- The Future of Children - Public health campaigns to eliminate health risks and to encourage healthy behaviors among particular segments of a population can serve as one type of model for domestic violence prevention strategies. Approaches within this model identify and address the underlying causes of this health problem and often also use positive messages about what constitutes healthier behavior to promote change to those healthier behaviors.3 Similarly, domestic violence prevention strategies must include some understanding of the underlying causes of domestic violence as well as a vision of what constitutes a healthy, nonviolent family.4 It is very difficult to identify the underlying causes of domestic violence; experts in the field do not agree as to what these causes are. Biological Theory According to this theory, violent behavior is biological and organic and can be explained by genetics, biochemistry, and changes in brain development due to trauma. Individual Psychopathology Theory
How Substance and Drug Abuse Can Lead to Domestic Violence There are many Americans in the world who struggle with substance and drug abuse. We all may have found ourselves abusing a substance at one point or time in our lives. On an everyday basis people abuse substances like caffeine, herbal medicines, nicotine, alcoholic beverages, and even prescription drugs. All of these substances are legal and accepted into society (compared to illegal substances and drugs). Some of the more common illegal drugs and substances are cocaine, marijuana, LSD, ecstasy, heroin, crack, and GHB. The first thing into understanding a substance abuser, is to learn the reason why they use the drug? Long time abusers ignore the warning symptoms or the abuse that they are doing to their bodies. Often self-identity is lost with substance abuse. "Violence: An overview of its Relationship to Substance Abuse."
The Key to End Domestic Violence Domestic violence is a huge problem behind closed doors. Nothing pushes our buttons like our most intimate relationships. Everyone would agree that battering is bad for those on the receiving end. Further, one of the great tragedies of domestic violence is that children who grow up in homes where it occurs are far more likely than others to resort to the behavior themselves, continuing the cycle of violence into the next generation. Psychologist Steven Stosny, Ph.D., based in Germantown, Maryland, argues that battering also does terrible things to batterers themselves. And that gives him powerful leverage to get batterers to stop. "Attachment means that you have an unconscious, automatic instinct to protect someone you're attached to. There is part of the abuser that doesn't want to be abusive, says Stosny. One problem with abusers, regardless of how successful they are in life, is that they have a real fragile sense of self. We focus on bringing someone else down when we're angry.
What Causes Domestic Violence? Domestic violence may start when one partner feels the need to control and dominate the other. Abusers may feel this need to control their partner because of low self-esteem, extreme jealousy, difficulties in regulating anger and other strong emotions, or when they feel inferior to the other partner in education and socioeconomic background. Some men with very traditional beliefs may think they have the right to control women, and that women aren’t equal to men. This domination then takes the form of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. Children who witness or are the victims of violence may learn to believe that violence is a reasonable way to resolve conflict between people. Alcohol and other chemical substances may contribute to violent behavior.
Office on Violence Against Women: Crimes of Focus: Domestic Violence Hotlines | What is Domestic Violence? We define domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone. Physical Abuse: Hitting, slapping, shoving, grabbing, pinching, biting, hair pulling, etc are types of physical abuse. Sexual Abuse: Coercing or attempting to coerce any sexual contact or behavior without consent. Emotional Abuse: Undermining an individual's sense of self-worth and/or self-esteem is abusive. Domestic violence can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender.