escribed by Karmen (2004) suggest that certain population groups are especially vulnerable to this problem.
2. Domestic violence can take several forms. According to Karmen (2004) spouses batter one another, parents abuse and batter children and adolescents, siblings batter one another, children batter elderly parents, marital rape is more commonplace than once recognized, and both heterosexual and homosexual partners behave abusively and violently toward one another. While women are more likely than men to be battered in a partnership or marital relationship, both sexes can be victimized in this manner.
Psychopathology theory holds that the abuser and the victim are somehow psychological predisposed to batter or accept abusive behavior, perhaps as a result of early abuse or exposure to violence. Feminist theory suggests that males abuse and batter women and children as a consequence of having been socialized toward aggression, violence and superiority toward women. Women, in contrast, are socialized to perceive themselves as submissive and unworthy and dependent. As Karmen (2004) noted, feminist theory argues that disparities in the status of males and females is associated with men's violence toward women.
Learning theory, in contrast, suggests that violence is a learned response to stimuli found in the environment (Karmen, 2004). Behaving violently û and accepting violent behavior against the self û are both seen as learned responses to external or internal triggers or stimuli. Repetition of either behavior over time affirms that it is "acceptable" or tolerable.
Form the perspective of this writer, feminist theory seems to hold promise in that it points to societal and environmental causes or spurs to various forms of violence directed by putatively "stronger" individuals against "weaker" ones. Feminist theory suggests that by defining gender roles as dichotomous, certain behaviors (such as male aggress...