Beliefs and Attributions of Partner Violence Perpetrators: The Physical and Psychological Violence of Adolescent Males

Partner violence is a crime of national concern. Understanding the cognitions of adolescent males who perpetrate partner violence is critical to develop appropriate interventions. One hundred and thirty-two partnered undergraduate males were assessed on gender beliefs, relationship beliefs, and partner attributions. More than 80% of males endorsed psychological or physical violence perpetration in the past year. Adolescent males who perpetrated psychological or physical partner violence were more likely to endorse hostile beliefs about women, negative partner attributions, and unrealistic relationship beliefs, as compared with nonviolent adolescents. Further, the relationship belief that partners cannot change and hostile partner attributions significantly predicted the frequency of psychological partner violence. The relationship belief disagreement is destructive predicted the frequency of physical partner violence, controlling for the influence of psychological violence. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.