Objectives Attitudes justifying intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) can play an essential role in explaining the prevalence of such public health problem. The study aim was to explain attitudes justifying IPVAW identifying individual and societal risk factors. Design and setting A multilevel cross-sectional study of the World Values Survey (WVS) in 54 global countries. Participants A representative transnational community-based sample of 81 516 participants (47.8% male, 52.1% female), aged mean of 42.41. Measures Attitudes justifying IPVAW, sociodemographic, sexism, self-transcendence and conservation values were measured using questions from WVS. Country and regional gender inequality were assessed by Gender Inequality Index. Results Around 16% (intraclass correlation=0.16) of individual differences in attitudes justifying IPVAW are explained by countries. Statistically significant predictors at individual and country level were: sex (B=−0.24, 95% CI −0.27 to −0.22), age (B=−0.08 to −0.25, 95% CI −0.34 to −0.03), marital status (B=0.09 to 0.23, 95% CI 0.002 to 0.33), educational level (B=−0.10 to −0.14, 95% CI −0.20 to −0.04), self-transcendence values (B=−0.10, 95% CI −0.20 to −0.12), sexism (B=0.21, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.28), country (B=2.18, 95% CI 1.09 to 3.26) and regional (B=2.23, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.42) gender inequality. Country gender inequality (B=−0.18, p=0.12) and regional gender inequality (B=−0.21, p=0.10) did not moderate the associations between self-transcendence values and attitudes justifying IPVAW. In the same way for sexism, data did not provide support for a moderating role of country gender inequality (B=0.22, p=0.26) and regional gender inequality (B=0.10, p=0.66). Conclusions Individual and country predictors accounted for differences in attitudes justifying IPVAW. However, neither gender inequality of country nor gender inequality of region interacted with sexism and self-transcendence values. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.

Police officers are society’s first interveners in intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) and are essential for victim safety. Despite IPVAW laws, police attitudes influence their real actions during IPVAW intervention. However, the fuzzy conceptualization of the construct deters the pursuit of conclusive evidence. This systematic review sought to identify the components of police attitudes toward intervention in IPVAW and their determinants. A search was conducted through several databases (e.g., Web of Science). Papers were included if they (a) provided original empirical findings or were review studies, (b) were published between 1990 and 2019, (c) were written in Spanish or English, (d) alluded to police officers, and (e) focused on police attitudes toward intervention in IPVAW or their determinants. Fifty-seven papers were included. The studied components of police attitudes toward intervention in IPVAW extracted from the literature were tolerance of IPVAW, minimal police involvement, unsupportive and supportive attitudes toward the legal system and legislation against IPVAW, understanding of the complex nature of abuse, and IPVAW intervention as an important police task. Moreover, the central role of individual and situational determinants in police attitudes toward intervention in IPVAW was confirmed, whereas organizational and societal determinants were studied scarcely. This review proposes a framework upon which to build operational definition of police attitudes toward intervention in IPVAW and includes remarks on police backgrounds and the situational characteristics of IPVAW events that are essential in shaping police procedures for managing them. Empirical evidence should be transferred to police training and standard operating procedures.

Public helping reactions are essential to reduce a victim’s secondary victimization in intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) cases. Because gender-related characteristics have been linked widely to IPVAW prevalence, the study aimed to examine individual attitudes and perceptions toward different forms of violence against women, as well as gender-related macrosocial ideological and structural factors, in explaining helping reactions to IPVAW across 28 European countries. We performed multilevel logistic regression analysis, taking measures from the Eurobarometer 2016 (N = 7115) and the European Institute for Gender Equality datasets. Our study revealed a greater individual perceived IPVAW prevalence, positive perception about the appropriateness of a legal response to psychological and sexual violence against women partners, and less VAW-supportive attitudes predicted helping reactions (i.e., formal, informal), but not negative reactions to IPVAW. Moreover, individuals from European countries with a greater perceived IPVAW prevalence and gender equality preferred formal reactions to IPVAW. Otherwise, in the European countries with lesser perceived IPVAW prevalence and negative perceptions about the appropriate legal response to psychological and sexual violence, people were more likely to provide informal reactions to IPVAW. Our results showed the role of gender-related characteristics influenced real reactions toward known victim of IPVAW.

Power dynamics are fundamental when negotiating conflicts. However, no instrument for measuring power in romantic relationships has been adequately adapted to Spanish culture. The goal of this research was to adapt the Relationship Power Inventory (RPI; Farrell et al., 2015) to Spanish culture and language, filling this gap by providing a rigorous instrument for evaluating this construct. Study 1 was conducted to obtain evidence based on Spanish adaptation of RPI content. Once the Spanish adaptation of the RPI was built and we obtained validity evidence based on the test content, in Study 2, the scale was administered to two different samples of the adult population following a cross-validation approach. Specifically, in Sample 1 (N = 400), the training sample, a statistical analysis and an exploration of the dimensional structure and reliability of the measure were carried out. In Sample 2 (N = 755), the validation sample, the internal structure of the scale was confirmed, and evidence of external validity and generalization was obtained. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit for the four-factor structure. These dimensions were invariant to gender and had adequate validity based on their relationship with other variables (dependence on the partner, conflict-resolution strategies, and psychological well-being). In sum, the Spanish version of the RPI (SARPI) is a reliable instrument with sufficient valid evidence to provide accurate measurement of power differences in the context of romantic relationships.

Purpose: Attitudes toward intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) are a key predictor of police officers’ experiences and approaches to handling IPVAW incidents. While individual studies have attempted to conceptualize and assess police attitudes, a comprehensive theoretical framework—grounded in officers’ own beliefs and emotions and supported by a robust mixed-methods approach for accurate data integration—remains lacking, particularly in cultural and legal contexts such as Spain. Our aim is to develop a preliminary framework of police attitudes toward intervention in IPVAW, capturing differences based on specialized IPVAW roles. Methods: Drawing from six focus groups with 36 Spanish specialized and nonspecialized IPVAW police officers, we applied content and semantic network analysis. Results: Analyses confirmed police perspectives organized in two domains (reactive or proactive) directed toward nine objects: victim, perpetrator, event, self, law, philosophy of policing in IPVAW, resources, barriers, and other involved professionals. Besides, nonspecialized (vs. specialized) IPVAW police officers’ perspectives were more complex, less organized, and included a higher focus on reactive attitudes. Conclusions: Results provides a starting framework of police attitudes toward intervention in IPVAW according to prior theory, field data of two police profiles (nonspecialized and specialized IPVAW role) and rigorous methodological approach. We reported common and different components of police attitudes according to IPVAW specialization for further investigation. The evidence obtained can contribute to the suitable assessment of police attitudes toward intervention in IPVAW and reformulate training programs according to police needs.