Spousal abuse: causes, effects, and intervention strategies

Spousal Abuse

Causes of Spousal Abuse

Our society has made great strides in the last fifty years in terms of empowering women, granting them greater access to opportunities, income, self-realization, and the overall level of equality. Old patriarchal views which suggest that women should sit at home, be obedient, and know their "place" at home and in the society today are generally shunned. Yet stereotyping about women, sexism, and even misogyny in our society have not been eradicated. Violence against women remains at a frighteningly high levels. And most of the violence against women takes place at home.

Although there are families where women abuse men, overwhelming majority of spousal abuse cases involve abusive men who use violence against their wives. What are the causes of these abusive relationships? This paper tries to answer this question by utilizing conflict theory and reviewing literature on the topic. The conflict theory is premised on the idea that social relations can be explained by analyzing competing forces (Macionis, 2008). In the context of this paper, conflict theory looks at competing interests of men and women. The results show that different economic, social, and cultural factors may lead to violence against wives, but no independent factor can explain the phenomenon. Research on this problem should take into consideration not one but different factors -- social, economic, cultural, psychological -- that may account for spousal abuse.

There is a plethora of scholarly research that suggests that the desire to control drives men's violence against women. These works, for instance, measure the level of income husbands and wives earn and conclude that the lower husbands earn, the greater the level of violence they use against their spouses. McCloskey (1996) conducted a research by interviewing 365 women who were married at the time of the study or had been married in the past and had children. The racial and ethnic composition of the group was fairly diverse, Anglo-European constituting 54.4%, Mexican-American 35%, and African-American 5.5%, and the rest were of Native American background.

The author did not find any difference on the level of violence among different racial or ethnic groups. The major variable that accounted for violence was the level of income between spouses. McCloskey explains: "The less disparity in income, or the more resources the woman has relative to her husband, the more frequent and escalated the violence" (p. 457). This study suggests that men who realize that their wives are gaining more control and greater independence by earning a higher level of income try to offset this change by using violence. The conflict arouses out of men's frustration with the shrinking disparity in power relations that traditionally favors men.

Other studies, however, show that the correlation between wives' increasing economic power and the level of spousal violence leads into an opposite direction. These studies suggest that higher levels of income or occupation status increases the bargaining power of women and that from the position of greater level of power women can better negotiate their relationship with their spouses. Analyzing various theoretical models and existing empirical data, Farmer & Tiefenthaler (1997) conclude that economic opportunities for women (through jobs or material support from women's family members) decrease the level of violence in abusive spousal relationships.

Farmer & Tiefenthaler primarily use economic theories to analyze spousal violence and its causes, but they employ interdisciplinary theories and methods to prove their argument. In addition to economic theories that support their argument, they use two data sets to show statistical evidences: Domestic Violence Experience in Omaha, Nebraska, 1986-1987, and Charlotte (North Carolina) Spouse Assault Replication Project, 1987-1989. The first data set included 560 observations and the second included 340 observations. Farmer & Tienfenthaler find that women who have less economic opportunities tend to remain in abusive relationships because they have fewer choices. Women with economic opportunities may threaten to leave if abuses continue (pp. 347-349). Again conflict theory is at play here because husbands compete for control and relinquish the competition only when they realize that their power is limited. And women can reclaim their position as an equal partner when they can speak from the position of economic power.

Other researchers who analyze data from different case studies do not necessarily find a direct correlation between income levels among spouses and spousal violence. Rodriguez, Lasch, Chandra, & Lee (2001) find that spousal abuse can be related to a different set of issues such as alcohol misuse and psychological factors such as low self-esteem or the stigma of being poor. They analyze data collected in the National Survey of Families and Households in 1987 and 1992. The data is based on 4870 interviews of married and cohabiting families. Interestingly, they find that women are as likely as men to use violence in spousal quarrels, but they are also more likely to be injured and report domestic violence.

Contrary to many other studies suggesting a correlation between income and occupational levels of spouses and domestic violence, Rodriguez, Lasch, Chandra, & Lee did not find that non-employed spouses were more likely to become victims of spousal violence. They did, however, find that alcohol may interact with this relationship, leading to violence. They also did not find any evidence that ethnicity or race could play a factor in predicting violence. Here again, excessive alcohol consumption may increase the risk of violence. The study confirms that "alcohol is positively associated with violent arguments" (p. 176). Possible explanation for the correlation between alcohol and spousal abuse may be that under the influence of alcohol the desire to exert influence on others and even control them increases; leading to conflict and eventually violence. That is, psychological factors here may lead to social conflict in spousal relationships.

Using interdisciplinary approach to the study of social sciences is increasingly being employed by social scientists. Atkinson, Greenstein, & Lang (2005), using this complex approach, find that factors influencing spousal abuse can be different. They specifically test the widely-believed hypothesis that lower levels of economic positions for men increases the risk of violence against their female spouses. Atkinson, Greenstein, & Lang argue that such arguments are based on certain set of assumptions that are misleading. They argue that studies concluding that wives' share of relative income may lead to violence ignore cultural and social factors. For example, they say, not all men want to be breadwinners.