Marriage and Family Therapists\u27 Perceptions of Intimate Partner Aggression in Couples\u27 Cases

Intimate partner aggression (IPA) encompasses physical, sexual, or emotional aggression from a current or past romantic partner (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). IPA is highly common in clinical samples, with around 50% or more of couples seeking therapeutic services having a history of IPA. The sheer frequency suggests Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) will inevitably confront IPA in their clinical careers. In fact, almost 99% of MFTs have reported working with IPA (Blasko et al., 2007). Despite the prevalence of couples’ cases with a history of IPA, research has demonstrated concerns with therapists’ ability to identify IPA, correctly identify the perpetrator(s), and conduct adequate risk assessments (Blasko et al., 2007; Dersch et al., 2006; Hansen et al., 1991). The purpose of this study was to examine how modality and IPA exposure impact MFTs’ recognition of IPA, identification of perpetrator(s), and risk assessment in a case example among 37 MFTs. It was hypothesized that participants who received the male unilateral modality and who had previous IPA exposure would be more likely to recognize the IPA, correctly identify the perpetrator(s), and indicate risk of future harm in their given case example. Logistic regression analyses did not reveal any significant relationships between the variables. However, it was found that 91.9% of MFTs recognized the IPA in their case example, 78.4% correctly identified the perpetrator(s), and 89.2% indicated the potential for future harm. This study emphasizes the importance of the rates reaching 100% because until that occurs some couples experiencing IPA will be overlooked and subsequently provided with inadequate treatment