Perception of violence in heterosexual relationship in regard to the type of violence and gender of the victim/perpetrator

Nasilje u intimnim vezama je široko prepoznat društveni problem, no mnogi slučajevi nasilja ostanu neprepoznati od strane bliskih prijatelja i članova obitelji (Garcia-Moreno i sur., 2013). To je potaknulo mnoga istraživanja percepcije nasilja i stavova prema žrtvama i počiniteljima. Spol i vrsta nasilja su jedni od važnijih čimbenika koji mogu utjecati na percepciju nasilnog događaja. Broj istraživanja koja se bave utjecajem ovih čimbenika na percepciju nasilja, a osobito njihovim interakcijskim učinkom, je relativno malen. Stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja bio ispitati kako spol žrtve/počinitelja i vrsta nasilja (psihičko, fizičko) utječu na razlike u percepciji nasilja. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 195 sudionika (66 muškog i 129 ženskog spola) s rasponom dobi između 18 i 33 godina. Sudionicima je nasumično prezentirana jedna od četiri verzije kratke priče u kojoj je opisano nasilje u ljubavnoj vezi. Četiri verzije priče su se razlikovale s obzirom na vrstu nasilja (fizičko, psihičko) i spol žrtve/počinitelja (muški, ženski). Nakon čitanja priče, sudionici su na skali procjene davali odgovore na šest pitanja koja su se odnosila na doživljaj opisanog događaja. Analiza podataka pokazala je da je nasilje procijenjeno ozbiljnijim, odgovornost počinitelja, doživljena ljutnja i sažaljenje te spremnost pomaganju većim, a odgovornost žrtve manjom za opise fizičkog u odnosu na opise pihičkog nasilja. Odgovornost žrtve je procijenjena manjom, a doživljena ljutnja i spremnost pomaganju većom za opise nasilja nad osobom ženskog spola u odnosu na nasilje nad osobom muškog spola. Nije utvrđen glavni efekt spola žrtve/počinitelja na procjene ozbiljnosti nasilja, odgovornosti počinitelja i doživljenog sažaljenja. Analizom varijance interakcijski efekt vrste nasilja i spola žrtve nije utvrđen ni za jednu zavisnu varijablu. Međutim, neparametrijske analize upućuju na postojanje interakcijskog efekta za procjene odgovornosti žrtve i doživljene ljutnje. Za opis psihičkog nasilja, nije utvrđena razlika u procjenama odgovornosti žrtve i doživljene ljutnje s obzirom na spol žrtve, dok je za opis fizičkog nasilja, odgovornost žrtve procijenjena manjom, a doživljena ljutnja većom za nasilje nad ženom u odnosu na nasilje nad muškarcem.Intimate partner violence has been widely recognized as a social problem, but many cases of violence remain unrecognized by close friends and family members (Garcia-Moreno i sur., 2013). This has prompted many studies of perceptions of violence and attitudes towards victims and perpetrators. Gender and the type of violence are among the most important factors that can influence the perception of a violent event. The number of studies that investigated the effect of these factors on the perception of violence, especially the interaction effect, is relatively small. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine differences in the perception of intimate partner violence regarding the gender of the victim/perpetrator and the type of violence (psychological, physical). The study was conducted on a sample of 195 participants (66 males and 129 females) between the ages of 18 and 33. Participants were randomly presented with one of four versions of a short story describing intimate partner violence. Four versions of the story differed regarding the type of violence (physical, psychological) and gender of the victim/perpetrator (male, female). After reading the stories, the participants answered to six questions related to the perceptions of the described event. The data analysis showed that the ratings of the violence seriousness, the perpetrator's responsibility, anger, pity and willingness to help were higher, and ratings of victim's responsibility lower for descriptions of physical than for descriptions of psychological violence. The responsibility of the victim was rated lower, and anger and willingness to help higher for descriptions of violence towards woman compared to violence towards man. The results showed no main effect of victim's gender on ratings of seriousness, perpetrator's responsibility, and pity. Analysis of variance showed no interaction effect of the violence type and victim's gender for any dependent variable. However, nonparametric analyses indicate the existence of interaction effect for ratings of victim's responsibility and anger. For description of psychological violence, difference in ratings of victim's responsibility and anger in regard to victim's gender was not identified. However, for description of physical violence, victim's responsibility was rated lower, and anger was rated higher for description of violence towards woman compared to violence towards man