NCJ Number
111190
Editor(s)
M C Burns
Date Published
1986
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Essays in this monograph examine the cultural and social influences which foster wife abuse among black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American families in America and suggests approaches for combatting this problem among these minorities.
Abstract
Among the cultural and social influences that impact the aforementioned groups are discrimination in the dominant culture which fosters low self-esteem, stress, poverty, and maladaptive behaviors; patriarchal cultural values that teach male dominance and female submissiveness; and religious values that give divine sanction to male dominance and female obedience to the male. Although discrimination and cultural values are strong determinants of behavior and resistant to change, the papers advocate change in the views of women and male-female interactions through public awareness campaigns, the promotion of cultural values that enhance the self-esteem of both males and females, and resistance to the internalization of stereotypes imposed by the dominant white culture. Accompanying footnotes and references.