Media, Public Health, and Colluding With Murder: The Development of a Domestic Violence Perpetrator Collusion Measurement Tool.

Aim 1: To determine the impact of media "frames," "labeling," and "information inclusion" on "implicit collusion" with a DV perpetrator.

Hypotheses: Consumers exposed to media reports using "thematic frames" will be less likely to implicitly collude with perpetrators than those exposed to "episodic frames." Consumers exposed to DVH news stories labeled as "domestic violence" will be less likely to implicitly collude with perpetrators than consumers exposed to news stories labeled as "assault." Implicit collusion will correlate positively with the addition of non-relevant perpetrator "humanizing" characteristics. Consumers given negative information about the victim of DVH will be more likely to implicitly collude with the perpetrator than consumers given negative information about the perpetrator.

Aim 2: To determine how media portrayals of domestic violence impact descriptive and injunctive norms about domestic violence and, ultimately, drive implicit collusion with perpetrators.

Hypotheses: Controlling for individual pre-existing attitudes and social norms, consumers exposed to thematic frames or the label of DV will be less likely to shift their norms in a way that supports DV than those exposed to episodic frames or the label of assault. Consumers provided negative victim information or non-relevant characteristics that humanize the perpetrator will be more likely to shift their norms to accept DV.

Exploratory Aim: To identify racial/ethnic, gender, age, and regional differences in DV social norms.