Domestic Violence Quiz

For each of the statements below, check whether you think they are true or false.  All statements refer to domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence, in the United States.  To obtain the answers, contact John Hamel, Ph.D., LCSW at:  johnmhamel@comcast.net

1. Approximately 75% of domestic violence is perpetrated by a man upon his female partner.  The other 25% is divided between female-on-male and same-sex assaults.	T F
2. The most reliable, up-to-date statistics tell us that women are 7-8 times more likely than men to suffer a physical injury in a domestic violence encounter.	T F
3. Older children who witness domestic violence are more impacted, in terms of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, than younger children.	T F
4. Rates of domestic violence among lesbian partners are significantly lower than rates among gay men or heterosexual partners.	T F
5. Women who physically assault their intimate partners sometimes strike first, but usually are acting either in self-defense.	T F
6. Most physical child abuse is perpetrated by fathers, who typically are also battering the mother.	T F
7. Female-perpetrated violence is more often than not “expressive” (reactive and the result of escalating conflict); whereas male-perpetrated violence is usually “instrumental” (used to gain power and control over the partner.)	T F
8. Women engage in verbal abuse, and most other forms of emotional abuse, three times as often as men.	T F
9. Women now make up approximately 35% of all spousal abuse arrests.	T F
10. Outcome studies support the long-held view by victim advocates that couples counseling for perpetrators is both unsafe and ineffective compared to the traditional pyschoeducational same-sex group format.	T F
11. In the average relationship, intimate domestic violence increases over time.	T F
12. There is a significant correlation between perpetration of intimate partner violence and child abuse, but primarily for men.	T F