Domestic Violence and Group Counseling
It is only since the 1970s that domestic violence became a visible social problem. This is not to say that domestic violence did not occur before that time, but that it was often seen as a purely private, family issue, rather than a criminal matter with social ramifications. During the past two decades, much has been learned about the dynamics of domestic violence, including the kinds of intervention that have potential for success.
A. Description and causes of domestic violence
There are some definitional issues in the description of domestic violence. This has an influence on determination of prevalence of domestic violence. For example, if domestic violence is considered as limited to physical violence, there would be a lower incidence reported than if it is considered to include emotional and sexual behaviors that are defined as abusive.
In their survey, Straus et. al (1981), well-known experts in the field, defined of, or perceived intention, of causing physical pain or injury to another person" (Straus et al., 1981). However, in his own research, Straus used the conflict tactics scale which does not actually include intention as part of the definition. Straus indicated that using the conflict tactics scale for the operationalisation of abuse assumes that certain physical acts are inherently abusive, with any hitting of a partner defined as abuse (Straus, 1990).
Straus and Gelles (1989) provided one of the best overviews of the causes of domestic violence, or at least those factors that perpetrators express as the causes of their behaviors. These seem to differ somewhat for men and for women. For example, men tend to react with violence when they want to control someone, while women tend to respond with violence when they feel attacked. Dobash and Dobash (1984) indicated that men often said that they were provoked to violence by partners who challenged their autho...