Social influences on the Long-term Cessation of Violence

社会对长期停止暴力行为的影响尽管人们对个人如何以促进健康的方式改变自己的行为越来越感兴趣，但之前很少有研究调查在亲密关系中摆脱使用暴力的过程。亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）是造成伤害的主要原因，尤其是在年轻人中，并与情绪幸福感下降有关。尽管这个话题很重要，但关于如何降低IPV的研究很少。这些研究都是短期的，它们与治疗方案的明确联系通常仅限于这些方案的重点。目前的研究将提供一个关于IPV经历在人生不同阶段的连续性和变化的视角，并调查社会经历对导致这些类型行为变化的影响。大多数变革理论都强调个人自身的动机和接受能力是变革过程的关键组成部分。与那些研究不同，这项研究的重点是潜在的可塑社会因素，将为特定的社会和环境影响提供新的见解，这些影响可以作为行为改变的催化剂。了解这些联系有可能为设计针对这一严重公共卫生问题的更有效的预防和干预工作提供信息。从生命历程的角度来看，这项研究将建立在五波纵向调查的基础上，对大量不同样本的青年男女进行调查，首先是在青少年时期，然后是在他们过渡到成年时期（托莱多青少年关系研究）。在每次采访中，收集了关于IPV犯罪的信息，以及关于家庭、同伴、浪漫伴侣和社区经历和影响的信息。该研究将对所有报告在研究过程中在亲密关系中使用暴力的受访者（n=403）进行后续评估。具体目标是：a)记录这些行为的持续和“停止”模式；b)调查与产生和维持积极变化过程相关的潜在机制；c)确定区分“停止”者和那些在其关系中继续这种消极模式的人的社会和个人因素。评估之间相对较长的时间间隔（5年）将允许对持续的行为变化进行检查，这与相对常见的暂时停滞现象有所区别。除了在线结构化数据收集工作之外，研究人员还将完成对男性和女性受访者子集的深度定性访谈，这些受访者的暴力经历特征各不相同（n=85）。这种混合方法将允许全面检查社会经验和个人层面的主观变化之间复杂的相互作用，作为成功停止这种形式的人际暴力的相关因素。这项研究有助于学术研究的停止犯罪和有助于设计更有效的方案，以防止和干预亲密伴侣暴力。

Social Influences on the Long-term Cessation of Violent BehaviorsIn spite of increased interest in how individuals modify their behaviors in ways that promote health, little prior research has examined the process of moving away from the use of violence within intimate relationships. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a leading cause of injury, particularly in young adult populations, and is associated with declines in emotional well-being. Despite the importance of the topic, there are few prior studies of how to decrease IPV. Those studies have been short-term and their explicit links to treatment programs has generally been limited to the emphases of these programs. The current study will provide a perspective on continuity and change in the experience of IPV over the different stages of life, and investigate the role of social experiences as influences on what causes changes in these types of behaviors. Most theories of change highlight the importance of the individual's own motivation and receptivity as key components of the change process. Unlike those studies, this study's focus on potentially malleable social factors will provide new insights about specific social and environmental influences that serve as catalysts for behavioral changes. Knowledge about these linkages has the potential to inform the design of more effective prevention and intervention efforts targeting this serious public health problem. Using a life-course perspective, the study will build on a five-wave longitudinal investigation of a large, diverse sample of young men and women interviewed first as adolescents, and later as they have navigated the transition to adulthood (Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study). At each interview, information was collected about IPV perpetration, as well as about family, peer, romantic partner and neighborhood experiences and influences. The research will follow-up for an additional assessment all those respondents who reported using violence within the context of an intimate relationship during the course of the study (n=403). Specific objectives are to: a) document patterns of persistence and "desistance" of these behaviors, b) investigate the underlying mechanisms associated with the process of making and sustaining positive changes, and c) identify social and individual factors that distinguish desisters and those who continue this negative pattern within their relationships. The relatively long time gap between assessments (5 years) will permit an examination of sustained behavior change, as distinguished from the relatively common phenomenon of temporary lulls. In addition to the online structured data collection effort, the researchers will complete in-depth qualitative interviews with a subset of male and female respondents who vary in the character of their experiences with violence (n=85). This mixed method approach will permit a comprehensive examination of the complex interplay of social experiences and individual-level subjective changes as factors associated with the successful cessation of this form of interpersonal violence. This research contributes to scholarship about desistance from crime and contributes to the design of more effective programs to prevent and intervene in intimate partner violence.