Dr. Suzanne Swan
Assistant Professor

Suzanne Swan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, Clinical-Community Program, and the Women's Studies Program. Dr. Swan received her Ph.D. in Social and Personality Psychology with a minor in Women's Studies in 1997 from the University of Illinois. Before coming to USC, Dr. Swan was the Director of Family Violence Programs at the Yale School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Swan's program of research follows the tradition of Kurt Lewin's dictum that "there is nothing so practical as a good theory." Her aim has been to conduct research that develops and empirically examines theory in the area of violence against women.

Women’s use of violence.
Dr. Swan is currently conducting a National Institute of Justice-funded study of women's use of violence against male intimate partners. The study examines the role of race, ethnicity, and culture in shaping the experiences of women in violent relationships with a large sample of African American, Latina, and White women.

Why study women’s violence?
Women's violence is an issue that is not well understood. Numerous studies have found that women self-report as much perpetration of physical violence against their partners as men. However, the vast majority of these studies examined only physical violence, not sexual violence, coercive control, or injury. These findings have generated a great deal of controversy, in part because there has been no theoretical framework advanced to explain women's violence. The criminal justice system also struggles with how to conceptualize and intervene when women are arrested for domestic violence offenses. Most states use the same kinds of sanctions and interventions for men and women with domestic violence charges. However, interventions for domestic violence offenders were designed for men and do not necessarily translate well to female offenders.

The goal of Dr. Swan's research in this area is to develop a theoretical framework of women's violence against male intimate partners by placing the occurrence of women's violence in a broader social and relational context. In an earlier study, Dr. Swan found that:

1. women's violence almost always occurred in the context of violence against them by male partners;
2. while women in this study committed comparable levels of moderate physical violence and emotional abuse as their male partners committed against them, male partners committed more severe physical violence, sexual coercion, coercive control, and injury; and
3. the majority of women reported that their violence was driven by defensive motives

Violence Prevention with College Men.
The college years are a high-risk time for women to experience sexual assault and dating violence. Over the course of a college career, up to 25% of women may experience a sexual assault and 45% may experience intimate partner violence. Violence prevention groups on college campuses, in schools, and in communities are becoming increasingly aware that violence against women cannot end unless men take an active role in stopping it. This awareness has led to an increase in programs that focus on men’s roles in preventing violence against women. Studies have found that the risk of engaging in violence can be reduced in male middle and high school populations (Foshee et al., 2004). Prevention interventions geared towards college men have shown promise, although the efficacy of these programs is not yet known.

Though only a minority of men engage in violence against women, all men can have an influence on the culture and environment that perpetuates men's violence against women. The objective of this project is to implement a preventive intervention conducted with male college students to reduce intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women. The intervention is in the form of an undergraduate class entitled "Changing Carolina: College Men Can Make a Difference". The class is designed by and for men, and covers topics such as: what is masculinity; how do men learn and practice gender; the social construction of masculinity; and masculinity and violence. The class also teaches men that they have a critical role in stopping violence against women - it is not solely a "women's issue". In addition, the class covers the topic of bystander intervention - in which a man who is opposed to violence has a peer who is violent or hostile towards women or who makes jokes about violence against women. The class will discuss things that non-violent men (who comprise the vast majority) can do to challenge peers who promote an atmosphere of hostility towards women.

The "Changing Carolina" class is currently composed of male undergraduate students and two male graduate student instructors. The intervention uses a peer education model; students design class projects that they will use to educate their peers in the USC community about masculinity and violence, as well as how to intervene in situations in which violence may occur. For their class project, students will develop two types of presentations that they will deliver to their peers. The first is a 30-minute presentation, designed to educate men about violence prevention in an engaging, enjoyable format. The second is a public service announcement video that students shoot, edit, and present, about the ways men can get involved in preventing and ending violence.

Men’s use of violence.
Dr. Swan's research has also examined risk factors for men's abuse against intimate female partners, with an interest in identifying factors that may be modifiable in interventions with domestically violent men. For example, in a study of male participants in a court-mandated program for individuals with domestic violence arrests, she and her colleagues found that depressive symptoms and alcohol use predicted men's abuse, and that greater use of avoidance coping strategies predicted both of these antecedents. These results are encouraging because coping skills interventions have been found to be helpful in reducing both avoidance coping and substance use. The inclusion of coping skills interventions in programs for domestically violent men may help to improve the effectiveness of these programs.

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Dr. Swan is a member of the Psychology of Women and Society for Community Research and Action divisions of the American Psychological Association. She is currently serving as guest co-editor for a special issue of Violence Against Women based on a National Institute of Justice workshop on "gender symmetry" in intimate partner violence.

Dr. Swan’s teaching interests include:

• The Psychology of Women (PSYC/WOST 310)
• Undergraduate Social Psychology (PSYC 430)
• Graduate Social Psychology (PSYC 770)
• Relationship Violence (WOST 796B/PSYC 841A)
• Women and their Bodies in Health & Disease (WOST 113)

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SELECTED PAPERS:
Snow, D.L., Sullivan, T.P., Swan, S.C., Tate, D.C., & Klein, I. (2006). The role of coping and problem drinking in men's abuse of female partners: Test of a path model. Violence and Victims, 21, 267-285.

Swan, S.C. (2006). Men Making A Difference: An Intervention Program to Engage College Men in Reducing Violence Against Women. Grant proposal to American Psychological Foundation.

Swan, S.C., Gambone, L.J., Sullivan, T.P., & Snow, D.L. (in press). A review of research on women’s use of violence with male intimate partners. To appear in Violence and Victims.

Swan, S. C., & Snow, D. L. (2006). The development of a theory of women's use of violence in intimate relationships. Violence Against Women, 12.

Gender Symmetry, Sexism, & Intimate Partner Violence, (under review, Violence & Victims), Christopher T. Allen, Suzanne C. Swan, and Chitra Raghavan

Sullivan, T.P., Meese, K.J., Swan, S.C., Mazure, C.M., and Snow, D.L. (2005). Precursors and correlates of women's violence: Childhood abuse traumatization, victimization of women, avoidance coping, and psychological symptoms. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29, 290-301.

Swan, S. C., Gambone, L. J., Fields, A. M., Sullivan, T. P., and Snow, D. L. (2005). Anger, victimization, and women's use of violence in intimate relationships. . Violence and Victims, 20, 267-285.

Raghavan, C., Swan, S. C., Snow, D. L., and Mazure, C. M. (2005). The Mediational Role of Relationship Efficacy and Resource Utilization in the Link Between Physical and Psychological Abuse and Relationship Termination. Violence Against Women, 11, 65-88.

Swan, S. C., & Snow, D. L. (2003). Behavioral and psychological differences among abused women who use violence in intimate relationships. Violence Against Women, 9, 75-109.

Swan, S.C., & Snow, D.L. (2002). A typology of women’s use of violence in intimate relationships. Violence Against Women, 8, 286-319.

Swan, S. (2000, November). Women who fight back: The development of a theory of women's use of violence in intimate relationships, invited presentation at the National Institute of Justice "Gender Symmetry Workshop", Washington, D.C. Available: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/vawprog/proceed.htm.

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Video Presentations

Assistant Professsor Research Showcase Video
Psychology Department Colloquia Video, Abstract

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