NCJ Number
159215
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1995) Pages: 121- 131
Date Published
1995
Length
11 pages
Annotation
A group of men who assaulted their wives were studied with respect to their reports of shaming experiences by their parents and the link between these experiences and a shame-prone style.
Abstract
Past studies have indicated that a shame-prone style is related to anger arousal and a tendency to externalize attributions for behavior, both common features of men who assault their wives. The participants were 140 court- referred and self-referred interviewed by two domestic assault programs in British Columbia, Canada. Results revealed significant relationships between recollections of shaming actions by parents and adult anger, abusiveness as reported by the men's wives, and a constellation of personality variables that prior research has indicated are related to abusiveness. These associations remained even after adjustments were made for response sets such as social desirability. These shaming actions were largely composed of parental punishments that were public, random, or global. Findings suggest the effectiveness of group therapy as an effective technique for working with shame-prone individuals, provided that the hurdles of having to attend a group and the requirement that group members reveal past transgressions can be overcome. However, the exercise of confession, typical in most treatment groups, can allow men to overcome their shame; eventually, anger, rage, and violence, the original defenses against shame, no longer become necessary. Tables and 39 references (Author abstract modified)