Spousal Abuse on Family Members

¶ … Spousal Abuse on Family Members

Spousal abuse or violence is a hidden but widespread phenomenon in society. Certain theories have attempted to explain it, its origin, how it occurs, its victim and its consequences. Several studies confirm that children and other family members who witness spousal abuse develop negative behavior and grow up to repeat and perpetuate the cycle of violence they experience at home. Habit establishes spousal abuse, often committed by the man on the submissive and dependent woman who does not possess the resources to leave him. It is important to understand this phenomenon more deeply as it impacts future generations and various institutions in society.

Introduction national survey in Canada revealed that one in four women was abused by a current or previous intimate partner and that children witnessed almost 40% of the incidents against their mothers (Hodges 1994). Meanwhile, FBI Uniform Crime statistics said that 1,500 American women are killed by their husbands or boyfriends every year and who have come to fear the very men they know and once loved than from any outsider or stranger (Silent Witness 2001). Surveys also said that women who come to emergency rooms of hospitals are victims of deliberate and premeditated violence, repeatedly occurring until the woman is killed. Spousal abuse is largely unreported because it is largely hidden and ranges from emotional intimidation to violent beating and even shootings so that it is difficult to get accurate figures on the degree of spousal or partner abuse in general populations (McFarlane 1997). Another survey in Manitoba said that 57% considered it a major or serious problem in their community. About 3 to 10 million children witness family violence every year and other surveys showed that 70% of the perpetrators also abuse other family members, especially children (Focus 2004). Violence rises to more than 90% when there are more than four children. It has also been reported that battering during pregnancy is the leading cause of birth defects and infant mortality and that battering occurs most often during pregnancy. Children who witness violence undergo significant behavioral change and distress and may internalize or externalize their experience or both in their own lives as youngsters and as adults. They accept the message that violence is normal in a family and tend to repeat it in their own families. Most importantly, spousal abuse tends to be deeply entrenched in a family and pass on to succeeding generations (McFarlane).

This study draws its significance from establishing the nature or origin and development of spousal abuse, when and how it occurs, who are the frequent offenders and the victims and its consequences on family members who witness it. Learning more about spousal abuse and understanding it more deeply can enable families cope with their situations and experience better and provide medical and law authorities greater basis for intervention and assistance.

Literature Review

Four theories have been advanced to explain why wife or spousal abuse occurs (Cwik 1996). The Feminist Theory holds that the use of violence by the man or husband on the woman or wife shows a man's greater relative power over the woman, his authority and status in society. This gives him the impression that he has a right to abuse his spouse or mate and thus requires a restructuring of power relations between a man and a woman in society to correct this problem. The Culture of Violence considers and uses violence as a legitimate means of dealing with problems, including domestic violence, specifically by men as head of families. The Sex-Role Theory simply puts men in a position to abuse and women in a position to be abused. Stopping spousal abuse will then require no less than restructuring this assumed roles that men and women hold in society and the socialization that leads to these roles. And the Intergenerational Transmission Theory assumes that abusive behavior passes from generation to generation as an acceptable method of solving problems and that violence begets violence. It says that those who come from families where violence is a normal recourse for problems are likely to use it in their own families or homes. Controlling or eliminating abuse thus requires eliminating child physical and emotional punishment and parental violence (Cwik).

Studies showed that sons who witness parental abuse or violence tend to become violent partners in adult life, according to the Statistics Canada survey of 1992 (Alksnis and Taylor 2003). A survey of 79 males who witnessed violence during childhood also showed this tendency (Rouse's 1984 as qtd in Alksnis and Taylor). Another study used a group of alcoholic men and found that the approval of marital violence and traditional sex roles were the variables with direct effects on severe marital violence. Other studies used offender subjects to highlight the important role of experiencing violence in carrying it over to adulthood. Dutton & Hart (1992 as qtd in Alksnis and Taylor). Investigators discovered that in 41.4% cases, violent men were significantly likelier to have been abused as children than with outsiders. They tended to commit the same crime committed against them, forming a cycle of violence. Of those physically abused men as children studied, 65% committed physical aggression as adults and 58% committed sexual crimes. Physical abuse in childhood proportionately grew in the adult family 5 times more than stranger-directed violence. And Robinson and Taylor (1994 as qtd in Alksnis and Taylor) reverberated Dutton and Hart's findings in that witnessing parental abuse was the most important precipitant of spousal abuse at twice the rate of those who were not. Their study said that 42.4% of the subjects who experienced violence in their family of origin became abusive with their wives at 33.7% (Alksnis and Taylor).

The impact and consequences of domestic violence or abuse can be long-lasting and traumatic and produce sleep problems, depression, anxiety attacks, low self-esteem, mistrust, feeling of abandonment, anger, sensitivity to rejection, reduced mental and physical health, inability to work, poor relationship with family members and substance abuse as a way of coping (Silent Witness 2001). The victim may not survive physical abuse and die. Children who witness parental violence may develop serious emotional, behavioral, developmental or academic problems. They either withdraw or become violent themselves in school or at home, become depressed and develop low self-esteem or resort to violence at school or in the community in response to threat, attempt suicide, use drugs, commit crimes and more likely use violence to prove themselves or enhance their reputation and self-esteem and become abusers in their adult relationships.

A third of children who witness violence at home show significant behavioral or emotional problems, such as psychosomatic disorders, stuttering, anxiety, bed wetting, excessive crying and anger and other problems in school (Focus on the Family 2004). They can be traumatized even by just hearing arguments and need not see physical violence itself. They can see the effects, such as bruises, broken windows or dishes, punched walls, screams, fear and tension. They react in different ways, depending on age and gender. Boys tend to show behavioral problems and girls exhibit insecurity and low self-esteem. Internalizing their feelings can produce anxiety and depression and externalizing can develop into aggression (Silent Witness).

Wife abuse or assault is four times greater in the 18 to 24 age group than the national average, 21% of the time occurred during pregnancy (Hodges 1994). Children witnessed their mother assaulted or abused in almost 40% of the cases, the majority of which alcohol was a factor. A third of these abused wives or women feared for their lives during their abusive relationships and 80% of them said they felt anger, fear, less trusting and had low self-esteem (Hodges). (McFarlane 1997) survey held in Manitoba reflected that 69% of the people recognized spousal abuse as a serious problem in their community (McFarlane 1997). Throughout Canada, one in 10 women was abused by her partner. The survey pointed to inequality of the partners as the cause. In addition, society condones and values aggression in general. Hence, abusive behavior is often condoned and even accepted (McFarlane).