Family Violence Framework

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Family violence, both physical and psychological/emotional, is an incredibly important issue for today’s families. It is important that we understand the environments and contributors that lead to the increased probability of family violence occurring. Many theories and approaches have been created to understand what causes abuse to occur but I found the family violence framework to be most interesting. Created by Murray Straus and Richard Gelles (Hattery & Smith, 2012, p. 7), this framework looks at the relationships created within families. These relationships often involve “obligations and responsibilities” (p. 7) as well as “status and power” (p. 7) that cause tension within families and can ultimately lead to abuse. The underlying concept …show more content…

Rather, in some cases, violent behavior occurs for no other reason than that particular family member has the power to do so and uses the behavior as a tool to control and modify the behavior of another family …show more content…

The economy, and the struggles caused by financial troubles, employment issues, etc., create tension within a household and raise the probability of family violence occurring. Rates of family violence, specifically intimate partner violence “are expected to be higher during periods of economic downturn and recession than during periods of relative prosperity” (p. 211). Cultural norms also help to shape patterns of family violence (p. 10) and correlate well with the family violence framework. Our society views the gender roles of men and women as the breadwinning husband and subservient wife (p. 232)- granting men the highest power and authority in the family unit. However, with the increase in female degree attainment and increased female workforce participation, these traditional norms have become outdated and no longer accurately depict the construct and roles of families and their members. Men are no longer necessarily the breadwinners in a family. This change in roles and power station threatens a man’s masculinity and their identity as the breadwinner, a threat that is a primary trigger of family violence (p. 10). Religion also plays a role in family violence (p. 11) as many religious texts, such as the Torah, Qur’an, and Bible dictate the dominance of the father and subservience of wife and children and advocates the use of force and/or violence in order to ensure this subservience (p. 273-274).

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