Conflict tactics scale

Last updated

The conflict tactics scale (CTS), created by Murray A. Straus in 1979, [1] is used in the research of family violence." [2] There are two versions of the CTS; the CTS2 (an expanded and modified version of the original CTS) [3] and the CTSPC (CTS Parent-Child). [4] [5] As of 2005, [6] the CTS has been used in about 600 peer reviewed scientific or scholarly papers, including longitudinal birth-cohort studies. [7] National surveys conducted in the USA include two National Family Violence Surveys (1975 and 1985), [8] the National Violence Against Women Survey (1998), which, according to Straus, used a "feminist version" of the CTS in order to minimize data on female perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV), [9] and the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. [10] A major international survey to use the CTS was the 2006 International Dating Violence Study, which investigated IPV amongst 13,601 college students across thirty-two different countries. [11]

Contents

In a 2005 article in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling listed the CTS amongst the most important advances in the field of IPV research, stating it "was revolutionary because it allowed researchers to quantitatively study events that had often been ignored culturally and typically took place in private." [12]

However, the CTS is one of the most widely criticized domestic violence measurement instruments due to its exclusion of context variables and motivational factors in understanding acts of violence. [13] [14] The National Institute of Justice cautions that the CTS may not be appropriate for IPV research "because it does not measure control, coercion, or the motives for conflict tactics." [15]

Structure

The scales are based on the premise that conflict is an inevitable aspect of all human association, but that the use of coercion (including force and violence) as a conflict-resolution tactic is harmful. [16] [17] The CTS focuses on "conflict tactics" – the method used to advance one's own interest within a conflict – as a behavior, and measures the conflict tactic behaviors of both the respondent and their partner/primary caregiver. However, the CTS "deliberately excludes attitudes, emotions, and cognitive appraisal of the behaviors" measured. This is because many victims of IPV do not see themselves as suffering abuse, and as such, their cognitive appraisal of their situation can affect the measurements of the CTS. Straus explains that the "discrepancy between the behavior and the cognitive appraisal of the behavior is important for understanding family violence and for designing programs of prevention and treatment. However, it is possible to identify the discrepancy only if there is an instrument such as the CTS which obtains the behavioral data." [18]

A CTS-based study would ideally include data from respondents and their partners/primary caregivers in order to investigate the degree of symmetry or asymmetry between their responses. The CTS can be administered through an in-person interview, telephone interview, self-administered questionnaire, and/or computer-administered questionnaire.

Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2)

The revised CTS2 measures a total of 39 behaviors. [19] Each of these behaviors, or "items", is divided into five categories: "Negotiation", "Psychological Aggression", "Physical Assault", "Sexual Coercion" and "Injury." Each of the five categories is then further subdivided into two subscales: "Negotiation" is subdivided into "Cognitive" and "Emotional", while the other four categories are subdivided into "Minor" and "Severe." There are six items in "Negotiation", eight in "Psychological Aggression," twelve in "Physical Assault," seven in "Sexual Coercion," and six in "Injury." [20]

Examples from each category include:

CTS2 questions are presented in pairs. The first question in the pair asks respondents to indicate how often they carried out each item, in a range from "never" to "more than 20 times," in the referent period. The second asks how often the partner carried out each item within the same referent period. Default referent periods are usually 12 months, but other spans of time can be used. [18] Subscales measuring the degree of severity of "less severe" and "more severe" behaviors are included for all CTS scales, "based on the presumed greater harm resulting from acts in the severe subscale." [18] The severity of behaviors can also be measured by analyzing the frequency of the acts and by whether an injury was reported by the respondent.

CTSPC

The CTSPC (parent-child relationships) has scales to measure:

The CTSPC also includes supplementary questions on instances of neglect, sexual abuse, and discipline in the past week. [5]

Scoring

There are many ways to score the CTS. [2] [3] [5] [6] [21]

Common scoring methods include:

Criticism

Critics of the CTS argue it is an ineffective tool with which to measure IPV rate because, although it counts the number of acts of violence, it does not provide information about the context in which such acts occur (including the initiation, intention, history, or pattern of violence). Critics say such contexts cannot be divorced from the act itself, and therefore the CTS misrepresents the characteristics of violence between partners. Straus responds to this criticism by stating "the idea that the CTS physical assault scale is defective because it does not take into account the context, meaning, causes, and consequences of the violent acts is analogous to declaring a reading ability test invalid because it does not provide data on why a child reads poorly (such as limited exposure to books at home or test anxiety), or for not measuring the harmful effects of reading difficulty (such as low self-esteem or dropping out of school)." [24] [25] Michael Kimmel says of this argument, "such an analogy is utterly inadequate. It is more akin to a teacher who doesn't look at how far off the spelling mistakes are or whether there is a pattern in the mistakes that might point to a physiological problem like dyslexia or some other learning disability, as compared to academic laziness, and thus leaving the learning problems untouched and misdirecting funds away from towards punitive after-school programs for lazy students." [26]

Another common criticism is that the CTS carries ideological assumptions about domestic violence, such as the notion that partner violence is the result of an "argument" rather than an attempt to control one's partner. [26] [27] Furthermore, the CTS asks about frequency only in the past twelve months and fails to detect ongoing systematic patterns of abuse. [26] It also excludes incidents of violence that occur after separation and divorce. [28] The CTS also does not measure economic abuse, manipulation involving children, isolation, or intimidation – all common measures of violence from a victim-advocacy perspective. [29]

Another methodological problem is that interobserver reliability (the likelihood that the two members of the measured dyad respond similarly) is near zero for tested husband and wife couples. That is, the chances of a given couple reporting similar answers about events they both experienced is no greater than chance. [30] On the most severe CTS items, husband-wife agreement is actually below chance: "On the item "beat up," concordance was nil: although there were respondents of both sexes who claimed to have administered beatings and respondents of both sexes who claimed to have been on the receiving end, there was not a single couple in which one party claimed to have administered and the other to have received such a beating." [30]

See also

Related Research Articles

Violence is the use of physical force to cause harm to people, animals, or property, such as pain, injury, death, damage, or destruction. Some definitions are somewhat broader, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation."

Psychological abuse, often called emotional abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another person to a behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder.

The term cycle of violence refers to repeated and dangerous acts of violence as a cyclical pattern, associated with high emotions and doctrines of retribution or revenge. The pattern, or cycle, repeats and can happen many times during a relationship. Each phase may last a different length of time, and over time the level of violence may increase. The phrase has been increasingly widespread since first popularized in the 1970s.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is domestic violence by a current or former spouse or partner in an intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner. IPV can take a number of forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, economic and sexual abuse. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines IPV as "any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviors." IPV is sometimes referred to simply as battery, or as spouse or partner abuse.

Domestic violence occurs across the world, in various cultures, and affects people across society, at all levels of economic status; however, indicators of lower socioeconomic status have been shown to be risk factors for higher levels of domestic violence in several studies. In the United States, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 1995, women reported a six times greater rate of intimate partner violence than men. However, studies have found that men are much less likely to report victimization in these situations.

Teen dating violence is the physical, sexual, or psychological / emotional abuse within a dating relationship among adolescents. Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been a well examined and documented phenomenon in adults; however, there has not been nearly as much study on violence in adolescent dating relationships, and it is therefore not as well understood. The research has mainly focused on Caucasian youth, and, as of 2013, there are no studies which focus specifically on IPV in adolescent same-sex relationships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestic violence</span> Abuse of members of the same household

Domestic violence is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. Domestic violence is often used as a synonym for intimate partner violence, which is committed by one of the people in an intimate relationship against the other person, and can take place in relationships or between former spouses or partners. In its broadest sense, domestic violence also involves violence against children, parents, or the elderly. It can assume multiple forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religious, reproductive, financial abuse, or sexual abuse. It can range from subtle, coercive forms to marital rape and other violent physical abuse, such as choking, beating, female genital mutilation, and acid throwing that may result in disfigurement or death, and includes the use of technology to harass, control, monitor, stalk or hack. Domestic murder includes stoning, bride burning, honor killing, and dowry death, which sometimes involves non-cohabitating family members. In 2015, the United Kingdom's Home Office widened the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corporal punishment in the home</span> Form of punishment used by parents to inflict physical pain or discomfort

Physical or corporal punishment by a parent or other legal guardian is any act causing deliberate physical pain or discomfort to a minor child in response to some undesired behavior. It typically takes the form of spanking or slapping the child with an open hand or striking with an implement such as a belt, slipper, cane, hairbrush or paddle, whip, hanger, and can also include shaking, pinching, forced ingestion of substances, or forcing children to stay in uncomfortable positions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestic violence in the United States</span>

Domestic violence in United States is a form of violence that occurs within a domestic relationship. Although domestic violence often occurs between partners in the context of an intimate relationship, it may also describe other household violence, such as violence against a child, by a child against a parent or violence between siblings in the same household. It is recognized as an important social problem by governmental and non-governmental agencies, and various Violence Against Women Acts have been passed by the US Congress in an attempt to stem this tide.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to domestic violence:

Domestic violence against men is violence or other physical abuse towards men in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or cohabitation. As with domestic violence against women, violence against men may constitute a crime, but laws vary between jurisdictions. Intimate partner violence (IPV) against men is generally less recognized by society than intimate partner violence against women, which can act as a further block to men reporting their situation.

Abusive power and control is behavior used by an abusive person to gain and/or maintain control over another person. Abusers are commonly motivated by devaluation, personal gain, personal gratification, psychological projection, or the enjoyment of exercising power and control. The victims of this behavior are often subject to psychological, physical, mental, sexual, or financial abuse.

Domestic violence is prominent in Nigeria as in other parts of Africa. There is a deep cultural belief in Nigeria that it is socially acceptable to hit a woman as a disciplinary measure. Cases of Domestic violence are on the high and show no signs of reduction in Nigeria, regardless of age, tribe, religion, or even social status. The CLEEN Foundation reports 1 in every 3 respondents admitting to being a victim of domestic violence. The survey also found a nationwide increase in domestic violence in the past 3 years from 21% in 2011 to 30% in 2013. A CLEEN Foundation's 2012 National Crime and Safety Survey demonstrated that 31% of the national sample confessed to being victims of domestic violence.

Domestic violence in Kenya constitutes any harmful behavior against a family member or partner, including rape, assault, physical abuse, and forced prostitution. Domestic violence in Kenya reflects worldwide statistics in that women are the overwhelming majority of victims. Over 40% of married women in Kenya have reported being victims of either domestic violence or sexual abuse. Worldwide, over 30% of "ever-partnered women" aged 15 and older have experienced physical or sexual partner violence. The distinct factors and causes of this high percentage have often not been studied due to lack of data.

The Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA) is a 30-item self-report scale developed to measure the severity of physical and non-physical aggression inflicted on a woman by her spouse or partner. The ISA has become a popular measure in medical settings. It was created from the conflict tactics scale, one of the earliest instruments used to identify violence between partners by measuring interpersonal aggression, in which 19 items pertain to non-physical abuse and 11 pertain to physical abuse. Each item is rated on a scale from 1 (never) to 5. Both of these scales are part of assessing the cycle of abuse.

Murray Arnold Straus was an American professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire. He is best known for creating the conflict tactics scale, the "most widely used instrument in research on family violence".

The Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form (NCBRF) is an instrument designed to assess the behavior of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities and those with autism spectrum disorder. The assessment contains 76 items 10 Positive/Social items and 66 Problem Behavior items). The NCBRF is made up of three sections: I, Where raters can identify unusual circumstances that may have affected the youth's behavior; II, where positive behaviors are rated, and III, a listing of problem behaviors. There are separate Teacher and a Parent versions of the form, and the NCBRF takes about 15 minutes to complete. The NCBRF is designed to be used with children and adolescents ages 3 to 16 years. Several research studies have found the NCBRF to be a reliable and valid measure in the assessment of behavior in children and adolescents.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as physical and sexual violence or threat of violence, intimidation, or coercion that occurs between past or current intimate partners. Perpetrators of violence may use coercion tactics to keep the partner in the home. These tactics could include threatening harm to a family pet or threatening to take custody of children if the partner attempts to leave. IPV is a serious public health concern in the United States and one that has the potential to affect an individual’s medical readiness. Within the military community, intimate relationships may be particularly vulnerable to occupation-stress that is specific to military operations. These demands might include frequent moves to undesirable locations or overseas, separation from extended family for unknown lengths of time, frequent variability in work schedule, long hours, career uncertainty, mission ambiguity, training environments meant to simulate varying operational environments, and risk that is inherent to the field. Although there are programs in place designed to support the family unit, the stress of multiple deployments, combat exposure, and exposure to traumatic events cause additional strain on the family unit as service members reintegrate into the home environment following the return home from a deployment. Deployments bring additional stress on the family unit as two-parent homes transition to one-parent homes while attempting to maintain their semi-regular schedules.

Emily M. Douglas is a political scientist conducting research on child and family well-being, the child welfare system, fatal child maltreatment, domestic violence and divorced families, and corporal punishment. She is a full professor and the chair of the Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy at Montclair State University.

Denise A. Hines is an American psychologist doing research on domestic violence and sexual abuse with focuses on prevention, intervention, and public policy. She is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

References

  1. ↑ Straus, Murray A. (February 1979). "Measuring intra family conflict and violence: The Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales" (PDF). Journal of Marriage and the Family. 41 (1): 75–88. doi:10.2307/351733. JSTOR   351733. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 19, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Straus, Murray A.; Douglas, Emily M. (October 2004). "A Short Form of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales, and Typologies for Severity and Mutuality" (PDF). Violence and Victims. 19 (5): 507–20. doi:10.1891/088667004780927800. PMID   15844722. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 23, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Straus, Murray A.; Hamby, Sherry L.; Boney-McCoy, Susan; Sugarman, David B. (May 1996). "The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2): Development and Preliminary Psychometric Data" (PDF). Journal of Family Issues. 17 (3): 283–316. doi:10.1177/019251396017003001. S2CID   145367941. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 25, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  4. ↑ Straus, Murray A.; Hamby, Sherry L. (1997). "Measuring Physical and Psychological Maltreatment of Children with the Conflict Tactics Scales" (PDF). In Kantor, Glenda Kaufman; Jasinski, Jana L. (eds.). Out of the Darkness: Contemporary Research Perspectives on Family Violence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. pp. 119–135. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 19, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Straus, Murray A.; Hamby, Sherry L.; Finkelhor, David; Moore, David W.; Runyan, Desmond (November 1998). "Identification of Child Maltreatment with the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales: Development and Psychometric Data for a National Sample of American Parents" (PDF). Child Abuse and Neglect. 22 (4): 249–270. doi:10.1016/s0145-2134(97)00174-9. PMID   9589178. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 25, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Straus, Murray A. (2007). "Conflict Tactics Scales" (PDF). In Jackson, Nicky Ali (ed.). Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence. New York: Routledge. p. 195. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  7. ↑ Moffitt, Terrie E.; Caspi, Avshalom E. (July 1999). "Findings About Partner Violence From the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study" (PDF). National Institute of Justice: Research in Brief. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  8. ↑ Straus, Murray A.; Gelles, Richard J. (1990). Physical Violence in American Families: Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
  9. ↑ Rosenthal, Mark B. (April 4, 2005). "Straus Says National Violence Against Women Survey is Biased". Breaking the Science. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  10. ↑ Casanueva, Cecilia; Martin, Sandra L.; Runyan, Desmond K. (February 2009). "Repeated reports for child maltreatment among intimate partner violence victims: Findings from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being". Child Abuse & Neglect. 33 (2): 84–93. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.04.017. PMID   19285725. S2CID   45039985.(subscription required)
  11. ↑ Straus, Murray A. (March 2008). "Dominance and symmetry in partner violence by male and female university students in 32 nations" (PDF). Children and Youth Services Review. 30 (3): 252–275. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2007.10.004. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  12. ↑ Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Jennifer (January 2005). "Top 10 Greatest "Hits": Important Findings and Future Directions for Intimate Partner Violence Research" (PDF). Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 20 (1): 108–18. doi:10.1177/0886260504268602. PMID   15618567. S2CID   29893055 . Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  13. ↑ Dobash, Russel P.; Dobash, R. Emerson (May 2004). "Women's Violence to Men in Intimate Relationships: Working on a Puzzle" (PDF). British Journal of Criminology. 44 (3): 324–349. doi:10.1093/crimin/azh026 . Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  14. ↑ Colarossi, Linda (May 2004). "A Response to Danis & Lockhart: What Guides Social Work Knowledge About Violence Against Women?". Journal of Social Work Education. 41 (1): 151. doi:10.5175/JSWE.2005.200400418. S2CID   143655449.(subscription required)
  15. ↑ "Measuring Intimate Partner (Domestic) Violence". National Institute of Justice. May 12, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  16. ↑ Straus, Murray A. (February 1979). "Measuring intra family conflict and violence: The Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales" (PDF). Journal of Marriage and the Family. 41 (1): 75–88. doi:10.2307/351733. JSTOR   351733. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 19, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  17. ↑ Straus, Murray A. (2007). "Conflict Tactics Scales" (PDF). In Jackson, Nicky Ali (ed.). Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence. New York: Routledge. p. 190. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  18. 1 2 3 Straus, Murray A. (2007). "Conflict Tactics Scales" (PDF). In Jackson, Nicky Ali (ed.). Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence. New York: Routledge. p. 191. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  19. ↑ Acierno, Ron (2000). "Screening Measures for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Physical Assault". National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina . Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  20. 1 2 Straus, Murray A.; Hamby, Sherry L.; Boney-McCoy, Susan; Sugarman, David B. (May 1996). "The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2): Development and Preliminary Psychometric Data" (PDF). Journal of Family Issues. 17 (3): 308–309. doi:10.1177/019251396017003001. S2CID   145367941. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 25, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  21. ↑ Straus, Murray A. (July 23, 2004). "Scoring the CTS2 and CTSPC" (PDF). Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 19, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  22. ↑ Archer, John (September 2000). "Sex Differences in Aggression between Heterosexual Partners: A Meta-Analytic Review" (PDF). Psychological Bulletin. 126 (5): 651–680. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.126.5.651. PMID   10989615 . Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  23. ↑ Straus, Murray A.; Ramirez, Ignacio (July 2007). "Gender symmetry in prevalence, severity, and chronicity of physical aggression against dating partners by university students in Mexico and USA" (PDF). Aggressive Behavior. 33 (4): 281–290. doi:10.1002/ab.20199. PMID   17593556. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  24. ↑ Straus, Murray A. (2007). "Conflict Tactics Scales" (PDF). In Jackson, Nicky Ali (ed.). Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence. New York: Routledge. p. 194. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  25. ↑ Straus, Murray A. (1997). "Physical Assaults by Women Partners: A Major Social Problem" (PDF). In Walsh, M.R. (ed.). Women, Men and Gender: Ongoing Debates. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 218. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  26. 1 2 3 Kimmel, Michael S. (November 2002). "'Gender symmetry' in domestic violence: a substantive and methodological research review". Violence Against Women . 8 (11): 1332–1363. doi:10.1177/107780102237407. S2CID   74249845. Pdf. Archived October 16, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  27. ↑ DeKeseredy, Walter S.; Schwartz, Martin D. (February 1998). "Measuring the extent of woman abuse in intimate heterosexual relationships: a critique of the Conflict Tactics Scales" (PDF). VAWnet.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 4, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  28. ↑ Flood, Michael (Summer 1999). "Claims about 'husband battering'". DVIRC Newsletter: 3–8. Pdf. Archived May 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  29. ↑ "Power and Control Wheel" (PDF). National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  30. 1 2 Dobash, Russel P.; Dobash, R. Emerson; Wilson, Margo; Daly, Martin (February 1992). "The myth of sexual symmetry in marital violence". Social Problems. 39 (1): 71–91. doi:10.2307/3096914. JSTOR   3096914.(subscription required)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.