The Associations Between Prior Abuse Experiences and Causal Attributions for Intimate Partner Violence Among Service-Attending Husbands in Jordan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25217/0020269744100Keywords:
abuse experiences, intimate partner violence, perpetrators, rehabilitationAbstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health issue in Jordan, yet research on perpetrator cognition remains limited. While prior abuse is a known risk factor, its association with how perpetrators explain their own violence specifically through causal attributions is underexplored in this context. This study aimed to examine the associations between prior abuse experiences and causal attributions among service-attending husbands in Jordan who have perpetrated IPV. A descriptive correlational design was employed with a convenience sample of 120 husbands recruited from rehabilitation and judicial services. Participants completed the Abuse Experiences Inventory (AEI) and the Causal Attribution Inventory (CAI), with data analyzed using Pearson correlations. Results indicated moderate levels across all attribution dimensions (internal, external, stable, unstable). Domestic abuse was the most reported prior experience. Weak but statistically significant positive correlations were found between all abuse domains and attribution dimensions (r = .186–.206, p < .05), with the strongest link between domestic abuse and external attributions. These findings suggest a modest association between abuse history and attribution styles, highlighting the potential value of addressing cognitive factors in perpetrator interventions without diminishing personal accountability. The study contributes to a nuanced understanding of IPV perpetrators in Jordan and underscores the need for longitudinal research to clarify these relationships.
References
10.1007/s10896-012-9429-1
10.4197/Art.29-8.2
10.1037/fam0000126
10.1111/j.1460-2466.1978.tb01621.x
Brislin, R. W. (1986). The wording and translation of research instruments. In W. J. Lonner & J. W. Berry (Eds.), Field methods in cross-cultural research (pp. 137–164). Sage Publications.
10.4324/9780203867266
10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.155
Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2018). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (4th ed.). Routledge.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
DeVellis, R. F. (2017). Scale development: Theory and applications (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
Dutton, D. G. (1995). The Batterer: A Psychological Profile. Basic Books
10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11
Family Protection Foundation. (2023). The annual report on domestic violence statistics for 2023 . Amman, Jordan.
10.3758/BF03193146
Gondolf, E. W. (2012). The future of batterer programs: Reassessing evidence-based practice. Northeastern University Press.
10.1007/s10896-008-9163-x
10.1023/A:1024012229984
10.1023/A:1007554229592
10.1016/S2214-109X(15)00013-3
10.1177/0093854805282322
10.1016/j.jad.2015.09.006
10.1111/j.1939-0025.1987.tb03528.x
Khadda, F. (2019). Childhood abuse experiences, emotion regulation, and problem-solving ability as predictors of aggressive behavior in a sample of at-risk adolescents. Journal of Humanities and Natural Sciences, 6 (2), 748–770.
Murphy, C. M., & Eckhardt, C. I. (2005). Treating the abusive partner: An individualized cognitive-behavioral approach. Guilford Press.
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
10.1891/9780826179913
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2021). Essentials of nursing research: Appraising evidence for nursing practice (10th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Ptacek, J. (1988). Why do men batter their wives? In K. Yllo & M. Bograd (Eds.), Feminist perspectives on wife abuse (pp. 133–157). Sage Publications.
Piquero, A. R., et al. (2021). The joint trajectory of child abuse exposure and adolescent violence perpetration. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(1-2). https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517719543
10.1016/j.avb.2022.101796
Shahat, I., Sawan, M., Ibrahim, N., & Rifat, O. (2022). Childhood abuse experiences and their relationship to post-traumatic stress disorder among secondary school students. The Arab Journal of Educational and Psychological Sciences, 6 (25), 1–48.
10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00640.x
10.1016/j.avb.2003.09.001
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using multivariate statistics (7th ed.). Pearson.
10.1016/bs.adms.2018.08.002
10.1037/0022-3514.55.5.738
10.1037//0033-2909.106.1.3
World Health Organization. (2023). Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2023. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240084638
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Shooroq Maberah, Mohammed Abu Al-Rub
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
