Distress Resulting from Perceivers' Own Intimate Partner Violence Experiences Predicts Culpability Attributions toward a Battered Woman on Trial for Killing Her Abuser: A Path Model

Autor/inn/en	Stein, Michelle L.; Miller, Audrey K.
Titel	Distress Resulting from Perceivers' Own Intimate Partner Violence Experiences Predicts Culpability Attributions toward a Battered Woman on Trial for Killing Her Abuser: A Path Model
Quelle	In: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27 (2012) 13, S.2527-2544 (18 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0886-2605
DOI	10.1177/0886260512436388
Schlagwörter	Questionnaires; Females; Family Violence; Psychological Patterns; Stress Variables; Predictor Variables; Court Litigation; Homicide; Influences; Undergraduate Students; Vignettes; Empathy; Legal Responsibility; Socioeconomic Status; Family Characteristics; Success; Expectation; Educational Attainment; Job Satisfaction; Gender Differences; Parents; Family Income; Employment Level; Grade Point Average; High Schools; National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Fragebogen; Weibliches Geschlecht; Prädiktor; Rechtsstreit; Mord; Influence; Einfluss; Einflussfaktor; Empathie; Strafmündigkeit; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Erfolg; Expectancy; Erwartung; Bildungsabschluss; Bildungsgut; Labor; Labour; Satisfaction; Arbeit; Zufriedenheit; Geschlechterkonflikt; Eltern; Familieneinkommen; Beschäftigungsgrad; High school; Oberschule
Abstract	Intimate partner violence (IPV) constitutes the majority of assaults against women in the United States, and greater than one third of female homicide victims are murdered by an intimate partner. In a small percentage of cases, battered women kill their abusers, and evidence of battering and its effects may be used to support a plea of self-defense in these cases. Prior research has shown that culpability attributions toward battered women who have killed their abusers are influenced by perceiver variables, including gender. The present study expands on this research by examining the influence of psychological distress resulting from perceivers' own IPV experiences--and the mechanisms of this influence--on their culpability attributions toward a battered woman defendant. Female undergraduates in the present sample (N = 154) read a vignette, adapted from an actual criminal case about a battered woman who had killed her abuser. Data supported a hypothesized path model, wherein participants reporting greater psychological distress resulting from IPV perpetrated against them perceived themselves more similar to the defendant, in turn empathized with her to a greater extent, and, in turn, attributed less legal culpability to her. Implications for future research are discussed. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10