From: payner@netcom.com (Rich Payne)
Subject: Re: Candada Massacre
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 14:31:59 GMT

In article <1992Dec16.071926.8188@leland.Stanford.EDU> farthing@leland.Stanford.EDU (ljf) writes:
>In article <Bz9n9v.BHp@newcastle.ac.uk> Chris.Holt@newcastle.ac.uk (Chris Holt) writes:
>>Historically (and in the present in many places), one of the
>>reasons for domestic violence (among many) was that "the man
>>of the household" felt that he owned his wife; he could do whatever
>>he wanted with her, and punish her whenever she didn't obey him.
>>Many people are still brought up with a trace of this attitude,
>>even when they intellectually acknowledge some kind of equality
>>of status.  When a man with such a background feels frustrated,
>>for whatever reason, he can feel a tendency to lash out at some
>>woman for not staying in her place.  Most men suppress such a
>>reaction; some do not.  In this instance, women are singled out
>>as targets.  Statistics about injuries tell very little about
>>the motivations underlying them, and it is the latter that must
>>be recognized if any solution is to be found.
>
>I wonder about the stats, too.  My father was physically abusive to my
>mother.  We'd see and hear the punches and then see the resulting
>bruises on my mother, but the very few times my sister and I
>confronted my father, he'd deny everything.  One time my mother hit
>him back, catching her ring on his face and scratching him.  His face
>started to bleed and he stopped.  I think he was so shocked that she
>had hurt him that he was stopped dead in his tracks.

I wonder about this post? How does a single instance of anything make
statistics questionable. Does one violent man deny the existance of
violent women? Does one violent women deny the existance of violent
men? What does the above story say about "the stats" one way or another?
 
>However, if you asked my father if he ever hit my mother, I bet he'd
>say no and really believe it (particularly since he's no longer
>abusive).  If you asked my mother if she ever hit my father, she'd
>probably start to cry and tell about how she once hit him and made his
>face bleed.

Is it not possible that denial is a characteristic of abusive people
in general, regardless of sex? This point was addressed in later studies.

|However, there may be other factors.  One of the very early pilot studies
|done by Strauss & Gelles had a similar apparent bias.  This bias disappeared
|in later studies.  There were two differences between the later study and
|the earliest one.  The first was the generally larger sample size.  The
|second difference was the fact that only *one* family member was asked to
|report on violence - the earlier study asked all family members.
|Interestingly enough, the authors seemed to avoid speculating that this
|difference in methodology might have made the difference between the first
|pilot study and their later ones - that people might adjust their reporting
|of violence if they feel it might be 'compared' to reports of their family
|members.  The authors (Strauss, Gelles, and I believe at that time Steinmitz)
|seem to prefer the explanation that it was a statistical fluke due to the
|small sample size.


Rich

payner@netcom.com