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Early Exposure to Violence in the Family of Origin and Positive Attitudes towards Marital Violence: Chinese Immigrant Male Batterers vs. Controls

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