Married men's perceptions about wife battery

• Main Author: Devero, Ellyn Lindsy Barraquias
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1999
• Subjects: Abused wives; Victims of crimes; Social problems; Wife abuse; Husbands; Perception; Counselor Education; Curriculum and Social Inquiry; Educational Methods
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/1973
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study describes and compares perceptions about wife battery of three groups of married men. It tries to determine if age, educational attainment, family income, values and attitudes toward the use of corporal punishment in the home affect the respondents' perceptions of the different aspects of wife battery. Non-probability sampling, specifically the chain referral method, was employed in the identification of respondents. An interview guide in the Cebuano dialect was utilized in gathering pertinent data. Content analysis and descriptive statistics (frequency, average, range) was employed in analyzing the results. Analyses reveal that differences in the men's perceptions of the definition, forms, and acceptability or unacceptability of wife battery may be due to the respondents' age, educational attainment, family income and the values and attitude they hold regarding the use of corporal punishment in the home. With regards to age, the young and old adult groups have broader understanding of the issue as can be gleaned by the more expansive definitions and dimensions of wife battery they provided, specifically capturing the physical, psychological, sexual and economic aspects of the abuse. Likewise, a majority of these two adult groups do not accept the occurrence of wife battering. Middle adults on the other hand, mostly understood it as only the physical abuse of the wife and a majority of those who approve of wife battering are among this group. Results further convey that men who have low education and who belong to the low economic strata have limited understanding of the dimensions of abuse--battering is mostly understood as only the physical abuse of the wife. Similarly, they are the ones who mostly favor the use of corporal punishment in the home and are also the ones who approve of wife battering. Likewise, values and attitudes that favor the use of corporal punishment in the home affect the men's perceptions of the acceptability of wife battery. Those who favor such use of violence justify that it is often associated with punishing and disciplining the wife.In general, respondents forwarded similar causes of the battering, which include the husband's vices, jealousy, financial concerns, and misunderstanding between couples. They were able to point out the physical and psychological effects of the battering on both the wife and her children. A consensus was reached regarding the increased severity of psychological effects on the victims as compared to the physically detrimental ones. Counseling both the batterer and victim, as well as referring the battering couple to the DSWD and the police are commonly perceived as the roles of other men in cases of wife battering.