An Empirical Test of Johnson's Typology of Intimate Partner Violence in Two Samples of Men

Denise A. Hines, Emily M. Douglas

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Johnson's typology of intimate partner violence (IPV) postulates four types: intimate terrorism (IT), situational couple violence (SCV), violent resistance (VR), and mutual violent control (MVC). Johnson asserts that IT (i.e., severe violence is part of the perpetrator's use of coercive control and power) is primarily perpetrated by men and can be solely explained by patriarchal theory and MVC is rare. These assertions are based on results from samples that included data only on women and victimization. This study tests Johnson's typology using a population-based sample of men and a sample of male IPV victims. Results showed that women were the primary perpetrators of IT, while men primarily used VR. SCV was more common in the population-based sample than in the male victims sample. MVC was just as common as IT in the population-based sample, while IT was more common than MVC in the male victims sample. We compare our results with Johnson's and discuss issues of sampling biases and the need for more complex underlying theories.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)180-198
Number of pages19
JournalPartner Abuse
Volume10
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 2019

Keywords

  • domestic violence
  • intimate terrorism
  • male victims
  • partner violence

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'An Empirical Test of Johnson's Typology of Intimate Partner Violence in Two Samples of Men'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this