Download Choices in Relationships

Chapter 14
Violence and Abuse
in Relationships
Chapter Outline
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Types and Incidence of Abuse
Explanations for Violence/Abuse in
Relationships
Abuse in Dating Relationships
Abuse in Marriage Relationships
Effects of Abuse
Chapter Outline
The Cycle of Abuse
• General Child Abuse
• Child Sexual Abuse
• Parent, Sibling, and Elder Abuse
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The Cycle of Abuse
True or False?
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As of 2006, a Pentagon survey of the Army,
Navy and Air Force military academies
reported virtual elimination of sexual
harassment of women.
Answer: False
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Half of the women in the Army, Navy and Air
Force academies in a 2004 Pentagon survey
reported being sexually harassed.
True or False?
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Women are as likely to stalk a former lover as
a man.
Answer: False
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In about 80% of the cases, the stalker is a
heterosexual male who follows his previous
lover. Women who stalk are more likely to
target a married male.
True or False?
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Women in abusive relationships report more
psychological symptoms (depression/anxiety) than
men in abusive relationships.
Answer: True
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Women in abusive relationships report more
psychological symptoms (depression/anxiety) than
men in abusive relationships.
Abuse
– Violence (physical abuse)
• The intentional infliction of physical harm
by either partner on the other.
– Emotional abuse
• Designed to denigrate the partner,
reduce the partner’s status, and make
the partner vulnerable, so the abuser
has more control.
Examples of Emotional Abuse
Calling the partner obese, stupid, crazy, ugly.
• Controlling the money to ensure dependence.
• Threatening to harm one’s self if the partner leaves.
• Threatening to harm one’s children or take them
away.
• Demeaning or insulting the partner in front of others.
• Threatening to harm the partner, the partner’s
relatives, or the partner’s pets.
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Question
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The intentional infliction of physical harm is
called
A. violence.
B. abuse.
C. rape.
D. neglect.
Answer: A
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The intentional infliction of physical harm is
called violence.
Stalking
Willful, repeated, and malicious following or
harassment of another person.
• In about 80% of the cases, the stalker is a
heterosexual male who follows his previous
lover.
• Women who stalk are more likely to target a
married male.
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Relationship Violence/Abuse:
Cultural Factors
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Violence in the Media
Corporal Punishment
Gender Inequality
View of Women and Children as Property
Stress
Relationship Violence/Abuse:
Community Factors
Social Isolation
• Poverty
• Inaccessible or Unaffordable Community
Services
• Lack of Violence Prevention Programs
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Relationship Violence/Abuse:
Individual Factors
Psychopathology
• Personality Factors
• Alcohol and Other Drug Use
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Relationship Violence/Abuse:
Personality Factors
• Individual Factors
• Dependency
• Quick involvement
• Jealousy
• Blaming others for
Personality Factors problems
• Need to control
• Jekyll-and-Hyde
• Unhappiness and
personality
dissatisfaction
• Isolation
• Anger and
aggressiveness
• Other factors
Relationship Violence/Abuse:
Family Factors
Child Abuse in Family of Origin
• Parents Who Abused Each Other
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Abuse in Dating Relationships
Acquaintance rape is nonconsensual sex
between adults who know each other.
• Date rape refers to nonconsensual sex
between people who are dating or on a date.
• Rophypnol—”Date Rape Drug” causes
profound, prolonged sedation and short-term
memory loss.
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Abuse in Marriage Relationships
General Abuse
– The ways in which spouses are abusive
toward each other resemble the abusive
behavior of unmarried couples.
• Rape
– 10% of married women in a Boston survey
reported that they had been raped by their
husbands.
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Effects of Partner Abuse on
Victims
Physical injury.
• Fear
• feelings of helplessness
• confusion
• Isolation
• Humiliation
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Anxiety
stress-induced illness
symptoms of posttraumatic stress
disorder
suicide attempts.
Effects of Partner Abuse on
Children
QuestionSome women are abused during
their pregnancy, resulting in a high rate of
miscarriage and birth defects.
• Negative effects may also accrue to children
who witness domestic abuse.
• It is not unusual for children to observe and
become involved in adult domestic violence.
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Child Abuse and Neglect Cases:
2003
Question
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Which of the following is not a factor in
domestic abuse?
A. abuse in the family of origin
B. egalitarian gender roles
C. cultural tolerance of violence
D. violence seen as a way to solve
problems
Answer: B
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Egalitarian gender roles is not a factor in
domestic abuse.
Should You End an Abusive
Marital Relationship?
Those opting for divorce felt they couldn’t live
with someone who had abused or would
abuse them.
• Others felt that marriage was too strong a
commitment to end if the abuse could be
stopped.
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Why People Stay in Abusive
Relationships
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Love
Emotional dependency
Commitment to the
relationship
Hope
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View of violence as
legitimate
Guilt
Fear
Economic dependence
Isolation
Disengaging from an Abusive
Relationship
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The catalyst for breaking free combines:
– sustained aversiveness of staying
– perception that she and her children will be
harmed by staying
– awareness of an alternative path
Treatment of Partner Abusers
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Treatment involves:
– teaching responsibility for their abusive
behavior
– developing empathy for their partner’s
victimization
– reducing their dependency on their
partners
– improving their communication skills
Question
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What is the key factor for staying in an
abusive relationship?
A. guilt
B. feeling stuck
C. emotional dependence and love
D. financial dependency
Answer: C
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Emotional dependence and love is the key
factor for staying in an abusive relationship.
Question
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What is a characteristic of a woman who
leaves an abusive relationship?
A. isolation from family
B. disengaging from the husband
C. dependence on husband
D. feeling they deserved the abuse
Answer: B
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Disengaging from the husband is a
characteristic of a woman who leaves an
abusive relationship.
General Child Abuse
Child abuse is interaction or lack of
interaction between a child and his or her
parents or caregiver that results in
nonaccidental harm to the child’s physical or
psychological well-being.
• Child abuse includes physical abuse, verbal
abuse, and neglect.
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Child Abuse: Contributing Factors
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Parental psychopathology
Unrealistic expectations
History of abuse
Displacement of aggression
Social isolation
Fatherless homes
Child Abuse: Other Factors
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The pregnancy is premarital or unplanned, and the
father or mother does not want the child.
The child suffers from developmental disabilities or
mental retardation.
The parents are unemployed.
Abuse between the husband and wife is present.
The children are adopted or are foster children.
Effects of Child Abuse
Few close social relationships
• Inability to love or trust
• Communication problems and learning disabilities
• Aggression, low self-esteem, depression, and low
academic achievement
• Physical injuries
• Increased risk of alcohol or substance abuse and
suicidal tendencies as adults
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
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Child Sexual Abuse
In extrafamilial child sexual abuse the
perpetrator is someone outside the family.
• A more frequent type of child sexual abuse is
intrafamilial child sexual abuse (formerly
referred to in professional literature as
incest).
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Strategies to Reduce Child
Sexual Abuse
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Regendering cultural roles
Providing specific information on sex abuse
Improving the safety of neighborhoods
Providing sexuality education at school
Promoting public awareness campaigns
Your Opinion
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To what degree do you believe that convicted
child molesters who have served a prison
sentence should be free to live wherever they
like without neighbors being aware of their
past?
Parent and Sibling Abuse
Parent Abuse
– It is not uncommon for teenage and
younger children to physically and verbally
lash out at their parents.
• Sibling Abuse
– Most incidents of sibling violence consist of
slaps, pushes, kicks, bites, and punches.
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Elder Abuse
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Neglect
Physical abuse
Psychological abuse
Social abuse
Legal abuse