What is domestic violence? A series on Dr. Bradley’s sourcebook (part 7) The Psychology of Domestic Violence

The Psychology of Domestic Violence

In this lengthy chapter, Bradley attempts to articulate the problem of domestic violence from a psychological standpoint, and make sense of the issue in terms of the human psyche. She describes the a major roadblock that one comes to when attempting to come up with solutions regarding domestic violence, is the idea that was presented in previous articles (Bradley 29). Which is domestic violence does not constrain itself to a specific people group. White, black, and every color in between is susceptible to falling into this vicious cycle. The fact that there isn’t a discernible profile found among perpetrators of domestic violence furthers the difficulty researchers have when trying to tackle this problem from a psychological stand point.

She goes on to state how not only are the men who carry out this horrible act quite diverse, but victims of domestic assault hide in plain view every day as well. A victim of domestic abuse could appear put together, strong, wealthy, or any other trait which society deems a sign of happiness, yet still go home to an abusive relationship (Bradley). We live in a world ruled by social media, and the act of putting on a mask for the rest of the world, only suffer the real life effects of abuse at home, is much easier than in generations before us. This idea helps foster the false reality that only women who are visibly beaten are victims of domestic abuse, and is one step that the nation as a whole must take together in order to represent the true nature of domestic violence, which we now know effects a multitude of people across the socioeconomic graph.

Luckily, as progress continues to be made, researchers have been able to tear down notion that what happens in the house stays in the house, and have begun valuable study on violent homes, and the people that inhabit them (Bradley 30). Although a unanimous decision on how to interpret that data has not been obtained yet, scholars and researches do agree on one point in regards to where to go from here. They all agree that in order to fully understand the epidemic which is domestic violence, academics should not only focus on individual psychology, but also factor in things like social and cultural dimensions in their study as well (Bradley 30). In order to attain a higher understanding of the problem of domestic violence and thus come up with a valuable solution, one must be open to studying all aspects of the crime. Not only evaluating the victim or perpetrators individual psyche, but the psychology of the situation as a whole. Because if one does not understand all of the fundamental workings of the problem they wish to fix, how can they possibly come up with a solution?

The attorneys at the Edgar & Dow are dedicated to the practice of Family law and juvenile dependency matters.  We have offices in Riverside, Temecula, Anaheim and Palm Desert. Committed to helping you get the results that your family deserves.  Contact [email protected] 951-684-6885 or EdgarFamilyLaw.com

References:

Berry, Dawn Bradley. The Domestic Violence Sourcebook. Contemporary, 2001