Citation

Lane B, Knowles A. Psychiatry Psychol. Law. 2000; 7(1): 51.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13218710009524970

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This research investigated whether attributions of responsibility, causality and blame towards the perpetrator and victim in a domestic violence scenario were influenced by the presence of alcohol or severity of the violence. Ninety-six members of the community were presented with a vignette involving a domestic violence scenario, where the presence of alcohol, and level of violence, was varied. Personal attitudes towards violence and recommendations for punishments were also assessed. Results indicated that the presence of alcohol and severity of the incident did not affect responsibility attributions, possibly because the perpetrator was assigned almost full responsibility in all cases. However, recommendations for punishment were harsher for the conditions involving alcohol and when greater injuries were sustained by the victim. Participants who scored higher on an acceptance of interpersonal violence stale suggested more lenient punishments. Psychological interventions were frequently nominated as a necessary adjunct to conventional punishments. It can be concluded that this sample generally did not accept alcohol intoxication as an excuse for domestic violence and also believed offenders would benefit from psychological interventions.