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Abstract
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The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the applicability of Megargee's (1967) distinction between over- and undercontrolled hostility to maritally aggressive men. Subjects were 41 men who were referred for treatment for physical marital violence. Data were derived from a written battery of self-report measures. Overcontrolled hostile men showed patterns of abuse in which violent episodes were more severe but less frequent and in which the wife was the sole target of the aggressive behavior. Undercontrolled hostile husbands were more generally aggressive and more frequently aggressive. Additionally, undercontrolled husbands were more likely than overcontrolled husbands to have witnessed violence in their families of origin and to have had rejecting mothers. Implications for the assessment and treatment of marital violence are discussed.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this paper by Hershorn and Rosenbaum was to investigate the theory that all wife assaulters are not similar. A number of empirical studies support the heterogeneity of wife assaulters and the existence of subtypes. This paper uses Megargee's differentiation between undercontrolled hostile (UH) and overcontrolled hostile (OH) behavior in an attempt to discern between battering types.
METHODOLOGY:
A quasi-experimental, cross-sectional study was employed, using a non-probability sample of 41 men who were referred to treatment for wife abuse. These subjects were divided into OH and UH groups according to Megargee's (1967) Overcontrolled Hostility Scale.
A questionnaire was administered to the wife abusers employing The Overcontrolled Hostility Scale; The Conflict Tactics Scales; The Child Report of Parental Behavior Inventory; and The Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory. Demographic information was also taken on income, education, employment of husband and wife, years married, months engaged, decision making, division of housework, experience of violence in the family of origin, and extent of physical violence towards people than their wives.
The sample was drawn from batterers' programs in upstate New York and from New York City. The average age was 34 years, mean education was 13 years, and average annual income was $32,285. The results on the hostility scale divided the groups into OH group N=17 with a M=16.65 and the UH group N=24 with a M=11.25. When the groups were divided, they did differ in husbands and wive's ages, years married, months engaged, education, or family income. The authors noted that a cutoff score has not been established, however 38 other studies using OH Scale data by Lane (1978) supported their cutoff median of 14.50.
Child rearing literature describes rearing practices which lead to UH and OH types. This literature predicts that OH batterers would use less frequent but more severe forms of violence, primarily toward wives; admit a lower level of hostility; and come from families of low parental warmth and high punitiveness. Conversely, UH batterers would have a higher frequency of violence, but less severe forms violence directed toward wives and others; would admit a higher level of hostility; and come from families of domestic violence where parenting styles incorporated physical punishment, ridicule, rejection and inconsistency. Analysis included an examination of means and correlations, as well as a discriminant analysis.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The findings indicated that there were two types of batterers: overcontrolled hostile and undercontrolled hostile. OH men were likely to use severe forms of violence towards their wives, where as UH men were more frequently violent and more likely to be violent to people other than their wives. The UH batterers were also more hostile than the OH batterers. UH men were more likely to have witnessed abuse of their mothers and experienced more verbal aggression than OH men. Mothers of OH men were significantly more rejecting of the men than the mothers of UH men. Trends suggested that OH parents employed firm discipline more often than UH parents. Discriminant analysis revealed the following difference between the two groups (ranging from most to least): whether or not husbands fought with persons other than their wives; the extent to which they witnessed the abuse between parents; the degree of maternal acceptance; the amount of hostility; the severity of violence; frequency of violence; and the level of verbal aggression in the family of origin.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors suggested that future research include comparisons between maritally violent, maritally discordant and satisfactorily married men. The authors also suggested that identifying a typology of subgroups in wife batterers may have important implications for future treatment programs. OH batterers may benefit from communication and assertion skills, while UH batterers need to concentrate on self-control techniques. They thought that future research could enable assessment of the nature of violence and the type of batterer, allowing better management of those involved in spousal violence. (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 - New York
KW - Spouse Abuse Causes
KW - Spouse Abuse Offender
KW - Domestic Violence Causes
KW - Domestic Violence Offender
KW - Male Offender
KW - Male Violence
KW - Adult Male
KW - Adult Offender
KW - Adult Violence
KW - Offender Characteristics
KW - Offender Hostility
KW - Adult Hostility
KW - Violence Against Women
KW - Partner Violence
Language: en |