Attachment Theory Of Domestic Violence Essay
CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter I will be exploring the existing literature which is currently available on the male victims of domestic abuse.
The Material explored in this chapter includes journals, past exploratory papers conducted by other researchers and books. My predominant areas of focus when exploring the violence male victims can be subjected to in domestic violence situations are outlined below.
• Domestic violence defined.
• Domestic violence and society in relation to male victims.
• The levels of reporting by male victims.
• The main types of abuse male victims of domestic violence suffer.
• The affects of domestic violence on male victims.
• The services available to male victims of domestic violence.
• The law …show more content…
Gelles (1983) argues that the ‘Social Control Theory’, demonstrates that people can abuse or hit other members of their family just because they can. However ‘Social Learning Theory’ suggests that violence is a learned response. O’Leary (1988) believed that domestic abuse had a number of factors which could contribute to the occurrence such as a violent upbringing, stress, a dissatisfying relationship, drug or alcohol abuse and violent aspects within their personalities. The ‘Attachment Theory’ perspective is that the abuser may have suffered poor attachments within childhood, causing the ability to trust in an intimate relationship to under develop. These feelings are then expressed as anger, rage, anxiety or grief towards their significant other(Wiehe, …show more content…
(Gellas, 1997:1) states that if a male victim of domestic abuse was to seek help then society would perceive this as a humorous situation where the males’ claims can be disbelieved. (Cose, 1995) believes that this reaction can make the man in the situation feel ashamed or guilty. Societies perception of men and women are passed down generation to generation, this perception casts an unrealistic and unfortunately detrimental effect on the reality of men suffering domestic abuse in our society. Female sufferers of domestic abuse are treated by society with support and sympathy, whilst male sufferers are not believed or treated with suspicion (Cleary,1997). The media has a part to play in warping societies view of domestic abuse portraying women only as victims and man as the aggressors (McKeown and Kidd,
In this chapter I will be exploring the existing literature which is currently available on the male victims of domestic abuse.
The Material explored in this chapter includes journals, past exploratory papers conducted by other researchers and books. My predominant areas of focus when exploring the violence male victims can be subjected to in domestic violence situations are outlined below.
• Domestic violence defined.
• Domestic violence and society in relation to male victims.
• The levels of reporting by male victims.
• The main types of abuse male victims of domestic violence suffer.
• The affects of domestic violence on male victims.
• The services available to male victims of domestic violence.
• The law …show more content…
Gelles (1983) argues that the ‘Social Control Theory’, demonstrates that people can abuse or hit other members of their family just because they can. However ‘Social Learning Theory’ suggests that violence is a learned response. O’Leary (1988) believed that domestic abuse had a number of factors which could contribute to the occurrence such as a violent upbringing, stress, a dissatisfying relationship, drug or alcohol abuse and violent aspects within their personalities. The ‘Attachment Theory’ perspective is that the abuser may have suffered poor attachments within childhood, causing the ability to trust in an intimate relationship to under develop. These feelings are then expressed as anger, rage, anxiety or grief towards their significant other(Wiehe, …show more content…
(Gellas, 1997:1) states that if a male victim of domestic abuse was to seek help then society would perceive this as a humorous situation where the males’ claims can be disbelieved. (Cose, 1995) believes that this reaction can make the man in the situation feel ashamed or guilty. Societies perception of men and women are passed down generation to generation, this perception casts an unrealistic and unfortunately detrimental effect on the reality of men suffering domestic abuse in our society. Female sufferers of domestic abuse are treated by society with support and sympathy, whilst male sufferers are not believed or treated with suspicion (Cleary,1997). The media has a part to play in warping societies view of domestic abuse portraying women only as victims and man as the aggressors (McKeown and Kidd,