Predicting Beliefs About Wife Beating Among Engaged Arab Men in Israel

• NCJ Number: 167610
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 12 Issue: 4 Dated: (August 1997) Pages: 530-545
• Author(s): M M Haj-Yahia
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article presents the methodology and findings of one of the first studies of beliefs about wife beating in Arab societies.

Abstract

The data were collected from a random sample of 434 engaged Arab men from Israel. The instrument package contained background information, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, the Marriage Role Expectations Inventory, the Conflict Tactics Scales, the Primary Communication Inventory, the Simple Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, the Relationship Inventory (Empathic Understanding), Inventory of Beliefs About Wife Beating, and Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. The variables represented three frameworks: male dominance, intergenerational learning, and interpersonal skills deficit. The results show that a combination of predictors from disparate frameworks best explained the variance in the criterion variables of the study. The study found that different beliefs about wife beating among engaged Arab men are explained by the following variables: patriarchal and nonegalitarian expectations of marriage, inability to establish positive communication, negative attitudes toward women, sex role stereotypes, and witnessing or experiences with violence in their families of origin. The implications of these findings are discussed. 1 table and 35 references