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Learned Behavior
While male and female sex roles lay the foundation for dominance/submission, they do not explain violence. Witnessing violence in the home is the most powerful model for the transmission of violence from one generation to another. Researchers report that boys who either watch adult-to-adult domestic violence or are battered themselves are, as adults, more likely to batter their female partners. Youth who live in violent families learn to accept some domestic violence as a legitimate means of discipline. It is also learned through the reinforcement of the batterers’ experiences (e.g., batterers receiving peer support or not being held responsible, arrested, prosecuted, or sentenced appropriately for their violence). Domestic violence is repeated because it works and thus the pattern of behavior is reinforced. The use of abusive conduct allows the batterer to gain control of the victim through fear and violence. Gaining the victim’s compliance, even temporarily, provides partial reinforcement for the batterer’s use of abusive tactics. Often the battering behavior is reinforced by the responses of peers, family authorities, and bystanders. But most importantly, the batterer is able to reinforce his own abusive behavior. He is able to justify his actions to himself because of the commonly held belief that men have the right to control women in relationships and have the right to use force to ensure that control.
Domestic Violence and Gender Roles
Societies tend to assign males and females different expectations for personality traits, expressions of emotion, behaviors and occupations. In the United States, this differentiation has historically ranked the sexes in such a way that women are generally unequal in power, resources, and prestige or presumed worth. Men are socialized to take control and to use physical force when necessary to maintain dominance. While most victims of male violence are other men, the majority of victims of domestic violence are female, although female-to-male, male-to-male (gay), and female-to-female (lesbian) violence also occurs in some intimate relationships. In heterosexual relationships, some women sometimes use physical force, but their use of physical force is not always at the same rate or severity as men’s. Studies also indicate that the use of physical force by women is primarily for self-defense, whereas men often use force for power and control. It has been shown that some battered women who kill have used force to protect themselves from the severe violence of male batterers.
Domestic Violence is Not Caused by Alcohol or other Drugs
Drug and/or alcohol abuse does not cause domestic violence. Many people use or abuse drugs without ever battering their partners. Stopping drug abuse will not stop domestic violence and we would be mistaken to think that we can treat the addiction problem and the domestic violence would stop. Alcohol is a disinhibitor, but cannot be blamed for violence. Many abused women learn to use drugs or alcohol to numb themselves from the emotional and physical pain they are experiencing. While research studies have found high relationships between aggression and the consumption of various substances, there is no data clearly proving a cause-and-effect relationship. Some say that alcohol and drugs provide a disinhibiting effect which gives the individual the inclination to do things that they otherwise would not do. Others look at the increased irritability or hostility which some individuals experience when using alcohol or other drugs and which may lead to violence. A big concern when alcohol or other drugs are involved is the assessment of lethality. Their presence may increase the potential lethality of domestic violence and must be carefully considered when addressing the safety of the victim, the children, and the community.
Domestic Violence is Not Caused by Anger
The role of anger in domestic violence is complex and cannot be reduced to a simple cause-and-effect. Some battering episodes occur when the batterer is not angry or emotionally charged, and others occur when the batterer is emotionally charged or angry. Some displays of anger or rage by the batterer are merely tactics used to intimidate the victim, and can be quickly altered when the abuser thinks it is necessary (e.g., upon arrival of police). Keeping in mind that domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors rather than isolated, individual events help to explain the number of abusive episodes that occur when the batterer is not angry. Even when angry, the batterer still chooses to respond to that anger by acting abusively. Ultimately, the individual is responsible for how he expresses anger or any other emotion.
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