Top

Published in:

01-11-2016 | Original Article

Methodological Contributions to the Gender Symmetry Debate and its Resolution

Authors: L. Kevin Hamberger, Sadie Larsen, Jacquelyn Campbell

Published in: Journal of Family Violence | Issue 8/2016

Abstract

The concept of gender symmetry in intimate partner violence (IPV) may be an artifact of three factors. 1) Methodology: Subject recruitment frequently excludes clinical samples. Cross-sectional designs negate the ability to evaluate recidivism and do not account for women’s greater likelihood of leaving violent relationships. 2) Narrow Focus: Researchers focus on frequency of physical aggression, while excluding other types of aggression (e.g., sexual IPV, life-threatening violence, use of firearms), or the impact of such aggression (e.g., fear, depression, injury). 3) Measurement: Surveys are hindered by varying interpretations of seemingly face-valid items, effects of item instructions, and lack of multi-method assessment approaches. Strategies for addressing these problems and resolving the gender symmetry controversy are outlined.

Ackerman, J. M. (2012). The relevance of relationship satisfaction and continuation to the gender symmetry debate. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27, 3579–3600.CrossRefPubMed

Ackerman, J. M., & Field, L. (2011). The gender asymmetric effect of intimate partner violence on relationship satisfaction. Violence and Victims, 26, 703–724.CrossRefPubMed

Arias, I., & Corso, P. (2005). Average cost per person victimized by an intimate partner of the opposite gender: A comparison of men and women. Violence and Victims, 20, 379–391.CrossRefPubMed

Black, M., Basile, M., Breiding, J., Smith, S., Walters, M., Merrick, M., & Stevens, J. (2011). National intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2010 summary report. Atlanta, Georgia: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cooper, A., & Smith, E. (2011). Homicide trends in the United States, 1980–2008 .http://bjs.usdoj.gov.index

Desmarais, S. L., Reeves, K. A., Nicholls, T. L., Telford, R. P., & Fiebert, M. S. (2012). Prevalence of physical violence in intimate relationships, part 2: Rates of male and female perpetration. Partner Abuse, 3, 170–198.CrossRef

Evans, M., Gregory, A., Feder, G., Howarth, E., & Hegarty, K. (2016). “even ‘daily’ is not enough”: How well do we measure domestic violence and abuse? A think-aloud study of a commonly used self-report scale. Violence and Victims, 31, 3–26.CrossRefPubMed

Gerstenberger, C. B., & Williams, K. R. (2013). Gender and intimate partner violence: Does dual arrest reveal gender symmetry or asymmetry? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28, 1561–1578.CrossRefPubMed

Hamberger, L. K., & Guse, C. E. (2002). Men’s and women’s use of intimate partner violence in clinical samples. Violence Against Women, 8, 1301–1331.CrossRef

Hamberger, L. K., & Larsen, S. E. (2015). Men’s and women’s experience of intimate partner violence: A review of ten years of comparative studies in clinical samples; part 1. Journal of Family Violence, 30, 699–717.CrossRef

Hamby, S. (2016). Self-report measures that do not produce gender parity in intimate partner violence: A multi-study investigation. Psychology of Violence, 6, 323–335. Advance online publication.

Houry, D., Rhodes, K. V., Kemball, R. S., Click, L., Ceruli, C., McNutt, L. A., & Kaslow, N. J. (2008). Differences in female and male victims and perpetrators of partner violence with respect to WEB scores. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23, 1041–1055.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Kernsmith, P. (2005). Treating perpetrators of domestic violence: Gender differences in the applicability of the theory of planned behavior. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 52, 757–770.CrossRef

Kernsmith, P. (2006). Gender differences in the impact of family of origin violence on perpetrators of domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 21, 163–171.CrossRef

Larsen, S. E., & Hamberger, L. K. (2015). Men’s and women’s experience of intimate partner violence part II: A review of new developments in comparative studies in clinical populations. Journal of Family Violence, 30, 1007–1030.CrossRef

Lehrner, A., & Allen, N. E. (2014). Construct validity of the conflict tactics scales: A mixed-method investigation of women’s intimate partner violence. Psychology of Violence, 4, 477–490.CrossRef

Melton, H. C., & Belknap, J. (2003). He hits, she hits: Assessing gender in officially reported intimate partner violence. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 30, 328–348.CrossRef

Melton, H. C., & Sillito, C. L. (2012). The role of gender in officially reported intimate partner abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27, 1090–1111.CrossRefPubMed

Muftic, L. R., Bouffard, L. A., & Bouffard, J. A. (2007). An exploratory analysis of victim precipitation among men and women arrested for intimate partner violence. Feminist Criminology, 2, 327–346.CrossRef

Phelan, M. B., Hamberger, L. K., Guse, C. E., Edwards, S., Walczak, S., & Zozel, A. (2005). Domestic violence among male and female patients seeking emergency medical services. Violence and Victims, 20, 187–206.CrossRefPubMed

Renauer, B., & Henning, K. (2005). Investigating intersections between gender and intimate partner violence recidivism. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 4, 99–124.CrossRef

Russo, C.A., Owens, P.L., & Hambrick, M.M. (2008). Violence-related stays in U.S. Hospitals, 2005. [HCUP Statistical Brief #48; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality]. Retrieved from http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb-48.pdf.

Silverman, J. G., Decker, M. R., Reed, E., & Raj, A. (2006). Intimate partner violence victimization prior to and during pregnancy among women residing in 26 U.S. states: Associations with maternal and neonatal health. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 195, 140–148.CrossRefPubMed

Sorenson, S. B., Joshi, M., & Sivitz, E. (2014). A systematic review of the epidemiology of nonfatal strangulation, a human rights and health concern. American Journal of Public Health., 104, e54–e61.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Stöckl, H., Devries, K., Rotstein, A., Abramson, N., Campbell, J. C., Watts, C., & Garcia-Moreno, C. (2013). The global prevalence of intimate partner homicide: A systematic review. Lancet, 382, 859–865.CrossRefPubMed

Violence Policy Center (2015). When men murder women: An analysis of 2013 homicide data. .http://www.vpc.org/studyndx.htm

Wiebe, D. (2003). Sex differences in perpetrator-victim relationship among emergency department patients presenting with nonfatal firearm-related injuries. Annals of Internal Medicine, 42, 405–412.

Title: Methodological Contributions to the Gender Symmetry Debate and its Resolution
Authors: L. Kevin Hamberger
Sadie Larsen
Jacquelyn Campbell
Publication date: 01-11-2016
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Family Violence / Issue 8/2016
Print ISSN: 0885-7482
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2851
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-016-9873-4

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Methodological Contributions to the Gender Symmetry Debate and its Resolution

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 8/2016

Gender Arguments and Paradigmatic Challenges within Intimate Partner Violence Research: A Call for a more Inclusive Paradigm of Understanding Regarding Physical Partner Violence Perpetration

Where Do We Go from here?: Examining Intimate Partner Violence by Bringing Male Victims, Female Perpetrators, and Psychological Sciences into the Fold

Redefining Intimate Partner Violence Beyond the Binary to Include Transgender People

The Social Construction of Roles in Intimate Partner Violence: Is the Victim/Perpetrator Model the only Viable one?

Erratum to: Pushing the Paradigm: Addressing Controversies over LGBTQ Intimate Partner Violence?

Causal Attributions of Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization in a National Sample of High School Mexican Students