Casey T. Taft

Among the factors influencing intimate partner violence (IPV), alexithymia and anger have emerged as key areas of concern, though few studies have examined these risk factors together. In this study, we examined the interactive effects of alexithymia and anger on psychological and physical IPV perpetration in a sample of 130 male veterans. Participants were recruited through clinician referrals, self-referrals, and court referrals from two major metropolitan areas in the Northeast, and all veterans reported at least one trauma exposure in their lifetime. The following self-report measures were used: the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Trait Anger Scale of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, and the Psychological Aggression and Physical Assault subscales of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale. Moderation analyses were conducted, and findings revealed a statistically significant interactive effect between anger and alexithymia on psychological IPV. However, the interactive effect was only statistically significant for those without clinically significant alexithymia. At higher levels of alexithymia, there was no interactive effect with anger, suggesting that less emotional awareness is directly associated with psychological IPV use regardless of the individual’s level of anger. These findings underscore the complex interplay between alexithymia, anger, and IPV in veterans and highlight the importance of more nuanced intervention strategies that take varying levels of anger and alexithymia into account. Focusing on promoting healthy anger expression while also targeting emotional awareness and processing may be particularly beneficial for those with lower, but present, levels of anger and alexithymia.

Despite college students receiving increasing sexual assault education, campus sexual assault remains high. Research suggests that rape myths, which blame victims and excuse perpetrators, are commonly expressed among groups who demonstrate conformity to masculine norms. The current study examined the effects of gender and participation in Greek life on rape myth acceptance using survey data from 396 students and interviews with 15 students to identify specific rape myths. To our knowledge no other study has examined interviewees expression of subtle rape myth items across a spectrum, including partial agreement or indirect expressions of myths. Results indicated that there was a significant main effect of gender and Greek life on total rape myth rejection scores, such that women indicated higher rejection of rape myth scores than men and members of Greek life indicated higher rejection of rape myth scores than non-affiliated students. The subscale “She Asked for It” was the most commonly rejected rape myth followed by “He Didn’t Mean to,” “It Wasn’t Really Rape,” and “She Lied.” Results from the interviews indicated that 67.7% of participants expressed statements that excused the perpetrator, 46.7% of participants expressed victim-blaming statements, and 20% of participants expressed statements involving perpetrator stereotypes. Further analysis of the interviews revealed that expression of any given rape myth may take multiple forms, including “full expression of myth,” “partial agreement with myth,” “self-blame expression of myth,” or “peer expression of myth.” Findings highlight the importance of college campuses providing more consistent sexual assault education for all students that includes a discussion of rape myths, with a particular emphasis on those rape myth attitudes that may be more subtle.

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have consistently been linked with risk for engaging in aggressive behavior. When PTSD symptom clusters have been examined separately, those reflecting heightened "hyperarousal" symptoms exhibit the strongest relationships with aggression, though this work has been conducted mostly with outdated measures of PTSD. The present study examined associations between PTSD symptom clusters based on a more contemporary PTSD measure and the use of intimate partner violence (IPV). The sample included 247 men and women court-mandated to receive IPV intervention. It was expected that PTSD symptom clusters reflecting Criterion D and Criterion E symptoms would evidence the strongest bivariate and unique associations with IPV. Findings were generally consistent with hypotheses such that these two symptom clusters were the strongest bivariate correlates of both IPV outcomes. Only Criterion D symptoms were uniquely associated with physical IPV, and only Criterion E symptoms were uniquely associated with psychological IPV in regression analyses. Study results enhance our understanding of the complex relationship between PTSD and IPV based on current conceptualizations of these constructs, highlighting the salience of heightened physiological arousal/reactivity and perceptions of threat, as well as symptoms reflecting negative affect and negative thoughts/assumptions about oneself and the world. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

This study examined the effectiveness of the virtual delivery of the Strength at Home (SAH) intervention program for intimate partner violence in a sample of 605 military veterans across 69 Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers through a national implementation of the program. Outcome measures included physical IPV, psychological IPV, coercive control behaviors, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and alcohol misuse. Significant pre-intervention to post-intervention reductions were found for all the outcomes, with similar effect size estimates relative to a prior investigation of in-person-delivered SAH through the same national VA implementation. Study findings suggest that the virtual delivery of SAH may be as effective as in-person delivery which has important implications for program access and impact.

This study examined the effectiveness of virtual delivery of the Strength at Home (SAH) intervention program for intimate partner violence in a sample of 605 military Veterans across 69 Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers through a national implementation of the program. Outcome measures included physical IPV, psychological IPV, coercive control behaviors, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and alcohol misuse. Significant pre-intervention to post-intervention reductions were found for all outcomes, with similar effect size estimates relative to a prior investigation of in-person delivered SAH through the same national VA implementation. Study findings suggest that virtual delivery of SAH may be as effective as in-person delivery which has important implications for program access and impact.

This study examined session attendance data from 2,754 veterans who participated in a national implementation of a trauma-informed intimate partner violence intervention, Strength at Home, across the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Potential correlates of attendance were demographic characteristics, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, alcohol use, court involvement, current military involvement, and intervention modality (in-person vs. virtual). Given the trauma-informed nature of the intervention, it was expected that trauma-relevant risk factors, specifically PTSD symptom severity and racial minority status, would be less strongly associated with attendance than barriers related to other demographic variables and higher alcohol use, intervention modality, and court involvement. Results indicated that age, education level, employment status, retirement status, PTSD symptom severity, alcohol use, and court involvement were associated with session attendance in the expected direction at the bivariate level. Only education level, employment status, retirement status, alcohol use, and court involvement emerged as unique predictors of attendance such that more educated, employed, retired, and court-mandated veterans with less alcohol use attended more sessions. These findings suggest the importance of a trauma-informed, coordinated community response to intimate partner violence intervention and integration of motivational components surrounding problematic alcohol use to enhance compliance and mitigate barriers to attendance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).