The “moral filtering” of physical violence in intimate partner conflicts. A partial test of the Situational Action Theory by gender
Keywords:
moral filter, intimate partner vi-olence, Situational Action Theory, factorial vignette surveyAbstract
According to the “Situational Action Theory” (SAT) for a violent act to take place, the perpetrator must first perceive violence as an action alternative. The likelihood of contemplating violence as an option in response to a provocation will depend on the “moral filter”, that is, on the interaction between the morality of the perpetrator and the moral context of the setting in which this person acts. Although some studies have analyzed the role of the moral filter in the perception-choice process, there has not yet been extensive research on (1) gender differences in the process of contemplation (perception) of physical violence as an option in intimate partner conflict situation and (2) the explanatory and predictive generality of the SAT with respect to the functioning of the moral filter as a function of gender. Based on a sample of college students, this study uses a factorial survey with vignettes to explore these two aspects. Our results indicate that there are no differences between males and females in mean levels of contemplation of intimate violence. In addition, we found a lot of similarities between men and women in the correlates and predictors involved in the moral filtering of violence. However, the few gender differences found question the full explanatory effectiveness of the SAT, which somewhat compromises its generality.
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References
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Alexander, C. y Becker, H. (1978). The use of vignettes in survey research. Public opinion quarterly, 42(1), 93-204.
Arbach, K. y Bobbio, A. (2018). Intimate Partner Violence Risk Assessment in Community Health Facilities: A Multisite Longitudinal Study, Psychosocial Intervention, 27(2), 105-112.
Arbach, K; Nguyen-Vo, T. y Bobbio, A. (2015). Violencia física en el noviazgo: análisis de los tipos diádicos en población argentina. Revista Argentina de Ciencias del Comportamiento, 7(2), 38-46.
Archer, J. (2000). Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual partners: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 126(5), 651-680.
Barton-Crosby, J. (2017). Situational Action Theory and Intimate Partner Violence: An Exploration of Morality as the Underlying Mechanism in the Explanation of Violent Crime. Tesis doctoral. Universidad de Cambridge.
Barton-Crosby, J. (2020). The nature and role of morality in situational action theory. European Journal of Criminology, 1-17. DOI: 10.1177/1477370820977099.
Brauer, J. y Tittle, C. (2017). When crime is not an option: Inspecting the moral filtering of criminal action alternatives. Justice Quarterly, 34(5), 818-846.
Capaldi, D., Knoble, N., Shortt, J. y Kim, H. (2012). A Systematic Review of Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Violence. Partner Abuse, 3, 231-280.
Cobo, R. (2000). Género y teoría social. Revista Internacional de Sociología, 58(25), 5-20.
Daly, K. y Chesney-Lind, M. (1988). Feminism and criminology. Justice Quarterly, 5(4), 497-538.
Di Marco, M., Fernández, M. y Talarico, E. (2022). Amenazas, control y contextos: ¿qué lugar ocupan las mujeres en los relatos de varones que cometieron femicidio íntimo en Buenos Aires, Argentina? Revista Colombiana de Sociología, 45(2), 69-89.
Dobash, E. y Dobash, R. (1979). Violence against Wives: A Case against the Patriarchy. Nueva York: Free Press.
Dobash, R; Dobash, R; Wilson, M. y Daly, M. (1992). The myth of sexual symmetry in marital violence. Social Problems, 39(1), 71-91.
Duff, S; Nampweya, M. y Tree, J. (2017). Men’s accounts of passion killings in the Namibian context. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(21-22), 4940–4959.
Dutton, D. y Nicholls, T. L. (2005). The gender paradigm in domestic violence research and theory: Part 1 - The conflict of theory and data. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 10(6), 680–714.
Grasmick, H; Tittle, C; Bursik, R. y Arneklev, B. (1993). Testing the core empirical implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 30, 5-29.
Giles, J. (2004). Growing through adversity: Becoming women who live without partner abuse. A grounded theory study. Nueva Zelanda: Escuela de Psicoterapia, Universidad Tecnológica de Auckland. Recuperado de: https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10292/245/GilesJ.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
Hamby, S. (2017). A Scientific Answer to a Scientific Question: The Gender Debate on Intimate Partner Violence. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 18(2), 145-154.
Hirtenlehner, H. y Leitgöb. H. (2021). Differential self-control effects: Moral filtering and the subsidiary relevance of self-control. International Criminology, 1, 91-106.
Hirtenlehner H., Pauwels, L. y Mesko, G. (2014). Is the effect of perceived deterrence on juvenile offending contingent on the level of self-control? Results from three countries. British Journal of Criminology, 54, 128-150.
Hirtenlehner H. y Treiber K. (2017). Can situational action theory explain the gender gap in adolescent shoplifting? Results from Austria. International Journal of Justice Review, 27, 165–187.
Hyde, S. (2005). The Gender Similarities Hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581–592.
Ivert, A; Andersson, F; Svensson, R; Pauwels, L. y Torstensson Levander, M. (2018). An examination of the interaction between morality and self-control in offending: A study of differences between girls and boys. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 28(3), 282-294.
Johnson, M. (1995). Patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence: Two forms of violence against women. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57(2), 283-294. Johnson, M. (2005). Domestic violence: It’s not about gender-or is it? Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(5), 1126-1130.
Kimmel, M. (2002). “Gender symmetry” in domestic violence: A substantive and methodological research review. Violence Against Women, 8, 1332-1363.
Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J; Neidig, P. y Thorn, G. (1995). Violent marriages: Gender differences in levels of current violence and past abuse. Journal of Family Violence, 10, 159–176.
Medeiros, R. y Straus, M. A. (2006). A review of research on gender differences in risk factors for physical violence between partners in marital and dating relationships. Durham, NH: Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire.
Muñoz-Rivas, M; Andreu, J.M; Graña, J.L; O ?Leary, D. y González, P. (2007). Validación de la versión modificada de la Conflicts Tactics Scale (M-CTS) en población juvenil española. Psicothema,19(4), 693-698.
Ngo, F., Zavala, E. y Piquero, A. (2022). Gender, life domains, and intimate partner violence perpetration: A partial test of Agnew’s General Theory of Crime and Delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224278211048946
Paternoster, R., Brame, R., Mazerolle, P. y Piquero, A. (1998). Using the correct statistical test for the equality of regression coefficients. Criminology, 36, 859-866.
Pauwels, L. (2012). How similar is the interaction between low self-control and deviant moral beliefs in the explanation of adolescent offending? An inquiry in sub groups by gender and immigrant background. En Fruili A. y Veneto L. (Eds.), Psychology of Morality (pp. 141-153). Nueva York, NY: Nova.
Piquero, N., Gover, A., MacDonald, J. y Piquero, A. (2005). The influence of delinquent peers on delinquency: Does gender matter? Youth Society, 36, 251-27.
Rodríguez, J.A. (2009). Criminología y Género: Comentarios a partir del Gender Gap. Capítulo Criminológico, 37(4), 161-182.
Rodríguez, J.A. (2014). Violencia en el noviazgo de estudiantes universitarios venezolanos. Archivos de Criminología, Seguridad Privada y Criminalística, 12(6), 1-20.
Rodríguez, M; Valentine, J; Son, J. y Muhammad, M. (2009). Intimate partner violence and barriers to mental health care for ethnically diverse populations of women. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 10(4), 358-374.
Rossi, P. y Anderson, A. (1982). The factorial survey approach: An introduction. En P. Rossi y S. Nock (Eds.), Measuring social judgments: The factorial survey approach (15-67). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Russo, N. y Pirlott, A. (2006). Gender-based violence: Concepts, methods, and findings, En F. Denmark, H. Krauss, E. Halpern y J. Sechzer (Eds.). Violence and exploitation against women and girls (pp. 178–205). Blackwell Publishing.
Makepeace, J. (1981). Courtship violence among college students. Family Relations, 30, 97–102.
Miley, N. (2017). A Test of Wikström’s Situational Action Theory Using Self-Report Data on Intimate Partner Violence. Tesis de Maestría. Universidad del Sur de la Florida.
Neidig, P.M. (1986). The modified Conflict Tactics Scale. Beaufort, S.C: Behavioral Sciences Associates.
Sattler, S., van Veen, F., Hasselhorn, F., Mehlkop, G., y Sauer, C. (2022). An experimental test of Situational Action Theory of crime causation: Investigating the perception-choice process. Social Science Research, 106, 1-18.
Schils, N., y Pauwels, L. (2014). Explaining violent extremism for subgroups by gender and immigrant background: Using SAT as a framework. Journal of Strategic Security, 7, 27–47.
Serrano, A. (2018). Crime contemplation and self-control: A test of Situational Action Theory’s hypothesis about their interaction in crime causation. European Journal of Criminology. 15(1) 93-110.
Sjödin, A. (2017). Offenders of Intimate Partner Violence Aggressive antisocial behavior and mental health. Suecia: Universidad de Gothenburg.
Smith, D. y Paternoster, R. (1987). The gender gap in theories of deviance: Issues and evidence. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 24, 140-172.
Steffensmeier, D. y Allan, E. (1996). Gender and crime: Toward a gendered theory of female offending. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 459-487.
Straus, M.A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The conflict tactics (CT) scales. Journal of Marriage and Family, 41(1), 75–88.
Straus, M.A. (1993). Identifying offenders in criminal justice research on domestic violence. American Behavioral Scientist, 36, 587–600.
Straus, M.A. y Ramirez, I. (2007). Gender symmetry in prevalence, severity, and chronicity of physical aggression against dating partners by university students in México and USA. Aggressive Behavior, 33, 281-290.
Straus, M. A., y Scott, K. (2009). Gender symmetry in partner violence: The evidence, the denial, and the implications for primary prevention and treatment. En J. Lutzker y D. Whitaker (Eds.), Prevention of partner violence (245-271). Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.
van Gelder, J., Otte, M. y Luciano, E. (2014). Using Virtual Reality in Criminological Research. Crime Science, 3, 1-12.
Weerman F; Bernasco, W; Bruinsma G. y Pauwels L. (2015). Gender differences in delinquency and situational action theory: A partial test. Justice Quarterly,33, 1182–1209.
Wikström, P.-O. (2004). Crime as alternative: Towards a cross-level situational action theory of crime causation. En J. McCord (Ed.), Beyond Empiricism: Institutions and Intentions in the Study of Crime (1–38). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Wikström, P-O. y Treiber, K. (2010). La violencia como acción situacional. Revista de Derecho Penal y Criminología,3(4), 333-374.
Wikström, P-O. y Treiber, K. (2016). Social disadvantage and crime: A criminological puzzle. American Behavioral Scientist, 60(10), 1232-1259.
Wikström, P-O. (2011). Does everything matter? Addressing the problem of causation and explanation in the study of crime. En J. M. McGloin, C. J. Sullivan y L. W. Kennedy (Eds.), When crime appears: The role of emergence (pp. 53–72). Nueva York: Routledge.
Wikstrom, P-O. y Kroneberg, C. (2022). Analytic Criminology: Mechanisms and Methods in the Explanation of Crime and its Causes. Annual Review of Criminology, 5, 179-203.
Wikström, P-O; Oberwittler, D; Treiber, K., y Hardie, B. (2012). Breaking Rules: The Social and Situational Dynamics of Young People’s Urban Crime. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Alexander, C. y Becker, H. (1978). The use of vignettes in survey research. Public opinion quarterly, 42(1), 93-204.
Arbach, K. y Bobbio, A. (2018). Intimate Partner Violence Risk Assessment in Community Health Facilities: A Multisite Longitudinal Study, Psychosocial Intervention, 27(2), 105-112.
Arbach, K; Nguyen-Vo, T. y Bobbio, A. (2015). Violencia física en el noviazgo: análisis de los tipos diádicos en población argentina. Revista Argentina de Ciencias del Comportamiento, 7(2), 38-46.
Archer, J. (2000). Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual partners: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 126(5), 651-680.
Barton-Crosby, J. (2017). Situational Action Theory and Intimate Partner Violence: An Exploration of Morality as the Underlying Mechanism in the Explanation of Violent Crime. Tesis doctoral. Universidad de Cambridge.
Barton-Crosby, J. (2020). The nature and role of morality in situational action theory. European Journal of Criminology, 1-17. DOI: 10.1177/1477370820977099.
Brauer, J. y Tittle, C. (2017). When crime is not an option: Inspecting the moral filtering of criminal action alternatives. Justice Quarterly, 34(5), 818-846.
Capaldi, D., Knoble, N., Shortt, J. y Kim, H. (2012). A Systematic Review of Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Violence. Partner Abuse, 3, 231-280.
Cobo, R. (2000). Género y teoría social. Revista Internacional de Sociología, 58(25), 5-20.
Daly, K. y Chesney-Lind, M. (1988). Feminism and criminology. Justice Quarterly, 5(4), 497-538.
Di Marco, M., Fernández, M. y Talarico, E. (2022). Amenazas, control y contextos: ¿qué lugar ocupan las mujeres en los relatos de varones que cometieron femicidio íntimo en Buenos Aires, Argentina? Revista Colombiana de Sociología, 45(2), 69-89.
Dobash, E. y Dobash, R. (1979). Violence against Wives: A Case against the Patriarchy. Nueva York: Free Press.
Dobash, R; Dobash, R; Wilson, M. y Daly, M. (1992). The myth of sexual symmetry in marital violence. Social Problems, 39(1), 71-91.
Duff, S; Nampweya, M. y Tree, J. (2017). Men’s accounts of passion killings in the Namibian context. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(21-22), 4940–4959.
Dutton, D. y Nicholls, T. L. (2005). The gender paradigm in domestic violence research and theory: Part 1 - The conflict of theory and data. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 10(6), 680–714.
Grasmick, H; Tittle, C; Bursik, R. y Arneklev, B. (1993). Testing the core empirical implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 30, 5-29.
Giles, J. (2004). Growing through adversity: Becoming women who live without partner abuse. A grounded theory study. Nueva Zelanda: Escuela de Psicoterapia, Universidad Tecnológica de Auckland. Recuperado de: https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10292/245/GilesJ.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
Hamby, S. (2017). A Scientific Answer to a Scientific Question: The Gender Debate on Intimate Partner Violence. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 18(2), 145-154.
Hirtenlehner, H. y Leitgöb. H. (2021). Differential self-control effects: Moral filtering and the subsidiary relevance of self-control. International Criminology, 1, 91-106.
Hirtenlehner H., Pauwels, L. y Mesko, G. (2014). Is the effect of perceived deterrence on juvenile offending contingent on the level of self-control? Results from three countries. British Journal of Criminology, 54, 128-150.
Hirtenlehner H. y Treiber K. (2017). Can situational action theory explain the gender gap in adolescent shoplifting? Results from Austria. International Journal of Justice Review, 27, 165–187.
Hyde, S. (2005). The Gender Similarities Hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581–592.
Ivert, A; Andersson, F; Svensson, R; Pauwels, L. y Torstensson Levander, M. (2018). An examination of the interaction between morality and self-control in offending: A study of differences between girls and boys. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 28(3), 282-294.
Johnson, M. (1995). Patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence: Two forms of violence against women. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57(2), 283-294. Johnson, M. (2005). Domestic violence: It’s not about gender-or is it? Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(5), 1126-1130.
Kimmel, M. (2002). “Gender symmetry” in domestic violence: A substantive and methodological research review. Violence Against Women, 8, 1332-1363.
Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J; Neidig, P. y Thorn, G. (1995). Violent marriages: Gender differences in levels of current violence and past abuse. Journal of Family Violence, 10, 159–176.
Medeiros, R. y Straus, M. A. (2006). A review of research on gender differences in risk factors for physical violence between partners in marital and dating relationships. Durham, NH: Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire.
Muñoz-Rivas, M; Andreu, J.M; Graña, J.L; O ?Leary, D. y González, P. (2007). Validación de la versión modificada de la Conflicts Tactics Scale (M-CTS) en población juvenil española. Psicothema,19(4), 693-698.
Ngo, F., Zavala, E. y Piquero, A. (2022). Gender, life domains, and intimate partner violence perpetration: A partial test of Agnew’s General Theory of Crime and Delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224278211048946
Paternoster, R., Brame, R., Mazerolle, P. y Piquero, A. (1998). Using the correct statistical test for the equality of regression coefficients. Criminology, 36, 859-866.
Pauwels, L. (2012). How similar is the interaction between low self-control and deviant moral beliefs in the explanation of adolescent offending? An inquiry in sub groups by gender and immigrant background. En Fruili A. y Veneto L. (Eds.), Psychology of Morality (pp. 141-153). Nueva York, NY: Nova.
Piquero, N., Gover, A., MacDonald, J. y Piquero, A. (2005). The influence of delinquent peers on delinquency: Does gender matter? Youth Society, 36, 251-27.
Rodríguez, J.A. (2009). Criminología y Género: Comentarios a partir del Gender Gap. Capítulo Criminológico, 37(4), 161-182.
Rodríguez, J.A. (2014). Violencia en el noviazgo de estudiantes universitarios venezolanos. Archivos de Criminología, Seguridad Privada y Criminalística, 12(6), 1-20.
Rodríguez, M; Valentine, J; Son, J. y Muhammad, M. (2009). Intimate partner violence and barriers to mental health care for ethnically diverse populations of women. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 10(4), 358-374.
Rossi, P. y Anderson, A. (1982). The factorial survey approach: An introduction. En P. Rossi y S. Nock (Eds.), Measuring social judgments: The factorial survey approach (15-67). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Russo, N. y Pirlott, A. (2006). Gender-based violence: Concepts, methods, and findings, En F. Denmark, H. Krauss, E. Halpern y J. Sechzer (Eds.). Violence and exploitation against women and girls (pp. 178–205). Blackwell Publishing.
Makepeace, J. (1981). Courtship violence among college students. Family Relations, 30, 97–102.
Miley, N. (2017). A Test of Wikström’s Situational Action Theory Using Self-Report Data on Intimate Partner Violence. Tesis de Maestría. Universidad del Sur de la Florida.
Neidig, P.M. (1986). The modified Conflict Tactics Scale. Beaufort, S.C: Behavioral Sciences Associates.
Sattler, S., van Veen, F., Hasselhorn, F., Mehlkop, G., y Sauer, C. (2022). An experimental test of Situational Action Theory of crime causation: Investigating the perception-choice process. Social Science Research, 106, 1-18.
Schils, N., y Pauwels, L. (2014). Explaining violent extremism for subgroups by gender and immigrant background: Using SAT as a framework. Journal of Strategic Security, 7, 27–47.
Serrano, A. (2018). Crime contemplation and self-control: A test of Situational Action Theory’s hypothesis about their interaction in crime causation. European Journal of Criminology. 15(1) 93-110.
Sjödin, A. (2017). Offenders of Intimate Partner Violence Aggressive antisocial behavior and mental health. Suecia: Universidad de Gothenburg.
Smith, D. y Paternoster, R. (1987). The gender gap in theories of deviance: Issues and evidence. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 24, 140-172.
Steffensmeier, D. y Allan, E. (1996). Gender and crime: Toward a gendered theory of female offending. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 459-487.
Straus, M.A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The conflict tactics (CT) scales. Journal of Marriage and Family, 41(1), 75–88.
Straus, M.A. (1993). Identifying offenders in criminal justice research on domestic violence. American Behavioral Scientist, 36, 587–600.
Straus, M.A. y Ramirez, I. (2007). Gender symmetry in prevalence, severity, and chronicity of physical aggression against dating partners by university students in México and USA. Aggressive Behavior, 33, 281-290.
Straus, M. A., y Scott, K. (2009). Gender symmetry in partner violence: The evidence, the denial, and the implications for primary prevention and treatment. En J. Lutzker y D. Whitaker (Eds.), Prevention of partner violence (245-271). Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.
van Gelder, J., Otte, M. y Luciano, E. (2014). Using Virtual Reality in Criminological Research. Crime Science, 3, 1-12.
Weerman F; Bernasco, W; Bruinsma G. y Pauwels L. (2015). Gender differences in delinquency and situational action theory: A partial test. Justice Quarterly,33, 1182–1209.
Wikström, P.-O. (2004). Crime as alternative: Towards a cross-level situational action theory of crime causation. En J. McCord (Ed.), Beyond Empiricism: Institutions and Intentions in the Study of Crime (1–38). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Wikström, P-O. y Treiber, K. (2010). La violencia como acción situacional. Revista de Derecho Penal y Criminología,3(4), 333-374.
Wikström, P-O. y Treiber, K. (2016). Social disadvantage and crime: A criminological puzzle. American Behavioral Scientist, 60(10), 1232-1259.
Wikström, P-O. (2011). Does everything matter? Addressing the problem of causation and explanation in the study of crime. En J. M. McGloin, C. J. Sullivan y L. W. Kennedy (Eds.), When crime appears: The role of emergence (pp. 53–72). Nueva York: Routledge.
Wikstrom, P-O. y Kroneberg, C. (2022). Analytic Criminology: Mechanisms and Methods in the Explanation of Crime and its Causes. Annual Review of Criminology, 5, 179-203.
Wikström, P-O; Oberwittler, D; Treiber, K., y Hardie, B. (2012). Breaking Rules: The Social and Situational Dynamics of Young People’s Urban Crime. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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2022-12-29
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Rodríguez, J. A., Redondo, A., Belandria, J. ., & Garrido, N. . (2022). The “moral filtering” of physical violence in intimate partner conflicts. A partial test of the Situational Action Theory by gender. Boletín Criminológico, (28). Retrieved from https://revistas.uma.es/index.php/boletin-criminologico/article/view/16091
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