Domestic abuse is a serious national issue. There are at least nine different types of domestic abuse. They include:
1.
PHYSICAL ABUSE. This includes slapping, punching, choking, pulling
hair, pushing, restraining, kicking, using weapons, throwing things,
pressing or forcing sexual intercourse, and engaging in violent
intercourse.
2. INTIMIDATION. This includes
frightening someone by certain looks, gestures, or actions, smashing
things, destroying personal property, harming pets, and displaying
weapons.
3. EMOTIOTIONAL ABUSE. This includes name
calling, insults, false accusations, jealousy, lying, manipulation,
rage, playing “mind games,” and making one feel guilty or
humiliated.
4. ISOLATION. This includes keeping
someone from going where they choose, not allowing one to go to school,
work, family home, friend’s home, listening to phone
conversations, opening someone’s mail, following someone around,
and persistent questioning of one’s whereabouts.
5.
MINIMIZING, DENYING, AND BLAMING. This includes making light of the
abuse, saying it did not happen, saying it is the victim’s fault,
and rationalizing why the abuse occurred.
6. USING
CHILDREN. This includes threatening the children if mate does not do
what what the abuser says, making mate feel guilty about the children,
using visitation to harass mate, and threatening to take the children
away.
7. MALE PRIVILEGE. This includes treating your
mate like a servant, acting like the “master of the
castle,” making all the “big” decisions, and defining
your mate’s role or job.
8. ECONOMIC ABUSE. This
includes preventing your mate from working outside the home. Making
him/her ask for money, and not letting your mate know about the family
income.
9. COERCION AND THREATS. This includes threats
to: take away the children, harm mate or mate’s family or
friends, report mate to welfare, destroy mate’s property, commit
suicide, and forcing mate to drop criminal charges, do something they
do not want to do, or do something illegal.
The better we understand the characteristics of abusers, the more
likely we will be able to develop solutions. Past research has
revealed which variables tend to be most associated with male abusers.
They are age, income level, having been abused as a child, having
witnessed and abuse between parents as a child, violence in previous
relationships, alcohol use, the presence of an alcoholic parent in the
family of origin, educational level, criminal record, receiving mental
health services, and an unsatisfactory home life due to substance
abuse. This study used a hierarchical regression analysis to test
which variables were most predictive of each of the nine types of
domestic abuse in a sample of 93 males in the Upper Ohio Valley.
Results showed that physical abuse was predicted by all the above male
characterics found in past research. None of these male characteristics
however, were associated with economic abuse in this study. Most
of the male characteristics were associated with the other seven types
of abuse.
A regression
analysis was conducted to determine which of the male characteristics
were most predictive of male abusers when all the types of abuse were
lumped together. Forty-four percent of the abuse was explained by four
main male characteristics. They were, an unhappy home life due to
drinking, age, using alcohol, and having committed violence in previous
relationships. This is not surprising since alcohol is a well known
contributor to domestic abuse. Previous violence in relationships is
also a well known predictor of abuse. Augenstein and Ehrlich (1992)
found that up to two-thirds of men in treatment for domestic violence
had been violent with at least one past partner. Finally, the age
variable may be explained by its correlation with an antisocial
personality disorder. Antisocials abuse their partners more due to
their desire for power over others, focus on meeting their own selfish
needs at the expense of others, and lack of empathy for others’
suffering. The only cure for antisocials is time. Their
antisocial behaviors tend to diminish in their 40s. Hence, the age
correlation. Male abusers tend to reduce their abusive behavior as they
get older, along with a general decline in all their other antisocial
behaviors.
A better
understanding of abusive partners, both male and female, will hopefully
increase the success rate of treatment programs. Also, research on each
of the nine subtypes of abuse may help to better match each type of
abuser with the most appropriate treatment program.