A Criminological Analysis Of Domestic Violence - Essay Example

? Child abuse is unquestionably one of the most deplorable problems in society. It is well known that children who are abused and grow up in abusive environments, have tendencies to do the same as adults along with experience a variety of psychological and emotional problems. Of course, in the outer reaches of this problem, deaths have actually occurred. This analysis will look at this utilizing some of the basic or core concepts of criminology, and in turn, present an outline of how pervasive these types of crime are, in the US. Finally, this paper will close with a discussion of major theories of crime focusing on 'conflict theory' and 'structure theory' in order to provide some explanation as to why this problem persists, and why it emerges. Child abuse and domestic violence often occur in the same family and are linked in a number of important ways that have serious consequences for the safety of all family members as well as for members of the larger community. First, where one form of family violence exists, there is a strong likelihood that the other one does too. Second, research shows that the impact on children of witnessing parental domestic violence is strikingly similar to the consequences of being directly abused by a parent, and both experiences are significant contributors to youth violence. Third, many of the factors highly associated with the occurrence of child abuse are also associated with domestic violence, and many of these are the same factors that put children at risk for youth violence and adult violent crime. Overlapping all these problems is substance abuse, which is associated with each form of violence as a co-factor. These linkages have important implications for intervention and prevention efforts. Researchers have also found that men who as children witnessed their parents' domestic violence were twice as likely to abuse their own wives than sons of nonviolent parents.(Straus, Gelles and Smith 72) A significant proportion of abusive husbands grew up in families where they witnessed their mothers being beaten. Clearly, domestic violence and child abuse are spawning grounds for the next generation of abusers, as well as for violent juveniles. In 1994 there were an estimated 2.9 million reports of suspected child abuse and neglect.(McCurdy and Daro 81) Data from a 1995 Gallup Poll of family violence suggest that from 1.5 million to 3.3 million children witness parental domestic violence each year. These are sobering statistics in light of the known impact of child abuse and witnessing domestic violence on each child, the social costs associated with it.(Gallup, Moor, Schussel 19) Social isolation characterizes many families in which either domestic violence or child abuse is present, although it is not always clear whether the isolation causes the abuse or whether the abuse causes the isolation. A study of the social support and social network relationships of neglecting and non-neglecting, low-income, single, mothers found key differences in the mothers' perceptions of their relationships and interactions. The study found that negative relationships were an important differentiating factor between neglecting and non-neglecting mothers. The relationships of neglecting mothers were characterized by conflict, distrust, and lack of mutuality, while non-neglecting mothers experienced satisfying supportive relationships which emphasized a sense of mutuality and fairness.(Beeman 431) The separate institutional and grassroots responses to child abuse and domestic violence which have taken place over the last two decades in the form of intensive services for battered women and abused children, while critical, have proved woefully inadequate. In fact, both of these problems continue unabated. However, despite more than 1800 domestic violence programs across the country, the media reports almost daily grisly stories of battered women doing all the right things: calling the police, obtaining restraining orders, getting divorced, moving away - only to be murdered (often along with their children) by their batterers(Sampson et al. 924). Almost four million women were abused in the United States last year alone.(Sampson 44) Likewise, child deaths and injuries continue to mount. In 1994, there were an estimated 2.9 million reports of suspected child abuse and neglect compared to 1.2 million in 1982. Between 1985 and 1992, the number of child maltreatment reports rose by 6% per year.(McCurdy and Daro 79) In 1990, 143,300 children were reported with serious injuries due to maltreatment; more than three children die per day because of child abuse and 87% of these deaths are children under age five.(US Department of Health) Of the 2.9 million reports in 1994, about one in three were substantiated as involving maltreatment, with neglect being the most frequent type substantiated (53% of substantiated cases). Having now presented some of the basic facts and data concerning child and domestic assault, the following will present a framework for understanding the broader criminological context. To this end, a number of relevant theories can be utilized for understanding the crimes being discussed. First, Social Structure theories and conflict theory can yield a number of important observations, and in particular, theories that provide some of the broadest explanations of the phenomenon. First, and in regard to social structures and conflict theory, both yield some important elements for understanding the socio-economic backgrounds for the families in question. One of the concerns of domestic abuse, and one of the known causes, are house-hold stresses. Moreover, one of the most common and documented causes for differences among couples, are economic problems. Thus, it can be inferred that social conflict theory is relevant because of issues surrounding poverty and class. Conflict theory maintains that that crime is a result or consequence of a conflict often over a social issue such as class differences. Conflict creates the environmental problems that can lead to problems such as child abuse and domestic assault. That is, the frustration and personal problems associated with poverty, and these can include drug and alcohol abuse, can have a direct causal relationship to the problem in question [Siegel 26]. Further, as an issue of social structure, it can be argued that there are going to be consistent variables common to all cases, and these need to be analyzed using a structural comparison between the various crimes. A structural approach asks what structures or conditions are present such that when they are prevalent, the outcome can actually be predicted [Siegel 465]. In other words, a structural variable that causes domestic assault can also be a predictor for future problems of the same kind. In sum, this paper has presented and analyzed the criminal and social problem of domestic assault and child abuse. This paper looked at both the prevalence of the problem, and in turn, looked at some of the data concerning who are the abusers and who are the victims – along with the type of behaviors associated with these problems. Finally, this analysis looked at some of the theories that contribute to our understanding of criminal phenomenon. It has been argued that conflict theory is relevant because of prevalence of poverty among assault cases, and second, it was argued that social structure theories are relevant toward determining those variables that are common to all cases of assault and abuse. In closing, my personal rationale for writing on this topic, is that it has to be one of the most alarming problems in current society. I also knew someone who experienced a great deal of abuse growing up. It is difficult to imagine what is more distressing than abusing someone as innocent as a child – and it is difficult to imagine the long-term consequences of that very same action too. Works Cited: Beeman, S. K. (1997). Re-conceptualizing social support and its relationship to child neglect. Social Science Review, 17, 421-440. Gallup, G. H. Jr., Moor, D. W., & Schussel, R. (1997). Disciplining children in America. Princeton, NJ: The Gallup Organization. Harris, L. (1993). The first comprehensive national health survey of American women. New York: The Commonwealth Fund. McCurdy, K., & Daro, D. (1994). Child maltreatment: A national survey of reports and fatalities. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 9(1), 75-94. Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. (1997, August 15). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277, 918-924. Siegel, Larry J. (2010). Criminology: The Core. Belmont CA.: Wadsworth. Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Smith, C. (1990). Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics. (1992). 1990 summary: National hospital discharge survey, advance data no. 210. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. A CRIMINOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: DATA AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES. Read More