Domestic Violence: Bandura's Social Learning Theory

CIn societies, the violence that happens in families is seen as normal behavior. Violence is a learned behavior that families continue to repeat is known as domestic violence. Domestic violence can be very harsh for families and can lead to the ruin of the family unit. Domestic violence hard to remedy because it can affect the victims' lifestyle development, causing physical, psychological, emotional, and economic damages to the victims (Bogeanu, 2012). One of the most commonly cited theories explaining the violence behavior in the family is Bandura’s social learning theory (Bandura 1977).

Before exploring the critical social learning theory in detail, there is a family to introduce. The Martinez have agreed to allow information about their

Estrella and Sebastian go to the Boys and Girls Club after school and stay there until Rachel picks them up after work. As soon as Rachel picks up the children, they eat, take a bath, and get ready to go to bed. The children make noodle soup and eat in the kitchen by themselves. Rachel is exhausted she barely makes it to bed. They rarely see their mother or their stepfather during the week. They spend the weekends at home with their stepfather while he sleeps most of the time. Estrella spends the weekend cleaning the house and washing clothes that her mother has separated from her. The stepfather has a drug problem which has consumed him so much, this being the reason he is not able to obtain a full-time permanent job. He was arrested for theft, which is another reason that he is not able to maintain a job which is putting stress on Rachel. Recently Rachel lost her job due of all her call ins because the black eyes and the broken bones. The loss of Racheal job mad Chris, which made him more violent because all the money they received towards the bill and not his drug

She did not have the money to give him. Chris became angry and begun punching Racheal in the face. Racheal falls to the ground, and he began to kick her in the stomach. Racheal remained silent as Chris beat her because she did not want the children to see the abuse. Rachel cries every night just thinking about what to do since Chris is not moving out. Rachel is so concerned about her children’s health and well-being. She is thinking about moving in with her mother. Rachel grew up in a moderate income neighborhood with both her parents, but now they are divorced. Her father, Robert lives in California, and her mother Valerie, resides in Mesquite, which is about 20 minutes from Rockwall. Rachel is stressing out because she does not want to move in with her mother in Mesquite because she will have to take Estrella and Sebastian out of Rockwall schools and enroll them in Mesquite schools. They will also be moving into a one-bedroom apartment. Rachel’s mother told her to think about it carefully before she makes the move because moving in and out of their home is going to be devastating to her grandchildren. Rachel told her mother that she loves Chris and wants him to change, but if he is not going to change then she will be filing for divorce. Chris lived in a very low-income neighborhood that was situated in South Dallas. Both of Chris’s parents smoke marijuana daily, collect disability