| 1. |
- Alfredsson, Helen, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Beliefs about intimate partner violence: A survey of the Swedish general public
- 2013
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Ingår i: the 23rd conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law, Coventry, England.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Intimate partner violence (IPV) strikes thousands of victims every year. The public works as IPV victims’ immediate support system, yet we know little about public perceptions of IPV. By using a Swedish community sample (N = 650) beliefs about prevalence, victims’ responsibility, and viable means of interventions were assessed. Respondents believed psychological violence to be the most frequent type of abuse, striking in general 24 % of all Swedish intimate relationships. Low income takers, non-European inhabitants, people resident in suburban areas were identified as especially vulnerable groups. Perceptions of type of abuse were contingent to offender gender, where male offenders were considered to use mainly physical violence, as opposed to female offenders who were considered to abuse psychologically. Moderate levels of victim blame were reported and male respondents held victims responsible for the violence to a larger extent than female respondents. Eight out of ten respondents suggested at least one viable mean of intervention, however, type of interventions were limited. Findings were discussed in contrast to statistics of IPV incidences and future implications were suggested.
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| 2. |
- Alfredsson, Helen, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Beliefs about intimate partner violence: A survey of the Swedish general public
- 2016
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. - : Wiley. - 0036-5564 .- 1467-9450. ; 57:1, s. 57-64
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Public interventions are considered to be an important means of preventing intimate partner violence (IPV). What people believe about the nature of IPV is likely to determine their propensity to intervene, but little is known at present about IPV beliefs among the general public. In a survey of 650 Swedish citizens, beliefs about the prevalence and causes of IPV, and viable means of intervention were assessed. Respondents estimated, on average, that IPV occurs in almost one quarter of all intimate relationships in Sweden, and that IPV is particularly prevalent in low-income groups, among non-European immigrants, in suburban areas, and in couples under the age of 50 years. Physical violence was believed to be the most frequent form of abuse in male offender–female victim cases, whereas psychological violence was considered most frequent in other combinations of offender and victim gender. Female respondents estimated a higher prevalence of IPV, attributed less blame to IPV victims, and suggested more means of intervention, than did male respondents. The findings are discussed in relation to empirical prevalence estimates, and implications are proposed.
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| 3. |
- Alfredsson, Helen, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Blame attribution in a stranger rape case: Perpetrator characteristics and participant gender
- 2011
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Ingår i: Society of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, conference 27-29 June, 2011, NYC..
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In rape blame research perpetrator characteristics is understudied. The relative independence of perpetrator blame and victim blame is also unclear. Using a community sample (N=161), we investigated participant gender, perpetrator age and previous conviction influencing blame attributions using a vignette methodology. Perpetrator age had no effect, but interactions were found between participant gender and perpetrator previous conviction: men attributed more victim blame and less perpetrator blame when the perpetrator had a previous conviction. For women the effect was reversed. Results indicate that increased perpetrator blame is associated to decreased victim blame. Moreover, perpetrator characteristics are relevant in blame attribution research.
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| 4. |
- Alfredsson, Helen, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of perpetrator characteristics and participants belief in a just world on blame attribution of rape victims
- 2011
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Ingår i: the 21th Conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law (EAPL), 2010, Miami..
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Rape victims are often the subject of secondary victimization when being blamed for their assaults. In an experiment using a community sample (N=161), we investigated the effect of perpetrator characteristics; age and previous conviction, participants gender and belief in a just world on blame attributions using a vignette methodology. Results show that female participants attributed most victim blame when the perpetrator had a previous conviction, although male participants attributed most victim blame when the perpetrator had no such history. It seems as features of the perpetrator can influence allocation of victim blame and that gender of the observer also matters.
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| 5. |
- Alfredsson, Helen, 1975
(författare)
-
Intimate partner violence: Beliefs and psychological predictors of intentions to intervene among the Swedish general public
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Intimate partner violence (IPV) is considered a global public health issue. Most people disapprove of partner-related abuse, yet are disinclined to personally intervene in order to stop the violence. Public interventions are important for the prevention of IPV, but little is known concerning psychological antecedents of public intentions to intervene. The aim of this thesis was to explore beliefs concerning IPV (Study I), to examine the psychological predictors of propensity to intervene against IPV (Study II), and to experimentally test the causal effect of descriptive social norms on intentions to intervene (Study III). Data for the three studies were collected through web-based surveys that were distributed to adults in the Swedish general population. In Study I, respondents estimated on average that IPV exists in 24% of all Swedish relationships and considered psychological violence to be the most frequent type of abuse. Approximately half of the respondents believed that IPV is equally distributed across demographic groups, while persons with low socio-economic status, non-European immigrants, inhabitants of suburban areas and people in the age range of 35-49 were regarded as particularly vulnerable to IPV. Respondents held IPV victims partially responsible for the violence, believing, for example, that victims contribute to the abuse by acting provocatively. Eight out of ten respondents described at least one intervention strategy they would consider using in a real-life scenario, although the reported strategies were mainly limited to talking to the victim and/or the perpetrator. Overall, female respondents displayed a greater awareness of the magnitude of IPV, victims’ vulnerability, and available intervention options compared to male respondents. The findings suggest that the Swedish public needs to be better informed about IPV and specifically regarding available intervention options and victims’ vulnerability to the violence. In Study II, motivational predictors were found to account for the largest proportion of variation in respondents’ propensity to intervene. Thus, feeling morally obligated to intervene and experiencing negative emotions in relation to IPV may be particularly important for the formation of intentions to intervene. Cognitive predictors accounted for a smaller, yet significant, proportion of the explained variance in propensity to intervene. Considering IPV to be a prevalent problem in society and not attributing solution responsibility only to the offender were associated with stronger intentions to intervene. In Study III, participants first completed a web-based survey assessing the strength of their personal norms related to intervening and a pre-manipulation measure of their propensity to intervene. Two weeks later, participants were randomly assigned to watch one of three short film sequences portraying an outdoor male-to-female physical case of IPV. Descriptive social norms were manipulated so that the film either showed (a) a bystander intervening, (b) a bystander not intervening, or (c) no visible bystander. A second questionnaire assessed a post-manipulation measure of participants’ propensity to intervene and dispositional self-monitoring (i.e., inclination to adjust their behavior to perceived social demands). As predicted, participants exposed to a non-intervention social norm reported a decreased propensity to intervene. Thus, intervention rates may be reduced by social norms signaling that people do not intervene against IPV. Moreover, personal norms and self-monitoring appeared to reliably promote intentions to intervene. The current thesis contributes to the existing IPV literature, which lacks a clear picture with regard to common beliefs concerning IPV and factors that may inhibit or promote people’s intentions to intervene. Such knowledge is essential for the design of intervention programs aiming at improving public intervention rates.
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| 6. |
- Alfredsson, Helen, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Intimate partner violence: Beliefs and psychological predictors of the propensity to intervene
- 2013
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Ingår i: the 9th meeting of Nordic Network of Psychology and Law, Arhus, Denmark.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There is a public consensus that intimate partner violence (IPV) is unacceptable. Still, many people are reluctant to intervene personally. Even though public intervention is seen as one of the most important steps for the prevention of IPV, little research has focused on public beliefs about IPV and on intentions to intervene and what are predictors of the propensity to intervene against IPV. In this thesis public beliefs about IPV (Study 1) and possible predictors of propensity to intervene against IPV (Study 2) was investigated. In January of 2011 a web-based survey was distributed to 1 070 adults from the Swedish general population. The final response rate was 60.7% (N = 650). Results from the first study indicated that the respondents had fairly accurate beliefs about the prevalence of IPV. On the other hand, moderate levels of victim accountability indicated misbeliefs about victims’ responsibility for the violence. In addition, respondents provided narrow descriptions of viable means of intervention. Results from the second study showed that feeling personally obligated to intervene and experiencing negative emotions in relations to IPV might be especially important when forming intervention intentions. Moreover, viewing IPV to be a prevalent problem in society and being less inclined to see the offender as the primary problem solver predicted greater intentions to intervene. The current thesis contributes with valuable knowledge about factors that might facilitate or inhibit intentions to intervene against IPV. Such knowledge can be useful when designing information campaigns to increase public awareness and willingness to intervene.
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| 7. |
- Alfredsson, Helen, 1975
(författare)
-
Intimate partner violence: Beliefs and psychological predictors of the propensity to intervene
- 2013
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Intimate partner violence (IPV) is widely recognized as a public health issue. While most people agree that IPV is unacceptable, many are reluctant to intervene personally in cases of IPV. Public intervention is one of the most important steps in preventing IPV, although few studies have focused on the factors that influence public intentions to intervene. The aim of this thesis was to explore beliefs about IPV (Study I) and subsequently, to examine the psychological predictors of propensity to intervene against IPV (Study II). The data for these two studies were gathered in January 2011 through a web-based survey that was distributed to 1,070 adults in the Swedish general population. The final response rate was 60.7% (N = 650). In Study I, respondents estimated in general that IPV exists in 24% of all Swedish relationships and considered psychological violence to be the most frequent type of abuse. Approximately half of the respondents stated that they believed that IPV is equally distributed across demographic groups, while persons with low socio-economic status, non-European immigrants, inhabitants of suburban areas, and people in the age range of 35–49 years were regarded as being especially vulnerable to IPV. Respondents considered IPV victims to be at least partially responsible for the violence that they suffered. Eight out of ten respondents suggested at least one viable intervention, although these suggestions were limited in range. Significant gender differences were evident, with female respondents showing greater awareness of the magnitude of IPV, victims’ vulnerability, and available strategies for intervention. From the results of the survey, it is clear that the general public needs to be better informed about the vulnerability of victims of IPV and available intervention options. In Study II, motivational predictors were found to account for the largest proportion of propensity to intervene. Therefore, feeling obligated to intervene and to experience negative emotions in relation to IPV may be important during the formation of intervention intentions. Cognitive predictors accounted for a smaller proportion of the explained variance. Still, consideration of IPV to be a prevalent problem in society and being less inclined to attribute solution responsibility to the offender was related to increased propensity to intervene. This thesis contributes valuable knowledge on beliefs about IPV and the factors that may promote or inhibit individual willingness to intervene. The results indicate how community campaigns could increase public intervention against IPV. However, people are likely to posit different psychological barriers against intervening. Some people might be hindered by the erroneous belief that IPV is an isolated problem that affects only a few, whilst others conform to a perceived norm in stating that one should not interfere in domestic disputes. Next, research should examine individual psychological barriers to engaging in intervention. Research shows that information that is attuned to the values of a target audience is more successful in promoting attitude change, as compared with information aimed at persuading a general audience. Hence, research of IPV prevention should benefit from the development of instruments that can reliably identify individual psychological barriers against intervening. Subsequently, information strategies that address specific barriers could be formed.
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| 8. |
- Alfredsson, Helen, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Motivational and cognitive predictors of the propensity to intervene against intimate partner violence
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Interpersonal Violence. - : SAGE Publications. - 0886-2605 .- 1552-6518. ; 29:10, s. 1877-1893
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A survey using a community-based sample (N = 650) was conducted to identify motivational and cognitive predictors of individuals’ propensity to intervene against intimate partner violence (IPV). A hierarchical regression analysis showed that motivational factors accounted for the greatest proportion of the variance in self-reported propensity. Specifically, personal norm (i.e., an individual’s felt obligation to intervene) was the strongest individual predictor, followed by affective response (i.e., the extent to which an individual responds to IPV with negative emotions). Although cognitive factors explained only a small portion of the variance, the propensity to intervene was significantly higher for respondents who perceived IPV as a prevalent issue and who did not view the perpetrator as responsible for the solution of IPV. The findings suggest that attempts to facilitate public intervention should target specific, rather than general, aspects of public norms and beliefs about IPV.
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| 9. |
- Alfredsson, Helen, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Psychometric assessment of scales measuring the individual propensity to intervene against intimate partner violence
- 2014
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Ingår i: International conference of EAPL (European Association of Psychology and Law).
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Public interventions against intimate partner violence (IPV) may be essential for the prevention of the problem. Yet, little research has focused on psychological barriers that prevent people from intervening. The objective of this study was to design and assess measurement instruments that accurately measure the levels of the individual propensity to intervene against IPV. Two cross-sectional studies were conducted using survey method. The two surveys were completed by 169 and 142 individuals, respectively, from the adult Swedish general population. To determine the latent factors of the scales, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the first data set, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the second data set. The EFA identified six scales: cause attribution (6 items), problem awareness (6 items), negative affective response (6 items), personal norms (4 items), social descriptive norms (7 items), and social prescriptive norms (7 items). In the CFA, there were no items with cross-loading onto multiple factors, supporting the distinctiveness of the measured constructs. Goodness-of-fit indices indicated that the factor solutions fit the data at acceptable levels (CFI = 0.97–0.99, RMSEA = 0.053–0.098). The reliability of the six scales ranged from acceptable to excellent (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.60–0.92). The results indicate that the scales target individual psychological barriers against intervening against IPV. The scales are brief and suitable for use in community efforts that aim to improve public interventions against intimate partner violence.
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| 10. |
- Alfredsson, Helen, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Public norms and beliefs as predictors of the propensity to intervene against Intimate Partner Violence
- 2012
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Ingår i: 12th European Association of Psychology and Law conference, 10-13 april, 2012, Nicosia, Cypern.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A survey using a community-based sample (N = 650) was conducted to identify motivational and cognitive predictors of individuals’ propensity to intervene against intimate partner violence (IPV). A hierarchical regression analysis showed that motivational factors accounted for the greatest proportion of the variance in self-reported propensity. Specifically, personal norm (i.e., an individual’s felt obligation to intervene) was the strongest individual predictor, followed by affective response (i.e., the extent to which an individual responds to IPV with negative emotions). Although cognitive factors were generally less predictive, the propensity to intervene was significantly higher for respondents who perceived IPV as a prevalent issue, who did not attribute IPV to societal causes, and who did not view the perpetrator as responsible for the solution of IPV. The findings suggest that attempts to facilitate public intervention should target specific, rather than general, aspects of public norms and beliefs about IPV.
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