562052 research-article2015
ISP0010.1177/0020764014562052International Journal of Social PsychiatrySansone et al.
E CAMDEN SCHIZOPH
Letter to the Editor
Distancing oneself from God among perpetrators of partner violence
International Journal of Social Psychiatry 2015, Vol. 61(2) 207–208 © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0020764014562052 isp.sagepub.com
Randy A Sansone1,2,3, Kenneth Elliott4 and Michael W Wiederman5
Dear Editor The intersection between religion/spirituality and the perpetration of partner violence is understudied. Specifically, studies in the present literature only discuss religion/spirituality in the context of approaches to the treatment of partner violence and strictly in ethnic subcultures, such as AfricanAmericans (Gillum, 2008; Jones, 2002), aboriginals (Puchala, Paul, Kennedy, & Mehl-Madrona, 2010) and Latinos (Welland & Ribner, 2010). The purpose of the present study was to examine in a sample perpetrators of partner violence the prevalence of distancing oneself from God–a possible indication of a religion/spirituality deficit among perpetrators–as well as any potential demographic differences with regard to this item, particularly ethnicity. Participants in this study were adult US men and women in a mid-central state who were court-referred to a group educational intervention in one of four different treatment facilities for the perpetration of partner violence. After receiving approval from the executive directors of these treatment agencies, the recruiter (K.E.) met with 24 different treatment groups, reviewed the project focus and enrolled 193 of 235 participants (82.1%). The recruiter obtained signed consent forms and provided surveys for completion in-group and onsite. The survey contained a demographic query as well as the Self-Harm Inventory (SHI; Sansone, Wiederman, & Sansone, 1998), which assesses the lifetime prevalence of 22 self-harm behaviors. Item 14 of the SHI queries, ‘Have you ever intentionally, or on purpose, distanced yourself from God as punishment?’, with a yes/no response option. Note that distancing oneself from God infers a previous God connection that has now been defaulted upon. Participants were advised to not identify themselves on the surveys. Completed surveys were placed into sealed envelopes and given to the researcher. The project was reviewed and approved by an institutional review board. Of the 193 participants, 170 were male and 23 were female. All participants checked an age range falling between 18 and 65 years, with most (71.5%) endorsing between 21 and 40 years. White/Caucasian ethnicity was most commonly reported (43.0%), followed by Black/ African American (19.7%), Native American (14.5%), Hispanic/Latino (11.4%), Other (10.9%) and Asian (0.5%).
In terms of intentionally distancing oneself from God, 30.1% of participants endorsed this item. As for demographic analyses, the difference in the percentage of men (30.6%) and women (26.1%) endorsing this item was not statistically significant, χ2 = 0.20, p
ISP0010.1177/0020764014562052International Journal of Social PsychiatrySansone et al.
E CAMDEN SCHIZOPH
Letter to the Editor
Distancing oneself from God among perpetrators of partner violence
International Journal of Social Psychiatry 2015, Vol. 61(2) 207–208 © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0020764014562052 isp.sagepub.com
Randy A Sansone1,2,3, Kenneth Elliott4 and Michael W Wiederman5
Dear Editor The intersection between religion/spirituality and the perpetration of partner violence is understudied. Specifically, studies in the present literature only discuss religion/spirituality in the context of approaches to the treatment of partner violence and strictly in ethnic subcultures, such as AfricanAmericans (Gillum, 2008; Jones, 2002), aboriginals (Puchala, Paul, Kennedy, & Mehl-Madrona, 2010) and Latinos (Welland & Ribner, 2010). The purpose of the present study was to examine in a sample perpetrators of partner violence the prevalence of distancing oneself from God–a possible indication of a religion/spirituality deficit among perpetrators–as well as any potential demographic differences with regard to this item, particularly ethnicity. Participants in this study were adult US men and women in a mid-central state who were court-referred to a group educational intervention in one of four different treatment facilities for the perpetration of partner violence. After receiving approval from the executive directors of these treatment agencies, the recruiter (K.E.) met with 24 different treatment groups, reviewed the project focus and enrolled 193 of 235 participants (82.1%). The recruiter obtained signed consent forms and provided surveys for completion in-group and onsite. The survey contained a demographic query as well as the Self-Harm Inventory (SHI; Sansone, Wiederman, & Sansone, 1998), which assesses the lifetime prevalence of 22 self-harm behaviors. Item 14 of the SHI queries, ‘Have you ever intentionally, or on purpose, distanced yourself from God as punishment?’, with a yes/no response option. Note that distancing oneself from God infers a previous God connection that has now been defaulted upon. Participants were advised to not identify themselves on the surveys. Completed surveys were placed into sealed envelopes and given to the researcher. The project was reviewed and approved by an institutional review board. Of the 193 participants, 170 were male and 23 were female. All participants checked an age range falling between 18 and 65 years, with most (71.5%) endorsing between 21 and 40 years. White/Caucasian ethnicity was most commonly reported (43.0%), followed by Black/ African American (19.7%), Native American (14.5%), Hispanic/Latino (11.4%), Other (10.9%) and Asian (0.5%).
In terms of intentionally distancing oneself from God, 30.1% of participants endorsed this item. As for demographic analyses, the difference in the percentage of men (30.6%) and women (26.1%) endorsing this item was not statistically significant, χ2 = 0.20, p
