The context of violent disagreements between parents: a qualitative analysis from parents' reports.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent public health problem that affects millions of families. Much of what is known about IPV comes from quantitative studies that often "count" acts of IPV without exploring in depth the circumstances surrounding the violence, thereby leaving critical questions unanswered; existing qualitative studies tend to focus solely on women's perspectives. There is a dearth of dyadic qualitative research exploring the context of IPV in families with children, thus hindering the development of effective interventions for families experiencing IPV.

Changes in negative attributions during couple therapy for abusive behavior: relations to changes in satisfaction and behavior.

This study examined effects of cognitive-behavioral couple therapy (n = 25 couples) and a variety of systems-oriented couple therapy models (n = 30 couples) in reducing negative attributions and degrees to which decreases in negative attributions were associated with improvements in other aspects of relationship functioning. Couples seeking treatment at a university clinic and experiencing psychological and/or mild-to-moderate physical abuse completed 10 weekly sessions. Attributions, relationship satisfaction, psychological abuse, communication, and negotiation were assessed before and after treatment.