Glenda Kaufman Kantor

The “Drunken Bum” Theory of Wife Beating

We examine the belief that physical abuse of wives is strongly determined by drunkenness and socioeconomic status using interview data from a nationally representative sample of 5,159 families. Our findings show that excessive drinking is associated with higher wife abuse rates, but alcohol use is not an immediate antecedent ofviolence in the majority of families. The combination of blue-collar status, drinking, and approval of violence is significantly associated with the highest rate of wife abuse. Of the three factors, cultural approval of violence by men against women has the strongest association with wife abuse. Although our results provide support for the drunken bum theory of wife beating, they also demythologize the stereotype because they show that alcohol is far from being a necessary or sufficient cause of wife abuse.

Sociocultural status and incidence of marital violence in Hispanic families.

It is not clear whether traditional cultural ideology influences wife assaults in Hispanic-American families, or if culture is confounded with the stresses of poverty, unemployment, and immigration status. Our 1992 study of 1,970 families, including a national oversample of Hispanic families, examines the incidence of marital violence in the three major Hispanic-American subgroups and in Anglo-American families, and considers how sociocultural status and attitudes towards violence affect wife assaults differentially. The findings show that Hispanic Americans, as a whole, do not differ significantly from Anglo Americans in their odds of wife assaults when norms regarding violence approval, age, and economic stressors are held constant At the same time, considerable heterogeneity was apparent among ethnic subgroups on a number of measures. We also found that being born in the United States increases the risk of wife assaults by Mexican- and Puerto Rican-American husbands. However, the presence of norms sanctioning wife assaults within any group, regardless of socioeconomic status, is a risk factor for wife abuse.

Sociodemographic Predictors and Cultural Barriers to Help-Seeking Behavior by Latina and Anglo American Battered Women

Data from a national survey were used to investigate the help-seeking efforts of Latinas (Mexican, Mexican American, Puerto Rican) and Anglo American women who experienced battering by intimate partners. The findings revealed that battered Latinas were significantly younger, less educated, and more impoverished than Anglo women. Additionally, Latinas more often categorized their marriages as male dominated and their husbands as heavy drinkers. Bivariate analyses showed that Latinas who sought help were significantly more acculturated and more likely to have a heavy drinking husband than those who did not seek help. Although battered women were active help seekers, Latinas underutilized both informal and formal resources relative to Anglo women, with Mexican women least likely to seek assistance. When sociodemographic predictors of help seeking were analyzed, being youthful and Anglo significantly increased the odds of help-seeking efforts. Low acculturation, as measured by preference for the Spanish language, was the only significant cultural barrier to help seeking by Latinas. Implications for treatment include improved outreach and advocacy to underserved groups.

Defining the Boundaries of Child Neglect When Does Domestic Violence Equate With Parental Failure to Protect

Child maltreatment does not exist in isolation from other forms of family violence. Notably, research supports the connection between wife abuse and child maltreatment, and research on the possible consequences to children exposed to domestic violence has influenced a redefinition of child maltreatment legislation and policy. Recently, some states have considered and passed legislation making witnessing of domestic violence, per se, a form of criminal child abuse. This article explores conceptual discontinuities in official definitions of child maltreatment in relation to domestic violence failure to protect matters by drawing on data from legislative reviews, child protective services, and individual-level definitions. Implications for policy, practice, and research are addressed.

A Risk Marker Analysis of Wife Assault in Latino Families

This study used national survey data to assess the utility of commonly recognized risk markers for wife assault to predict violence against women in various ethnic groups of Latino families (i.e., Mexican, Mexican American, Puerto Rican). The authors identified various combinations of factors affecting violence risk within different ethnic groups. Level of conflict emerged as the strongest and most stable factor across ethnic group and gender of respondent. Generic risk markers did not adequately account for the observed between-group variability. The results highlight the need to investigate both generic and culture-specific variables associated with an increased risk for wife assault.

Development and Preliminary Psychometric Properties of the Multidimensional Neglectful Behavior Scale-Child Report

This article describes the development and psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Neglectful Behavior Scale-Child Report (MNBS-CR). The measure is broadly conceptualized to tap child neglect across four core domains: cognitive, emotional, physical and supervisory neglect, and it assesses exposure to violence, alcohol-related neglect, abandonment, and children’s appraisals of parenting. Features include pictorial items, audio computer-assisted testing, and programming by age and gender of the child and caregiver. A clinical sample of 144 children, age 6 to 15 years, and a comparison sample of 87 children were tested. Results showed that the MNBS-CR has high reliability, with higher reliability found for older children (alpha = .94) than for younger children (alpha = .66). Among older children, the MNBS-CR Supervisory scale was significantly associated with the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL), and total MNBS-CR scores were significantly associated with clinician reports of behavioral disorders. Younger and older neglected children scored significantly higher on the MNBS-CR than community children.

Pregnancy, Stress and Wife Assault: Ethnic Differences in Prevalence, Severity, and Onset in a National Sample

Research using primarily hospital-based samples has suggested that pregnancy may put women at increased risk for wife assault, however, this research is largely limited by the lack of a comparison group of women who are not pregnant, and the failure to consider racial or ethnic differences in risk for violent victimization. The present study uses data from the 1992 National Alcohol and Family Violence Survey, a national probability sample of 1,970 individuals, to examine the prevalence, severity, and onset of wife assaults associated with pregnancy among Anglo and Hispanic families. The results indicated that pregnancy was associated with minor assaults among Hispanic women and severe assaults among Anglo women. Multivariate analyses revealed that among both Anglo and Hispanic families, there was no direct effect of pregnancy on risk for violent victimization after controlling for socioeconomic status, stressful life events, and age.

Ethnic Adaptations to Occupational Strain Work-Related Stress, Drinking, and Wife Assault Among Anglo and Hispanic Husbands

Previous research has established that both work stress and drinking are associated with increased risks for wife assaults. However, prior studies have not considered whether these relationships vary by ethnicity. This study used data from the 1992 National Alcohol and Family Violence Survey (NAFVS), a national household survey of 1,970 families including an oversample of Hispanic families, to examine relationships among several types of stressors associated with the workplace, heavy drinking, and wife assaults. The results show that Anglo and Hispanic husbands each experienced different types of work stress. In addition, Anglo and Hispanic husbands coped with those stressors differently. Among Hispanic husbands, all work stressors examined were associated with increased levels of both drinking and violence. In contrast, those same work stressors were associated with elevated levels of drinking, but not violence, among Anglos.

Measurement Issues in Child Maltreatment and Family Violence Prevention Programs

In this article, the authors provide an overview of measurement issues relevant to monitoring and evaluation of child maltreatment and family violence prevention programs. This review originally was developed for use in a family violence prevention program in a military setting but can be adapted to similar programs, such as early intervention and family support efforts, that seek to prevent maltreatment and enhance family well-being. The multiple purposes of measurement, including use as screening, clinical assessment, or outcome tools, are discussed. Guidelines for selecting appropriate domains for evaluation are discussed, and specific information on a sampling of instruments is provided, including standardized measures of family and child well-being, parenting, stress and coping, and family violence. Suggestions for measures of key individual and family constructs are included.

When Women Are under the Influence

This chapter examines theoretical and empirical evidence for the existence of “intoxication-victimization” effects. Theories of victimization and theories of alcohol-induced aggression are examined for their relevance to the phenomenon of concern. The results of our examination of theory and research indicates theoretical support for an integrated theory of intoxication-victimization effects. However, we found that the temporal precedence of women’s drinking related to their victimizations has not been established by prior investigations. Supporting evidence for intoxication-victimization effects is strongest among studies of rape, homicide, and studies of alcoholic women. Despite the strength of alcohol’s association with wife assaults, intoxication’s centrality and temporal relationship to specific wife-assault episodes is highly variable. Our review indicates that women’s intoxication might be spuriously associated with victimization through its association with husband’s intoxication and via the indirect effects of victimization histories in the family of origin of both partners.