Perceptions of psychological violence by professionals: The role of type of intimate relationship (homosexual and heterosexual) and observer´s gender [Póster]

70th International Council of Psychologists, September 10-14, 2012, Sevilla –Spain. PERCEPTIONS OF PSYCHOLOGIGAL VIOLENCE BY PROFESSIONALS: The role of type of intimate relationship (homosexual and heterosexual) and observer´s gender Mercedes Durán, Carmen Rodríguez & Roberto Martínez-Pecino Universidad de Sevilla (Spain) Carmen.r[email protected] The practice of violence by the intimate partner represents a great magnitude problem with serious personal and social consequences (Dutton et al., 2006). Overall, research indicate that male and female show differential attitudes to partner violence (e.g., Black & Gold, 2008; Grubb & Harrower, 2008) and that the type of intimate relationship where violence is exercised largely conditions the evaluation of the same (Connolly et al., 2000; Harris & Cook, 1994).These variables, therefore, could affect the perception and understanding of the problem of psychological violence by Psychologists and Social Work professionals. Through four hypothetical scenarios which illustrated a situation of psychological violence, we analysed the impact of both variables, observer´s gender and type of relationship between victim and perpetrator (heterosexual vs. homosexual) on four relevant aspects related to the evaluation of psychological violence: justification of the psychological violence situation, seriousness of psychological violence, blaming the victim, and attribution of guilt to the aggressor. INTRODUCTION Participants 153 students of the Universities of Seville and Huelva 52,3% Female; 47,7% Male Aged from 18 to 47 (M=21.81;SD=4.16) Design 2(Type of relationship) x 2(Participants’ gender ). Procedure and Materials Four scenarios of psychological violence in the partner. Dependent Variables: Twenty items to evaluate the perception of psychological violence: Justification of psychological violence, Seriousness of psychological violence, blaming the victim and attribution of guilt to the aggressor. METHOD RELATIONSHIP SCENARIOS GENDER AGGRESSOR VICTIM Heterosexual 1 Male Female 2 Female Male Homosexual 3 Male Male 4 Female Female JUSTIFICATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE: Main significant effect of Participant´s Gender.Males justified the exercise of violence to a greater extent than the females (Figure 1) SERIOUSNESS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE: Main significant effect of Type of Relationship. Participants tended to consider that the situation of violence which was of greater severity was produced in the homosexual relationship (Figure 2) BLAME THE VICTIM: Main significant effect of Participant´s Gender.Males, compared with females, mostly blamed the victims of psychological violence (Figure 3) . GUILT THE AGGRESSOR: Significant interaction effect (Type of relationship x Participant´s Gender). Females blamed to a greater extent to the aggressor from heterosexual relationships, and the males, on the other hand, the aggressor of the homosexual relationship (Figure 4) RESULTS Black, K. A. y Gold, D. J. (2008). Gender differences and socioeconomic status biases in judgments about blame in date rape scenarios. Violence and Victims, 23, 115-128. Dutton, M. A., Green, B. L., Kaltman, S. I., Roesch, D. M., Zeffiro, T.A. y Krause, E. D. (2006). Intimate partner violence, PTSD, and adverse health outcomes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,21,955 –968. Connolly, C., Huzurbazar, S. y Routh - McGee, T. (2000). Multiple parties in domestic violence situations and arrest. Journal of Criminal Justice. 28, (3), 181–188. Grubb, A. y Harrower, J. (2008). Attribution of blame in cases of rape: An analysis of participant gender, type of rape and perceived similarity to the victim. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 13,396-405. Harris, R. J., y Cook, C. A. (1994). Attributions about spouse abuse: It matters who the batterers and victims are. Sex Roles, 30,553-565. In conclusion, students of psychology and social work, in line with results obtained in international studies with samples of different cultures and communities (Spanish, Turkish, Chinese, Latin American, African American, etc.), have beliefs and manifest ratings according to their gender and the type of relationship where the violence situation unfolds. Therefore, we consider important that university education provides in their programs for reducing stereotypes and prejudices with regard to gender and violence, thereby improving the competencies of the future professionals of psychology and social work. DISCUSSION REFERENCES Figure 1. Justification of Psychological Violence 1,48 1,71 1 1,5 2 3,9 4,14 3 4 5 1,63 1,86 1 1,5 2 3 4 5 6 Heterosexual Homosexual Figure 2. Seriousness of Psychological Violence Figure 3. Blaming the victim Figure 4. Guilt the aggressor Women Women Men Men Hetero. Homo. Participant´s gender Participant´s gender Relationship MenWomen Participant´s gender