NCJ Number
141894
Journal
American Behavioral Scientist Volume: 36 Issue: 5 Dated: special issue (May/June 1993) Pages: 587-600
Date Published
1993
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article identifies sampling and measurement problems that need to be addressed if research on domestic assault from a criminal justice perspective is to take into account differences in severity and chronicity.
Abstract
Such differences are important to consider because they reflect the appropriateness of various criminal justice system interventions. The Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) can be used to identify cases involving chronic and severe assault; the CTS is quick to administer using interviews or self-administered questionnaires and has three scales (reasoning, verbal aggression, and physical aggression or violence). With respect to measurement techniques, nominal- level measurement is usually the most appropriate in criminal justice research that classifies groups according to case processing categories. Characteristics of the apprehended offender population often differ from the characteristics of those in the general population who manifest the same problematic behavior. When the issue is one of identifying offenders who pose an ongoing risk of future spouse assault, the CTS distinction between severe and minor violence is not adequate by itself to identify extreme violence by men. The ability to identify extreme violence is important because such cases require immediate and decisive intervention. A checklist containing criteria for high-risk violence is provided, and the dispute over feminist versus family therapy intervention models in high- risk violence situations and cases is explored. The author concludes that research into domestic assault from a criminal justice perspective requires standardized procedures for identifying relevant cases. Further, research on the effectiveness of various interventions needs to distinguish between high-risk offenders and others because a given intervention mode may work for one but not the other. An appendix contains information on the CTS and the CTS couple form. 29 references and 3 notes