Deborah Mahlstedt | West Chester University of PA (original) (raw)

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Papers by Deborah Mahlstedt

Two studies investigated college students ’ perceptions of causes of violence in heterosex-ual da... more Two studies investigated college students ’ perceptions of causes of violence in heterosex-ual dating relationships. Study 1 examined 107 participants ’ written causal explana-tions for dating violence. The second study focused on 70 students ’ ratings of cause in 15 scenarios ending with the man hitting the woman. Relationship and communication problems were primary causes when dating violence was presented in a concrete situa-tion, whereas power and gender socialization were primary causes when presented as a social problem. Participants acknowledge power as an important cause, which suggests feminist structural frameworks in which relationship violence is embedded may lead to more effective prevention education.

Violence Against Women, 2005

Two studies investigated college students’ perceptions of causes of violence in heterosexual dati... more Two studies investigated college students’ perceptions of causes of violence in heterosexual dating relationships. Study 1 examined 107 participants’ written causal explanations for dating violence. The second study focused on 70 students’ ratings of cause in 15 scenarios ending with the man hitting the woman. Relationship and communication problems were primary causes when dating violence was presented in a concrete situation, whereas power and gender socialization were primary causes when presented as a social problem. Participants acknowledge power as an important cause, which suggests feminist structural frameworks in which relationship violence is embedded may lead to more effective prevention education.

Psychology of Women Quarterly, 1992

Psychology of Women Quarterly, 1999

The dismantling of a male-dominated "power-over" social structure and its manifestations in human... more The dismantling of a male-dominated "power-over" social structure and its manifestations in human activities and relationships lies at the center of feminist thought. For many feminist psychologists, this has meant challenging the privileged, allknowing, objective position of the researcher; viewing the "naive subject" of study as a participant in the process of creating knowledge; and using research methods aimed at transforming an oppressive culture (Burman, 1992; Crawford & Marecek, 1989; Hollway, 1989). These goals are at the center of the Community Education Team's (this issue) article: "Fostering Kelationality When Implementing and Evaluating a Collective-Drama Approach to Preventing Violence Against Women." The authors use the concept of relationality to describe the process of developing interdependence and an "egalitarian, democratic research relationship" among those involved in the study. Although "sharing power" is a goal of feminist research and pedagogy, detailed accounts of the process of incorporating feminist ideas regarding power relations in U.S. psychological research are rare. The Community Education Team reminds us that those ideas most central to feminist thoughtpower, process, and social change-are often the very ideas that still elude U.S. feminist psychological research. SOCIAL CHANGE: TRADITION AND INNOVATION I applaud violence-prevention research that expands its focus from changing individuals to changing systems that promote violence against women. Fifty years ago Kurt Lewin (1948), the "practical theorist" first introduced the idea of actionresearch. I wish to thank Stacey Schlau and Ellen Wert for their helpful feedback o n this commentary.

Transformations, Sep 30, 1992

Two studies investigated college students ’ perceptions of causes of violence in heterosex-ual da... more Two studies investigated college students ’ perceptions of causes of violence in heterosex-ual dating relationships. Study 1 examined 107 participants ’ written causal explana-tions for dating violence. The second study focused on 70 students ’ ratings of cause in 15 scenarios ending with the man hitting the woman. Relationship and communication problems were primary causes when dating violence was presented in a concrete situa-tion, whereas power and gender socialization were primary causes when presented as a social problem. Participants acknowledge power as an important cause, which suggests feminist structural frameworks in which relationship violence is embedded may lead to more effective prevention education.

Violence Against Women, 2005

Two studies investigated college students’ perceptions of causes of violence in heterosexual dati... more Two studies investigated college students’ perceptions of causes of violence in heterosexual dating relationships. Study 1 examined 107 participants’ written causal explanations for dating violence. The second study focused on 70 students’ ratings of cause in 15 scenarios ending with the man hitting the woman. Relationship and communication problems were primary causes when dating violence was presented in a concrete situation, whereas power and gender socialization were primary causes when presented as a social problem. Participants acknowledge power as an important cause, which suggests feminist structural frameworks in which relationship violence is embedded may lead to more effective prevention education.

Psychology of Women Quarterly, 1992

Psychology of Women Quarterly, 1999

The dismantling of a male-dominated "power-over" social structure and its manifestations in human... more The dismantling of a male-dominated "power-over" social structure and its manifestations in human activities and relationships lies at the center of feminist thought. For many feminist psychologists, this has meant challenging the privileged, allknowing, objective position of the researcher; viewing the "naive subject" of study as a participant in the process of creating knowledge; and using research methods aimed at transforming an oppressive culture (Burman, 1992; Crawford & Marecek, 1989; Hollway, 1989). These goals are at the center of the Community Education Team's (this issue) article: "Fostering Kelationality When Implementing and Evaluating a Collective-Drama Approach to Preventing Violence Against Women." The authors use the concept of relationality to describe the process of developing interdependence and an "egalitarian, democratic research relationship" among those involved in the study. Although "sharing power" is a goal of feminist research and pedagogy, detailed accounts of the process of incorporating feminist ideas regarding power relations in U.S. psychological research are rare. The Community Education Team reminds us that those ideas most central to feminist thoughtpower, process, and social change-are often the very ideas that still elude U.S. feminist psychological research. SOCIAL CHANGE: TRADITION AND INNOVATION I applaud violence-prevention research that expands its focus from changing individuals to changing systems that promote violence against women. Fifty years ago Kurt Lewin (1948), the "practical theorist" first introduced the idea of actionresearch. I wish to thank Stacey Schlau and Ellen Wert for their helpful feedback o n this commentary.

Transformations, Sep 30, 1992

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