NCJ Number
218169
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 170-190
Date Published
April 2007
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study explored the definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse among undergraduate social work students in Israel.
Abstract
While the majority of participants reported a recognition and awareness of the problem of physical and sexual wife abuse, only a small percentage of them reported awareness and recognition of psychological abuse. A higher percentage of participants reported recognition of severe physical violence while only a small percentage acknowledged moderate or minor abuse. It is recommended that instructors find ways to identify students who hold patriarchal beliefs and attempt to change those attitudes and to instill a positive and empathetic approach toward abused women. Students in their second and third year of schooling were more likely than first year students to be aware of wife abuse and were less likely to offer justifications for abuse. Religiosity was not predictive of student’s tendencies to justify wife abuse or with their belief that wives benefited from beatings. The study was conducted in two parts. In study 1, participants were 544 undergraduate social work students from 2 major universities in Israel who completed self-administered questionnaires that probed background characteristics, acts thought to constitute wife assault, attitudes regarding the use of force in specific situations, and marital role expectations. In study 2, participants were 186 undergraduate social work students at 1 major university in Israel who completed a self-administered survey that probed background characteristics, beliefs about wife beating, attitudes toward women, sex role stereotyping, and religiosity. Descriptive statistics and regression models were used to analyze the data. Future research should focus on the nature and processes of fieldwork training programs for social workers. Tables, references