Premium
Relationship Violence Among Couples Seeking Therapy: Common Couple Violence or Battering?
Author(s) -
Simpson Lorelei E.,
Doss Brian D.,
Wheeler Jennifer,
Christensen Andrew
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2007.00021.x
Subject(s) - domestic violence , psychology , suicide prevention , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , injury prevention , dating violence , medical emergency , clinical psychology , medicine
Relationship violence is highly prevalent among couples seeking therapy (Ehrensaft & Vivian, 1996; Jouriles & O’Leary, 1985), yet few couple therapists regularly assess for violence (Dimidjian, Berns, & Jacobson, 1999), and there is limited research on the type of violence most characteristic of couples in this population. The current study uses latent class analysis to examine types of violence in a sample of 273 therapy‐seeking couples. The results support a three‐class typology, with the groups labeled no violence, low‐level violence, and moderate‐to‐severe violence. Comparisons between the classes support hypothesized differences between groups in degree of marital satisfaction and difficulties in communication, providing further validation of the typology among couples seeking treatment. Clinical and research implications are discussed.