Social Learning Theory Of Domestic Violence

There are three main theories that can associate themselves with the issue on domestic violence. These theories are of the following: conflict theory, structural functionalism, and symbolic interactionism. Out of these theories though, the one that seems the most logical dealing with domestic violence would be symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism best fits with this topic because it deals with the individual and their construction of identity that can be a part of a small group or even an organization. In this case of domestic violence, the small group would be their intimate partner or family and the construction of identity would clearly be the abusive person they are when around she or he. It examines the social world from the small-scale perspective of how people interact with one another on an everyday basis. Abusers have negative repetitive behaviors, which is why it fits this description and theory the

The two theories I feel that best describes the issues that lead to domestic violence would be the social exchange and social learning theory. The reason being they both explain why an individual would continue to stay in an abusive relationship, either they feel trapped, or they mistake the negative outcomes as a positive solution. These theories are related in a sense; if the recipient of abuse continues to accept defeat without standing up for themselves, they will continuously be treated in that manner which gives the other party the reassurance that the abuse is not affecting their spouse in a negative way that would indicate they will leave. The relationships in these stages are based on a person’s ideology that they need a trophy spouse, someone that complements their lifestyle and not their heart. References

Domestic violence is a crime that occurs regularly within the United States. It claims millions of victims each year. There is not a specific cause to establish why domestic violence occurs. However, it has been documented that domestic violence is a product of physical, emotional, sexual, psychological, and any other forms of torture or torment that the particular abuser wishes to employ to gain control or power over their victims (Gosselin, 2005). Due to the complexity of this crime, many criminologists and socialologists have studied its causes and the effects in order to determine social policies and additional theories to better understand the causation of domestic violence. The social policies and theories that are developed from

Domestic violence occurs in epidemic proportions, impacting an estimated 6.2 million American women every year, and causing more

Social learning theory is described by different environmental factors that’s influence the behavioral response of a person (Bandura, 1965). For example, social learning theory assumes a person bases their responses through an actual environmental stimuli, such as violence. In addition, when applied to the domestic violence, social learning theory states the actual act of violence is learned, through role models, such as parents, siblings or relatives as a natural coping mechanism when conflict is present. As described in the book (I am not your Victim) the countless abuses that Sam did over Beth was a form coping mechanism for him to avoid the conflicts around. Sam’s initial reaction of violence could be actual result of their

Domestic violence is skyrocketing in our society. In the U.S., as many as 1.5 million women and 850,000 men were physically assaulted by their intimate partner last year, and numerous children abused by their parents. These sad criminal acts will continue to grow in our society, unless our community takes action to stop these crimes.

With approximately 1.3 million women being victimized by an intimate partner each year and one in every four women experiencing domestic violence at some point in her life-time, domestic violence, also referred to as intimate partner violence Even after decades of increased activism and raised awareness by government agencies, the public and many nonprofit organizations, domestic violence still remains a serious problem within the United States.

The problem of domestic violence is on the rise and causing more harm than ever to its victims and their family. Even though there are so many domestic violence cases in the world today, there are still many people in the United States today that are unaware of how serous this crime has become. The explanation for this may be that there are many households that have not ever experienced any type of violence in their home. Many victims of this type of abuse have been misleading by their abuser that they do not even realize that they are victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence causes

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior or coercive control in any relationship that is used by one person to gain or maintain power and control over another. (Violence). Most of society’s think domestic violence is when one of the spouses is abusing the other spouse. Domestic violence can occur between anyone who has lived together at one point of time; couples who have never lived together, but have a child together and family member who has live together in the same household. Domestic violence can happen to anyone, regardless of their class, religion, ethnic background, education, age, gender, disability status, sexual orientation, gender presentation, or immigration status. The domestic violence can place in different categories, such as; emotional abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse and financial abuse. Researcher had discovered tactics that the abusers use to control their victims such as; dominance, humiliation, isolation, threats, intimidation, denial and shifting blame. (Helpguide.org).

“Domestic violence is a type of abuse by one or both partners in marriage, friends, family, dating or cohabitation” (Aziz & Mahmoud, 2010). There are many forms of abuse from verbal and emotional to physical that often escalates over time in intensity for the victim. Data from the criminal justice system, hospital patient medical records and mental health records, police reports, surveys and social services reports of thousands of women revealed that many are injured and killed as a result of violence from someone close to them. “The US Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) defines domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender” (Robertson & Murachver, 2009). Researchers and the criminal justice system have not been able to agree on a clear definition to domestic violence which can range from physical injury, stalking, verbal abuse and humiliation, denial of shelter and access to money, and intimidation through aggressive behaviors. The definition of domestic violence may vary but the results from physical injury, mental and emotional trauma, and sometimes even death can last a life time.

The LGBT community has come up with a different definition of domestic violence. Pertnoy states that domestic violence is a systemic patterns of behaviors where one person tries to control the thoughts, beliefs, and or actions of their partner, someone their dating, or someone they had an intimate relationship with (2012).

Social learning theory elucidates the causal of domestic violence through a human behavioral approach. This perspective claims that the perpetration of abuse is learned through reinforcement and modeling. Mihalic and Elliott (1997) conclude that violence is learned directly or indirectly in childhood and continued into adulthood. This theory also proposes that exposure to violence in the family creates norms about the acceptance and appropriateness of the usage of aggression. Ali and Naylor (2013) state children think it is normal to use violence for conflict management. The tolerance for violence may increase after witnessing and experiencing violence. Victimized children use violence as a resource to control others is outlined by Sellers

Everyone is different with a unique set of values which shapes our beliefs and views that affect our personal behavior. Domestic violence can happen to anyone no matter the race, ethnicity, or social economic status. According to Babcock, Gree, and Robie (2004), domestic violence is a learned behavior and is defined by the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (2014) “Is when two people get into an intimate relationship and one person uses a pattern of coercion and control against the other person during the relationship and/or after the relationship has terminated. It often includes physical sexual, emotional, or economic abuse.” When defining the parties involved in domestic violence disputes, a batterer and/or victim can be male or female. For the purpose of research results we will discuss the batterer being male and the victim as female. The process of understanding domestic violence includes understanding human behavior in the social environment and examining battering from a batterer’s perspective.

According to statistics found by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Every nine seconds a woman is abused by her husband or intimate partner. At least 1 in every 4 women and 1 in every 9 men have been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in their lifetime. Most often the abuser is one of their own family. Domestic violence is a problem that somehow affects every one of us in this room at some time and is actually the leading cause of injury to women -- more than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined.

Social learning theory proposes that social learning occurs when the individual views a modeled behavior that they value, observes an act if the model has a role model or admired status, and when a person imitates a learned behavior (Bandura, & Ribes-Inesta, 1976). The basic foundations of the theory are applied to education policies, understanding psychological disorders, training courses, behavioral modeling, in the media and has a plethora of further applications in today’s society. Another application of the theory is for criminals, violence and aggression. Whether referring to violence in the media, domestic violence, community violence, bullying and others, aggression and violent behaviors can by dissected and expounded using social