Berkowitz L. Violence in the family

Annual data on cases of domestic violence

We like to think of our family as a safe haven, where we can always take refuge from the stresses and overloads of our hectic world. Whatever threatens us outside the home, we hope to find protection and support in the love of those with whom we have the closest relationship. Not without reason in one old French song there are such words: “Where else can you feel better than in the bosom of your own family!” However, for many people, the desire to find family peace turns out to be impossible, since their loved ones are more a source of threat than reliability and security. See →

Explanation of cases of domestic violence

Thanks in large part to social workers and doctors, our nation began to worry about the rise in domestic violence in American families during the 60s and early 70s. It is not surprising that, due to the peculiarities of the professional views of these specialists, their initial attempts to analyze the causes of wife and child beating were reflected in psychiatric or medical formulations focused on a specific individual, and the first studies of this phenomenon were aimed at finding out what personal qualities of a person contribute to his cruel treatment of spouse and/or children. See →

Factors that may prompt the use of domestic violence

I will try to adapt a newer approach to the problem of domestic violence, focusing on a variety of conditions that can either increase or decrease the likelihood of people living in the same house abusing each other. From my point of view, aggression seldom implies an action done out of indiscretion. Intentionally inflicting pain on a child is not the same as failing to properly care for him; cruelty and negligence stem from different causes. See →

Links to research results

Many scholars of the American family are convinced that society’s perception of men as the head of the family is one of the main reasons for the use of violence against wives. Today, democratic beliefs are more prevalent than ever before, and a growing number of men are saying that a woman should be an equal participant in family decision-making. Even if this is true, as Straus and Jelles note, «many if not most» husbands are convinced at heart that they should always have the final say in family decisions simply because they are men. See →

Norms are not sufficient prerequisites for violence

Societal norms and differences in the exercise of power undoubtedly contribute to the use of domestic violence. However, in most cases, the aggressive behavior of the individual is more important than just social norms declaring the dominant position of the man in the house. By themselves, the rules of conduct cannot adequately explain the wealth of new information about aggressive behavior in the family that has been obtained as a result of research. See →

Family background and personal predisposition

Almost all researchers of family problems have noted one feature of its members who are prone to the manifestation of violence: many of these people were themselves victims of violence in childhood. In fact, the attention of scientists has been drawn to this trait so often that in our time it has become quite customary to talk about the cyclical manifestation of aggressiveness, or, in other words, about the transmission of a tendency to aggression from generation to generation. Violence breeds violence, so argue these researchers of family problems. People who have been abused as children usually develop aggressive tendencies as well. See →

Exposure to violence in childhood contributes to the manifestation of aggression in adulthood

People who often see scenes of violence become relatively indifferent to aggressive behavior. Their ability to suppress internal aggressiveness may be rather weak due to the lack of understanding that it is unacceptable to attack other people for the sake of their own interests. So, boys, seeing adults fight, learn that they can solve their problems by attacking another person. See →

Influence of stress and negative emotional reaction to the use of domestic violence

Most of the cases of aggression that we observe around us are an emotional reaction to an unsatisfactory state of affairs. People who feel unhappy for one reason or another may experience increased irritation and show a tendency to aggression. Many (but certainly not all) situations in which a husband uses violence against his wife and children and / or is attacked by his wife may begin with an emotional outburst generated by the negative feelings of the husband or wife towards the object of aggression at the time of its manifestation. However, I also pointed out that the negative impulse that leads to violence often occurs with a delay in time. Exceptions are observed only in cases where a person has serious aggressive intentions, and his internal restrictions on the use of force are weak. See →

Features of the conflict that can become catalysts for violence

Often, the urge to commit an act of violence is reinforced by the emergence of new disturbing circumstances or the emergence of factors that are reminiscent of negative moments in the past that lead to the emergence of aggressive intentions. This function can be performed by a dispute or an unexpected conflict. In particular, many husbands and wives reported how they or their marriage partners expressed dissatisfaction, harassed by nagging or openly insulted, thus provoking a violent reaction. See →

Summary

The results of the studies have shown that the state of affairs in society as a whole and in the life of each person individually, the nature of family relationships and even the characteristics of a particular situation, all together can affect the likelihood that one of the family members will use violence against another. See →

Chapter 9

Conditions under which murders are committed. Personal predisposition. social impact. Interaction in the commission of violence. See →