New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 2003, 32(2): 67-75

This article presents a study that aims to understand cognitive and behavioural aspects behind domestic violence offending. The study replicated research conducted with child sex offenders investigating the abstinence violation effect (AVE). The participants were 15 men serving a prison or community service sentence for committing partner violence. The researchers measured different emotions at various stages in the offending process, and found that two-thirds of the sample experienced some type of AVE. Many of the participants attributed internal factors to their offending, such as anger and losing control, in contrast to child sex offenders who tend to make external attributions for their offending. The researchers suggest there is no single pathway to domestic violence offending, so treatment plans should be tailored to the individual. Limitations of this research, such as the small sample size, are identified and elaborated upon.