DR GINNA BABCOCK

RESEARCH & THEORY ON FAMILY VIOLENCE

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODS

• Research involves two-pronged process of data-gathering and analysis—a theory is meaningless

until tested in the empirical world. Data are useless until analyzed and explained with theory

• Common goals: advancement of general knowledge, to predict, explain, and to solve problems (latter

usually left to the practitioners)

• Quantitative Research (general to specific; deductive); closed-ended questions

• Qualitative Research (specific to general; inductive); open-ended questions

• Sample: part of the population used in data-gathering (different kinds—random, representative,

stratified, etc)

FAMILY VIOLENCE THEORY

• Social scientists acknowledge social

interactions are not random acts

• Patterns of behavior are learned through

socialization and passed from generation to

generation

• Most family abuse theories developed from

inductive, qualitative studies at the micro

level in an ecological model

THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL

• Individuals choose to engage in crime

• Cesare Beccaria = ―father of classical

criminology‖

• People possess a free will and therefore have the

ability to reason

• Laws must be written specifically to define

criminal behavior as well as the punishment

• Dominant perspective for about 100 years

RATIONAL CHOICE

• Criminal behavior is more than just a

response to social pressures – is also a

choice

• Determine the effectiveness of

interventions in order to decide how

best to reduce benefits of crime and

increase the cost of criminal action

DETERRENCE THEORY

• Punishment must be swift and certain in

order to deter crime

• Deterrent effect of punishment can be

specific or general in nature

• How effective deterrence is, and why it

works or fails is not well understood

• Through deterrence, recidivism is reduced

in some cases of family violence

THE POSITIVE SCHOOL-- BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

• Most controversial and have limited

application to family violence

• Under this model violent or criminal

behavior is beyond the control of the

individual and caused by the

person’s biology, genetics, etc

THE POSITIVE SCHOOL -- SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES

• Social Structure and Cultural Theories

• Culture of Violence Theory

• Social Disorganization Theory

• Strain Theory

• Gender-Role Theory

THE POSITIVE SCHOOL -- PSYCHOLOGICAL

THEORIES

• Social Learning Theories

• People not born with violent tendencies

• Deviance learned through environment and life experiences (e.g., peers, media)

• Behavior Modeling Theory

• Intergenerational Transmission Theory (socialization)

SOCIAL CONTROL THEORIES

• Attachment Theory

• Relationship develops between infant and

primary caregiver affects relationships later

in life

• Children secure in their attachments are easily

comforted and move freely from caregiver to

stranger

INDIVIDUAL PATHOLOGY AND MALE BATTERERS

• Small number of domestic violence

perpetrators exhibit behaviors similar to

a person suffering with personality

disorders

• Highly resistant to counseling and

other forms of intervention, suggesting

psychopathological sickness

THE CONFLICT SCHOOL

• Law is the means by which ruling class maintains

control

• Lawmakers legitimize positions of superiority by

dominating minorities and lower classes

• Poverty, minority status (including women) and

unemployment important independent variables

to conflict theorists

PATRIARCHAL THEORY

• Most widely used perspective on woman battering,

also referred to as feminist approach

• Major tenets are:

• Gender relationships are a fundamental

component of social life

• Power of men by virtue of their privileged

status is the means by which women are

controlled

• Ending the subordination of women by means

of changing the social structure remains the

major goal.

• Equal access and protection through law

GENDER INEQUALITY

• Female criminality has been ignored

• Female offenders seen as inferior and their crimes insignificant

• Chivalry hypothesis: women likely to be protected by the criminal justice system and given more

lenient treatment

• In communities where mandatory arrest policies on domestic violence have been rigorously

applied, number of female offenders has risen dramatically

• Experts argue that female offenders are self-defending against male aggression

MULTIDIMENSIONAL THEORY

• Researchers are turning to this theory to

understand the complexities of family

violence

• ―Ecological model‖ identified by U S

Department of Health and Human Services as

the best framework to address causes,

consequences, and treatment formulations for

abused children