JOURNAL OF FAMILY THERAPY Journal of Family Therapy (2010) 32: 280-307 doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6427.2010.00494.x Caught in the rejection-abuse cycle: are we really treating perpetrators of domestic abuse effectively? Jac Brown,a Kerrie Jamesb and Alan Taylor This article proposes that some perpetrators of domestic violence re- spond to their partners' apparent rejection of them with abusive beha- viour, and that there exists a cycle of rejection and abuse. The model posits that some men, having experienced rejection within their families of origin or in relation to past partners, become sensitive to potential rejection in their current relationships. The cycle for rejection-sensitive men consists of an event that constitutes a threat to self, leading to a defence against this threat which in turn results in psychological or physical abuse. This model was tested on sixty-six male participants of perpetrator group programmes who completed a survey designed to measure each point in the proposed model through path analysis. There was support for the following model: rejection, threat to self-defence against threat, abuse. Other paths were tested, but were not significant. These results are discussed in terms of the implications for treating perpetrators. Keywords: domestic violence; group treatment; perpetrator; rejection. Introduction Over the past two decades, researchers and practitioners have made gradual and significant progress in understanding men's domestic violence. From the early conception of violence as an inevitable outcome of men's role as the head of the family and women's relative subordination, current explanations embrace a tapestry of feminist, sociological and psychological perspectives. Goldner and colleagues (1990) identified four salient areas of knowledge that offer useful accounts of men's violence towards women in intimate relationships. These are: (1) sociopolitical factors related to male entitlement and power; (2) social learning factors promoting differential socialization a Department of Psychology. Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. E-mail: jac.brown @mq.edu.au. b School of Social Work, University of New South Wales, Australia. c Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. C 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation C 2010 The Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
Caught in the rejection-abuse cycle 281 of males and females as well as traditional expectations for relation- ships; (3) systemic factors that contribute to the escalation and maintenance of violent patterns of interaction between partners; and (4) psychodynamic factors that link childhood attachment experi- ences with adult romantic relationships. This article contributes to one element of this tapestry, namely an understanding of IPV (intimate partner violence) from the perspective of psychodynamic and attach- ment frameworks. In particular, it explores the role of men's experi- ence of rejection and shame as significant factors in the landscape of men's violence towards female partners.1 Attachment research has demonstrated that children who experi- ence constant or unpredictable rejection or abandonment from their primary caregivers are significantly affected by this experience (Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980). Normally, at times of separation from their parent or main caregiver, infants may become distressed and