Affiliation:
1. Department of Psychology, University of Houston
2. Department of Psychology, University of Houston.
3. Director of Working Together for Change, an agency serving assaultive women in Houston, Texas.
Abstract
Based on previous typologies of domestically violent men ( Holtzworth-Munroe & Stuart, 1994 ), women who were referred to a treatment agency for abusive behavior ( N = 52) were categorized into two groups based on the breadth of their use of violence: Partner-Only (PO) and Generally Violent (GV). PO women were hypothesized to use reactive violence, for example, out of fear or in self-defense, whereas GV women were hypothesized to use instrumental violence, that is, in order to exert control. Self-defense was assessed in three different ways and convergent validity was demonstrated for these three new measures. GV women reported using instrumental violence more than PO women, in a variety of situations. GV women tended to report more traumatic symptoms than PO women, although they did not experience significantly more abuse. GV women were more likely to witness their mothers' physical aggression. Thus, we theorize that GV women have been socialized to believe that it is acceptable for women to use violence to resolve conflict. Trauma history and violent socialization should be addressed clinically.
Subject
General Psychology,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous),Developmental and Educational Psychology,Gender Studies
Cited by
142 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献