Value of Modeling Violent Relationships.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a scar on human society. Growing evidence demonstrates that relationships involving IPV and women's decisionmaking about violence represent complex phenomena, best studied as complex adaptive systems. Unfortunately, that complexity limits our ability to fully understand it.

Violence towards women and their decisions to take action: A complex systems approach.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a blight on society. Our traditional understanding suggests that interventions should be straightforward, leading to predictable positive results. However, these assumptions do not reflect the reality of IPV, which continues to frustrate physicians.

Same-Day Correlates and Prior-Day Predictors of Couples' Violent Behaviors Based upon Partners' Daily Reports.

Although previous research identified predictors of violent events within violent heterosexual couples, findings were limited to the woman's reports, to her perceptions; his assessments were not obtained. This exploratory study was conducted to gain understanding of proximal predictors of violence assessed in "real-time" from the perspective of both partners. Fifteen adult heterosexual couples in which the woman reported experiencing partner violence in the prior 30 days were enrolled in a primary care clinic.

Complex Relationship Between Daily Partner Violence and Alcohol Use Among Violent Heterosexual Men.

Although alcohol use and partner violence are consistently associated, the nature of the alcohol-violence relationship is still unclear. The purpose of this pilot study was to use longitudinal daily assessments of male partners' alcohol use and violent events to identify the nature of the alcohol-violence relationship, employing both linear and nonlinear analyses. The participants were 20 adult heterosexual couples of whom the woman reported experiencing partner violence in the prior 30 days.

He Said, She Said: Comparing Men's and Women's Descriptions of Men's Partner Violence.

More than one in three women and one in four men in the United States report victimization by intimate partner violence. Women and men often disagree about the frequency or severity of violent acts, and researchers have proposed various reasons for discordant reports. Using daily surveys and qualitative interviews, we compared men's and women's reports about men's partner aggression and examined language they used to describe their experiences.

Psychometrics of the Violence Nonlinear Dynamics Scale.

Objective: The trajectory of daily partner violence generally demonstrates nonlinear dynamics, and this nonlinearity is important to patient outcomes, as it is sometimes a stronger predictor of outcomes than violence frequency or severity. However, measurement of such dynamics is difficult, requiring complete time series data of sufficient length to yield stable measures. The purpose of this study was to develop a pencil-and-paper instrument to estimate violence nonlinearity and assess its psychometrics.

Agent-Based Modeling of Day-to-Day Intimate Partner Violence.

The purpose of this study was to develop a mathematical model of mutual partner violence and assess impact of her controllable behaviors on reducing violence. An agent-based model was created of couples with history of violence based upon results of two multiple time series studies of partner violence. To explore factors that may alter model results, eight continuous variable parameters were created based upon significant (p=.

The Dynamics of Partner Violence and Alcohol Use in Couples: Research Methods.

Objective: This research team uses complexity science to gain a deeper understanding of daily dynamics of intimate partner violence (IPV). This report describes research methods for gathering daily information about patterns of partner violence and alcohol use from couples in near-real time, and addresses recruitment and retention, adherence to study protocol, data validity, and participant safety.

Methods: Researchers enrolled 20 heterosexual couples with violent relationships from a primary healthcare center.

Multi-day Patterns around Taking Action in Intimate Partner Violence.

This study was to determine the multi-day relationships among stressors, need and taking action (seeking counseling, taking legal action, leaving) by women in violent relationships. Women with recent husband-to-wife abuse but not at high-risk for life-threatening violence were recruited from six primary care clinics and asked to complete a daily description of the previous day's violence, need-for-action, and stressors using Interactive Voice Response via telephone for 8 weeks. Taking action (seeking counseling, taking legal action, leaving) was determined via weekly telephone contacts.

Is Perceived Need for Action Among Women in Violent Relationships Nonlinear and, If So, Why?

Despite the prevalence and impact of partner violence, we understand little about women's action taking except that it seems an unpredictable, nonlinear process. This article determines the degree of nonlinearity in perceived need for help, legal action, or leaving among women in violent relationships. The participants included 143 women who experienced violence in the previous month, enrolled from six primary care clinics.

Is Readiness to Take Action Among Women in Violent Relationships a Catastrophic Phenomenon?

Taking action among women in violent relationships appears to involve sudden changes and reversals after periods of building stress, suggesting that decision making is a "catastrophic" phenomenon. This study sought to determine whether readiness-to-change is best modeled as a cusp catastrophic (CCM) phenomenon among women in violent relationships. A total of 143 women who experienced violence in the previous month completed baseline and end-of-study interviews assessing her hope, coping strategies, social network, and readiness-for-action (seeking help, taking legal action, and leaving) concerning the violence.

Research or intervention or both? Women's changes after participation in a longitudinal study about intimate partner violence.

Introduction: The tensions between risk and benefit in research are particularly evident in studies about intimate partner violence. Recalling and relating traumatic experiences may deepen posttraumatic stress or relieve the burden of terrible events long borne in secret. In this article, we examine the effects of study participation in a longitudinal investigation of intimate partner violence using both qualitative and quantitative data.

Predictors of Perceived Need for and Actual Action Taking Among Women in Violent Relationships.

Decision-making of women in violent relationships is poorly understood. The study seeks to identify predictors of need-for-action and actions taken by women in violent relationships. The participants were 143 women who experienced violence in previous month from 6 primary care clinics.

Using complexity science to examine three dynamic patterns of intimate partner violence.

Introduction: The partner violence literature describes 3 dominant models of dynamics of partner aggression: cycle of violence, family systems theory, and Duluth model (power and control wheel). Complexity science describes 3 patterns of system dynamics: periodic, chaotic, and random. Are these parallel patterns? In this analysis, investigators calculated dynamic patterns (periodic, chaotic, and random) using 84 daily reports of male-to-female aggression and assessed the "fit" between time-series-derived patterns of male partners' violent behaviors and literature-based models of violence dynamics.

Effects of religious and spiritual variables on outcomes in violent relationships.

Objective: Religious and spiritual factors in intimate partner violence have received increasing attention. But are such factors related to outcomes in violent relationships? The purpose of this study was to assess the relative impact of spiritual symptoms and religious coping on attitudinal/behavioral and clinical outcomes among women in violent relationships.

Methods: Adult women with a recent history of husband-to-wife physical abuse were recruited from six primary care clinics.

Modeling Outcomes of Partner Violence Using Cusp Catastrophe Modeling.

Research suggests that intimate partner violence (IPV) is a complex, nonlinear phenomenon. In addition to the violence trajectory itself, IPV decision-making, help-seeking and leaving are nonlinear processes as well. The purpose of this study was to determine whether outcomes were best modeled as cusp catastrophic phenomena with measures of violence nonlinearity and wife-perpetrated violence serving as bifurcation variables.

Coping with intimate partner violence: Qualitative findings from the study of dynamics of husband to wife abuse.

Introduction: Coping can be defined as an individual's efforts to manage a problem. In Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), coping depends heavily on relationship context, circumstances, and resource availability. The range of coping strategies utilized by women experiencing violence are not fully understood.

Recurrent multi-day patterns of intimate partner violence and alcohol intake in violent relationships.

Consistent links exist between male and female alcohol intake and intimate partner violence (IPV). However, the nature of the relationship remains unclear. This study explores the temporal relationships between violence and heavy alcohol intake, looking for multi-day patterns.

Webs of causation in violent relationships.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: Predictors of intimate partner violence (IPV) include husband, wife and relational characteristics. However, we know little about the proximal, day-to-day triggering of abusive events. The purpose of the study was to analyse the daily temporal relationships among environmental, relational and violence variables in violent marital relationships.

Do violence dynamics matter?

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: Intimate partner violence is a complex, non-linear phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to determine whether violence dynamics (pattern, degree of non-linearity, optimal non-linearity) contributed to outcomes in violent relationships.

Methods: The study was conducted in six primary care clinics, enrolling 200 adult women in violent relationships.

Multi-day recurrences of intimate partner violence and alcohol intake across dynamic patterns of violence.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: Consistent links exist between male alcohol intake and male-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV) as well as female alcohol intake and female-perpetrated IPV. However, the nature of the relationship remains unclear. This study attempted to identify unique alcohol-violence patterns within three different types of relationship dynamics to better understand the alcohol-violence relationship and its role in violence dynamics.

Safely examining complex dynamics of intimate partner violence.

The overall goal of this study is to use complexity science to gain a deeper understanding of the nonlinear day-to-day dynamics of intimate partner violence, with implications for clinical interventions. This report describes research methods for gathering information about partner violence in real time and assesses recruitment and retention, adherence to study protocol, data validity, and participant safety. Research assistants enrolled 200 women in moderately violent intimate relationships and asked them to report about their relationships every day for 12 weeks.

Dynamics of violence.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: Three behavioural models suggest different dynamic patterns of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, few studies permit assessment of IPV dynamics. The purpose of this study was to estimate the degree of non-linearity in daily violence between partners over a 3-month period, identify their specific dynamic patterns and determine whether measures of violence severity and dynamics are interrelated.

Correlates associated with the desire for PEG tube placement at the end of life among community-dwelling older Mexican Americans: a pilot study.

Background And Aims: Use of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes in older adults remains controversial. This cross-sectional study examines community-dwelling Mexican American older adults' attitudes toward PEG tube placement in the hypothetical event of a terminal illness.

Methods: Interviews were conducted with 100 community-dwelling Mexican American (MA's) adults, age 60 and over, in San Antonio, Texas.

Differences in social network structure and support among women in violent relationships.

Social support is critical for women in abusive relationships. While social support may decrease the risk of getting into a violent relationship, it can also allow battered women to remain in violent relationships by reducing the negative impact of intimate partner violence (IPV). In addition to the social isolation that women in abusive relationships may experience, her social contacts appear to be important.