Zeev Winstok

The First Israeli National Survey on Domestic Violence

The aim of the survey reported in this article was to assess the frequency and severity of violence against women in Israel and to identify some major risk factors associated with that violence. During 2000 and 2001, a structured self-report questionnaire was administered to a stratified probability sample drawn from the general population in Israel including 2,544 households, of which 2,092 included only women respondents and 452 included both men and women (904 respondents in total). When compared to those of other Western countries, the rates of psychological aggression in Israel are slightly higher, although the rates of physical aggression are lower.

Structure and Dynamics of Escalation From the Batterer's Perspective

Most theories dealing with the escalation of intimate violence have examined the components of escalation, rather than the dynamic processes involved. This paper develops a theoretical model addressing the structure and dynamics of escalation. To develop the model, we studied the transition between nonviolent and violent realities of cohabitant couples from the male partners perspective. A sample of 25 interviews was selected from a database consisting of 120 in-depth qualitative interviews that were collected for a larger study dealing with the experience of violence among cohabiting couples that remained together in spite of the violence. Sampling, data collection, and data analysis followed the principles of grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Findings indicate that the men interviewed perceive themselves as entitled and obligated to defend their dyadic existential frameworks, while recognizing the costs and benefits involved in the use of violence to achieve this end. These men tend to create the rules, judge when the rules are being infringed upon, and take steps to enforce the rules. Their evaluation of the extent of their control over their own actions and the related cost–benefit considerations are highly influential in their attempts to reestablish the lost balance in their dyadic life. The process of constructing a reaction to their partners behavior consists of two distinctive but interrelated phases: (a) identifying an action by the partner and constructing it into being worthy of reaction; (b) constructing an appropriate reaction. Mens construction of the escalation process is not random or situational, but rather constructed within a set of personal, interpersonal, and socially recognized scripts that delineate the boundaries of the entire process. Theoretical and practical implications for assessing the risk of violence and subsequent societal reaction are suggested, as well as directions for future research.

Partner Accounts of Intimate Violence: Towards a Theoretical Model

The purpose of this study is to provide a structural and contextual analysis of accounts of intimate violence given by cohabiting partners and to identify the dynamics of the interrelationships among the various categories of accounts. The purposive sample consisted of forty respondents (twenty couples) from Northern Israel who had reported at least one incident of violence during the year prior to the study. All respondents were interviewed using an in-depth semi-structured interview format. Thematic content analysis yielded three broad content categories of accounts: (1) what happened in the violent event; (2) why did it happen; and (3) what are the meanings attributed to such violent events. The dynamic interaction among these content categories was examined along personal, interpersonal and social dimensions. A theoretical model summarizing and illustrating the content categories and the dynamic interaction among them is suggested. Finally, some implications for hypothesizing and providing differential interventions are proposed.

Children's experience of interparental violence: A heuristic model

Abstract There is growing empirical evidence regarding the positive correlation between children living in violence-ridden family environments and their impaired development in the physical, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social domains. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the experience of children who are exposed to violence perpetrated by their father against their mother and suggest a constructivist theoretical model which may serve as the basis for further hypothesizing and intervention. A brief review of the pertinent literature serves as the basis for identifying four constructs used by children who are exposed to such violence in order to come to terms with it (e.g., living with a secret, living in conflict of loyalties, living in terror and fear, and living in an aggressive and dominance-oriented context). The various world views underlying these constructs are described, analyzed and discussed. The model suggests two dimensions along which these constructs can be analyzed (level of acknowledgment and loyalty to one or the other parent), and elaborates the process by which they become established. The possible options of locating specific children along these two dimensions are suggested. Some implications for research and differential intervention are proposed.

Structure and Dynamics of Escalation From the Victim's Perspective

This paper examines escalation to violence in intimate relationships from the womans perspective. The findings indicate that the process leading from nonviolence to violence is marked by five discernible junctures; at each one there exists the possibility of escalation into violence, or of an “escape-route” back to nonviolence. Control over the situation remains a key factor in managing this process. Women who continue living with their violent partners construct the process in a manner that affords them a measure of control and responsibility at every stage. This enables them to remain in the relationship despite the violence. The paper concludes with suggestions for theoretical and practical implications for assessing the risk and directions for future research.

Gender Differences in Intended Escalatory Tendencies Among Marital Partners

This study addresses the intended escalatory tendency in eight hypothetical situations in which the provocator’s identity (partner or stranger, male or female) and the provocation form (verbal or physical aggression) were manipulated. The research question is “how does the identity of the provocator and the form of his or her provocation affect the participant’s intended escalation level, and does the gender of the participant affect differences in intended escalation level?” The research sample consisted of 208 Israeli couples. The main finding is that women’s intended response to their male partner is more escalatory than men’s intended response to their female partner. Results also show that women’s escalation is the most severe to partner provocation and the least severe to male strangers’ provocation. Men’s escalation is the most severe to provocation by male strangers and the least severe to their partner’s provocation. Findings indicate that men’s intention to escalate decreases as their partner’s provocation becomes more severe. The severity of provocation has little effect on women’s inten–tion to escalate. Such results are consistent with social role theory and sexual selection theory that maintain that status enhancement is more important for men than for women, and is more important for men than risk reduction is, whereas the opposite is true for women.

From self-control capabilities and the need to control others to proactive and reactive aggression among adolescents

The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between aspects of control (self-control capability and the need to control others) and forms of aggression (reactive and proactive). Data were derived from a structured questionnaire administered to 660 male and female adolescents with an average age of 14.99 years, from two urban schools in northern Israel. Findings demonstrate a negative association between the need to control others and the capability to control the self. Findings also show that proactive violence is especially associated with high need to control others, whereas reactive violence is linked more closely to low self-control capability. The effects of gender and age on control and aggression factors are also shown. Findings are discussed on both the behavioral and the motivational levels.

Towards the Development of a Conflict Escalation Model: The Case of Israeli Youth.

The aim of this study was to present and initially test a model of escalation to verbal and physical aggression among Israeli youths. Stratified sampling was used to obtain data from 799 students in the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades of junior high schools in a northern Israeli city and its suburbs. A structural equation model (SEM) analysis confirmed that there is a significant positive correlation between the constructs of the so-called escalation preference and capability, and showed that both significantly influenced the escalation pattern. In addition, boys and younger students appeared to demonstrate a higher escalatory tendency than girls and older students. Theoretical and practical implications for professional intervention are discussed.

Women's perspective on men's control and aggression in intimate relationships

The relationship of mens self-control capability; their need to control their wives; and their use of verbal aggression, threats, and physical forms of aggression against their partners, as reported by women, were examined. Data were obtained from a stratified probability sample of 2,544 women drawn from the general population in Israel. Initially, structural equation modeling analysis showed that (a) mens need to control their partners and their ability to control themselves were negatively related, and were 2 aspects of personal control; (b) mens verbal aggression, threats of physical aggression and actual physical aggression toward their partners were closely related, and were 3 aspects of aggressive behavior; (c) personal control and aggressive behavior were closely related. Next, a revised model that fitted the data better, demonstrated that verbal aggression was more closely related to personal control than to aggressive behavior. Finally, a model representing co-occurrence of control and violent expressions was tested. This model yielded the best fit to the data. We concluded that control and aggression are two conceptualizations of the same phenomenon, rather than 2 distinct, yet interrelated, concepts.

Choice Within Entrapment and Entrapment Within Choice: The Challenge Facing Battered Women Who Stay

In the present study, the authors explore the differential meaning of choice among battered women who stay in violent relationships and challenge the either/or paradigm that equates leaving with choice and staying with entrapment. A theoretical sample of 25 interviews was selected from a database of 120 in-depth, qualitative interviews with cohabitant couples who remained together despite violence. Sampling and data analysis followed the principles of grounded theory. Findings are organized around 2 conceptual categories: choosing to stay and being prevented from leaving. Each of the categories is examined in relation to both temporal and spatial dimensions. This conceptual framework implies that choices may be constructed by battered women.