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Abstract
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Physical aggression between spouses is a serious social problem. This study was designed to determine if social climate is different in the homes where aggression occurs than in nonviolent homes. Students were asked to report whether physical aggression between spouses occurred in their homes during their last 2 years of high school. They were also asked to complete the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS) and the Family Environment Scale (FES). Each student protocol with reported conjugal violence was matched with another protocol with an identical score on the MC-SDS and on which physical aggression was not reported. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated that these two groups differed in their scores on the FES. A dominance hierarchy, openly expressed anger, conflict, and lack of organization were salient characteristics of homes where physical aggression occurred. Nonviolent families were characterized by spontaneous expression of feelings and problems, shared pleasurable activities and goals, and an emphasis on personal rights and freedoms.
VioLit summary
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this study by Resick and Reese was to determine if social climate is different in homes where physical aggression occurs compared to homes that are nonviolent.
METHODOLOGY:
A quasi-experimental design was used with a pre-post testing group for reliability. The group survey (self-administered questionaire) was given to a non-probability sample of undergraduate students from 2 rural universities, who reported on the environmental factors observed in their homes during their last 2 years of high school. The sample consisted of 836 students who agreed to participate. The authors do not indicate which students were asked to participate and how they were selected. 350 did not finish the questionaire. Thus 486 students, 58% of the initial sample, completed the survey. The control group of 45 students completed the test-retest reliability portion of the study. Students who reported physical aggression were matched with students from nonviolent homes by equal scores on the (MC-SDS) Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale.
A multivariate analysis of variance with the variables: education of man, education of woman, race of man, race of woman, housing and size of community, was used to determine the contribution of demographic differences to the overall variances and the differences between physical aggression. This was matched with nonviolent groups. A multivariate analysis of variance was performed using 10 subscales of the Family Environment Scale for the group who reported parental violence and the group who reported no violence.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
There was a nonsignificant difference found in the multivariate analysis for the demographic variables and a significant difference (F: 10,277 = 5,73, P<0.0001) in the reported parental violence between the groups.
Results suggest that there is a difference in family social climate between the homes in which physical aggression is used to resolve conflict and nonviolent homes. Nonviolent homes reported frequent spontaneous sharing of emotion and problems and reported less frequently open expression of anger and aggression. Students who reported physical aggression said their families had conflictual interactions, higher marital conflict and lower use of rational problem solving.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors recommend that while results are significant, caution should be utilized in generalizations from these data. This was not a random sampling of homes, the retrospective data varied according to the amount of time since a student was a senior in high school. The largest frequencies of violence were reported by students most removed in time from the occurrences. The authors suggest that a study of the process of discriminative stimuli, reinforcers, and consequences in violent families may lead to more effective intervention techniques. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Adult Perceptions
KW - College Student Research
KW - Environmental Factors
KW - Family Environment
KW - Family Relations
KW - Childhood Experience
KW - Juvenile Witness
KW - Juvenile Development
KW - Social Adjustment
KW - Domestic Violence Effects
KW - Spouse Abuse Effects
KW - Witnessing Spouse Abuse
KW - Witnessing Violence Effects
KW - Children of Battered Women
KW - Late Adolescence
KW - Adult Survivor
KW - Violence Against Women
KW - Partner Violence
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