Soc 695 RESEARCH ON FAMILY VIOLENCE IN WORLD PERSPECTIVE OBJECTIVES FOR TODAY

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Soc 695 RESEARCH ON FAMILY VIOLENCE IN WORLD
PERSPECTIVEOBJECTIVES FOR TODAY

• What the course covers
• Objectives of the course
• Define violence and family violence
• Explain difficulties and confusion in terminology
  for violence and how those terms will be used in
  this course
• Explain the difference between violence and
  aggression as used in this course and related
  terms, such as anger
• A Sociological Perspective On Family Violence

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• EMPHASES OF THE COURSE
• A sociology course emphasis on social causes
  effects. But psychology is not slighted
• A research experience course lab projects to
  test theories
• World perspective the lab projects will use
  data from the international dating violence study
• Emphasis on corporal punishment by parents
  (spanking) because it is the primordial
  violence
• Emphasis on gender differences in victimization
  and perpetration of violence against partners
  because the feminist theory that male dominance
  is the major cause of partner violence is the
  most widely accepted explanation

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• ASPECTS OF THE FAMILY VIOLENCE TO BE COVERED
• Nature or types of family violence
• Prevalence and chronicity
• Causes
• Consequences
• Prevention and control
• ASPECTS OF SOCIOLOGY TO BE COVERED
• The unique contribution of sociology to
  explaining human behavior and society and how it
  differs from psychology
• The basic principle of social causation
• The basic principle of society and other groups
  as systems
• Research methods
• Hypotheses, samples, measurement, data
  analysis, interpretation
• Cross-Cultural and Cross-National research
• PREREQUISITES Methods and Statistics

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REVIEW OF SYLLABUS AND ASSIGNMENTS

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CLASS MEETINGS

• LECTURE/DISCUSSION ONE DAY
• Lectures will be available on website or
  Blackboard
• Raise Questions
• Ask For Further Information
• On occasion, you will be asked to write and
  turn in comments and question for discussion
• LAB PROJECT THE OTHER DAY MOST WEEKS
• Use data from the International Dating Violence
  Study to test theories about the causes and
  effects of family violence
• Example Is corporal punishment by parents
  associated with an increased probability of
  hitting a dating partner?

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TERMINOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS
AGGRESSION An act carried out with the INTENTION
of harming another person Physical Psychologic
al Social Sexual Material RELATED
TERMS VIOLENCE Physical aggression ABUSE
Mistreatment of another family member. Can
any of the above MALTREATMENT Same as abuse
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• PUBLIC ADVOCATES USE VIOLENCE FOR ANY FORM
  OF MALTREATMENT OR ABUSE
• SOMETIMES APPLIED TO ANYTHING SOMEONE DOES NOT
  LIKE
• Marketing infant formulas
• Clear-cutting forests
• Incest
• Criticism of a therapist who was treating a women
  incest victim and described the sexual acts as
  not violent
• Denis -- you refer to the abuse as
  "non-violent". I'm sure you know that all abuse
  is violent. Whether she was physically forced
  into it or not, it is still an act of violence
  and needs to be treated and talked about as
  such.
• CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE ARE NOT THE SAME
• CONFLICT IS AN INHERENT PART OF HUMAN
  INTERACTION
• VIOLENCE IS ONE METHOD OF RESOLVING A CONFLICT
• What are some other methods?

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FOR THIS COURSE USE "VIOLENCE" IN TWO WAYS

• "VIOLENCE" BY ITSELF An act carried out with
  the intention of causing another person to
  experience physical pain or injury.
• This is the scientific usage.
• "FAMILY VIOLENCE" Any form of maltreatment of
  another family member.

Violence Has Many Dimensions. What are some
examples? Minor and Severe Criminal and
Legitimate Instrumental and Expressive Is
Actual Harm Necessary? A person can escape being
touched and it is still violence (physical
aggression) defined as an act carried out with
the INTENTION of harming another person). Also
the legal definition. Nashua teacher and child
drilling desk not clear. Victims point of view
is relevant for understanding the response to
violence
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WHAT IS FAMILY VIOLENCE? FAMILY MALTREATMENT
WOULD BE A BETTER LABEL

• AT LEAST 25 KINDS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE, OR
  MALTREATMENT OR "ABUSE" OF A FAMILY MEMBER
• Abusive Behavior Type of Victim Physical
  abuse Child
• Sexual abuse Dating Partner
• Psychological abuse Spouse
• Neglect Parent
• Theft, embezzlement Elderly family member
• 5 ABUSIVE BEHAVIORS X 5 TYPES OF VICTIMS
  25 KINDS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE
• What are some examples? Which interest you
  more?

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WHAT MAKES A BEHAVIOR ABUSE?

• HARM CAUSED - This is often harm assumed
• CULTURAL NORMS CAN DEFINE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
  ABUSE OR NORMAL
• Child labor
• Child sex
• Spanking kids for misbehavior
• Spank a child to drive out the devil
• Toughening a child
• "Physically chastise an errant wife"
• 7-year olds as caregivers of infants and
  toddlers

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OTHER POINTS ON AGGRESSION/VIOLENCE

• What is the difference between anger and
  aggression?
• Anger is an emotion that sometimes leads to the
  behavior called aggression
• Is aggression/violence morally right or wrong?
• Some aggressive acts are and some are not
• Depends on the cultural norms of the society
• "Spanking" children versus "slapping" a wife
• "Executing" a criminal versus "killing" a rival
• Other examples of "legitimate violence"
• What is another everyday language meaning of
  aggression? Example An "aggressive' salesman or
  base ball player
• Not aggression because no intent to harm
• It is aggression if the player does attempt
  to injure another player
• A source of confusion because many people use
  aggression to mean vigorous effort

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• THREE KEY THINGS TO KNOW
• ABOUT ANY ASPECT OF FAMILY VIOLENCE
• PREVALENCE
• CAUSES
• EFFECTS

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SOME CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING HOW IMPORTANT A
SOCIAL PROBLEM IS

• PREVALENCE RATE
• DEGREE OF HARM CAUSED
• Percentage harmed (effect size)
• Severity of harm
• CULTURAL NORMS
• EACH OF THE ABOVE INFLUENCES THE OTHER
• THE MOST HARMFUL PROBLEM FOR INDIVIDUALS MAY NOT
  BE THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FOR SOCIETY
• Example spanking versus physical abuse as risk
  factors for depression

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