Chapter 6 Violence Abuse and Neglect in Families Intimate Relationships Family Violence Violence occurs across societies cultures historical time No longer viewed as private problem but public Not limited to one SES or demographic group Costs of family violence o Social emotional economic societal Controversies in family violence research How to best conceptualize violence o Intimate partnerships or family o Violence not limited to marital relationships Current prevalence and incidence estimates o Abuse and neglect defined differently o Methodologies vary o No exact numbers available Types of Family Violence Child abuse Elderly Abuse o Physical emotional financial caregiver neglect o Neglect physical violence emotional violence sexual violence homicide Sibling violence Intimate partner abuse o Thought by many to be most common type of family violence o Dating and courtship violence cohabiting couples married couples gay couples o Physical coercive control emotional sexual financial pot relationship homicide stalking was prevalent o In National Violence Against Women Survey found that violence against women o About 3 times as many women are killed by husbands boyfriends as rates of men killed by wife girlfriend Costs of Family Violence Monetary costs o Child abuse and neglect about 103 8 billion dollars o Intimate partner assault rape stalking over 5 8 billion Long term consequences o Children o Adult Poor school performance lower attention to social cues inappropriate sexual behavior Juvenile delinquency special education mental health care physical health declines problematic school performance developmental delays asthma depression anxiety resources from child protection services Adult mental health care criminal costs marriages health later in life injury treatment costs days missed from work treatment for sexually transmitted diseases dental work lost productivity from paid and HH work lifetime lost earnings and criminal justice agencies o Female victims o Society as a whole justice agencies Physical injury depression anxiety long term poor health increased risk of suicide Time lost from work medical care resources from social and criminal Factors Associated with Family Violence Sex and Gender Differences o Intimate partner abuse Type of violence Family violence vs feminist research Both agree men initiated more violence more difficult for women to leave women more injured killed etc o Child abuse and neglect Mothers slightly more likely to abuse or kill than fathers Stepfathers risk factor Suicidal biological fathers risk for child homicide Social characteristics o Violence cuts across all SES groups o Violence more prevalent among poor Association between lower income and increased risk of violence Shelters vs other service agencies o Intimate partner violence more common among racial ethnic minority families o Career and life stressors have medium impact on likelihood of intimate partner o PTSD and stress higher for female victims than for male perpetrators or male o Men in working class jobs more likely to use violence than men in middle class Stress abuse victims jobs Intergenerational transmission of violence o About 30 of abused children grow up to use abuse in their relationships or to o Witnessing parental abuse significantly related to later abusive behavior o Child resiliency growing up in an abusive home does not mean a child will use be a victim violence Theories Explaining family violence Social Learning Theory society is violent We learn violence from others Bandura s research o Behaviors learned through individual s experiences and observations o Inadequate because does not explain why some are violent who never experience violence Others nonviolent although experienced violence o Mismatch between parent child family community leads to higher risk of Ecological theory violence o Primarily for child abuse Social Exchange Theory o Costs rewards of using violence or remaining in violence o Inadequate because assumes rational thinker and equal access to resources of male female General strain theory relationships o Violence related to frustration or anger when individual treated poorly in social o Inadequate because many in stress are not violent with families Feminist theory patriarchal structure of social system leads to violence against women and children o Gender primary issue in intimate partner abuse o Not as great at explaining child abuse o Needs more development explaining violence in homosexual relationships Attachment theory o Bonds with caregivers and partners Insecure anxious avoidant attachment poor relationships o Inadequate because assumes anger anxiety of poor attachment cause abuse but not always the case Intervention Protecting children o Child protective services Remove protective services Provide services to families without removal o In some states child witnessing domestic violence is considered child abuse Protecting victims of elderly abuse o Adult protective services Protecting victims of intimate partner abuse o Shelters police protective orders fighting back court ordered treatment transitional housing o Couple s counseling does not work Individual counseling can be useful o Barriers to leaving Financial children legal and custody isolation coercive control threat of violence sexual abuse lack of social support to leave power and control tactics fear of unknown cultural norms Chapter 7 Families Coping with Alcohol and Substance Abuse Biopsychosocial focus includes different influences that affect the impact of substance abuse Biological influences o Prominent study in addiction o Studies the genetic components of addiction o Ex analyzes an alcoholic s brain vs a non alcoholic s brain Psychological factors o Thoughts feelings behaviors that are generated by addiction o People diagnosed with addictions usually also have co occurring mental health diagnosis eating disorders depression etc Social influences o Focuses on families and relationships o Addiction has an affect on how the person relates to the world and the people around them Terms Substance use regular and experimental use Substance misuse excessive consumption Substance abuse or dependence clinical designation involving serious and persistent problems with substances feel they need a drug to be normal Children and substance abuse problems Child characteristics research is done on children as young as 8 years old o 40 of 8th graders have consumed alcohol o Conduct disorders