Culture of violence theory

The culture of violence theory addresses the pervasiveness of specific violent patterns within a societal dimension.[1] The concept of violence being ingrained in Western society and culture has been around for at least the 20th century.[1] Developed from structural violence, as research progressed the notion that a culture can sanction violent acts developed into what we know as culture of violence theory today.[1] Two prominent examples of culture legitimizing violence can be seen in rape myths and victim blaming.[2] Rape myths lead to misconstrued notions of blame; it is common for the responsibility associated with the rape to be placed on the victim rather than the offender.[2]

Furthermore, the culture of violence theory potentially accounts for inter-generational theories of violence and domestic violence.[3] Childhood exposure to violence in the household may later lead to similar patterns in marital relations.[3] Similarly, early experience with domestic violence is likely to increase an individual's potential for development of clinical symptoms.[4] Additionally, presence of a preexisting mental disorder may heighten the chances of becoming involved in an abusive relationship.[5]

There are many factors which contribute to the persistence of violence among individuals and on a societal level; gender is one relevant factor to understanding the culture of violence theory.[6] In the United States, a majority of reported rapes involve female victims.[2] However, there is a growing body of evidence to support the notion that women can perpetuate relational cycles of violence.[6] While a culture of violence has an impact on people as a whole, for individuals who have experienced trauma in their lives the impact can be much larger.[4][6][7]

Development of the theory

As mentioned previously the culture of violence theory addresses the pervasiveness of specific violent patterns within in a societal dimension.[1] Specifically, culture of violence theory explains how cultures and societies can sanction violent acts.[1] While related to structural violence, cultural violence theory is different by explaining why direct acts of violence or violence built into systems of society exists and how they are legitimized.[1] Research suggests that cultures can encourage and permit violence to exist as a response to various environmental obstacles, such as widespread resource impoverishment.[8] This can be seen within various aspects of culture, such as film, television, music, language, art, and propaganda.[1][8][9][10]

Relation to cultural values in the United States
See also: Gun violence in the United States and Race and crime in the United States

Rape myths

Rape myths refer to the inaccurate views and stereotypes of forced sexual acts, and the victims and perpetuators of them.[9] These notions are prevalent among the general population and often suggest that the victims of non-consensual sexual acts have bad reputations, are promiscuous, dress provocatively, or are fabricating assault when they regret the consensual acts after the fact.[9] These views are often legitimized by the status quo of men dominating women across domains such as family, education, work, and many others.[9] Rape myth acceptance can lead to poor assault/rape prevention measures, decrease in reporting of assaults/rapes, increases of assaults/rapes, and re-victimization.[9]

Violence in relationships
See also: Domestic violence in the United States

Violence in relationships, commonly referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV), is impacted by various factors including the presence of mental illness or use of substances.[11][12][13] Specifically, individuals with depression, generalized anxiety (GAD), or panic disorder are potentially at risk for physical violence towards a partner; findings are consistent for both men and women regarding the connection between psychiatric diagnoses and perpetuation of relationship violence.[11] Additionally, propensity to engage in specific behaviors such as gambling or endorsement of violent pornography have also been associated with increased risk for relationship violence occurrence.[12][14] Individual factors have also been suggested to be associated with relationship violence including anger, aggressiveness, and adverse emotional internalization.[15] Contrarily, exposure to relationship violence is also linked to the later development of mental health symptoms or diagnoses.[16]

Violence in pop culture and media

The prevalence of legitimization of violence may be facilitated by its presence in various media.[9][14] There is evidence to suggest that sex-related crimes account for nearly 10% of all dialogue on television related to sex, most of which is found on fictional programs.[9] Additionally, research has also found a positive relationship between pornography consumption and attitudes supporting violence against women, especially when the pornography in question is violent in nature.[14] However, consideration of individual differences is necessary in evaluating exposure to violent media and overall outcomes.[17] Factors which influence media content exposure and subsequent outcomes include gender and personality traits.[17] Individuals who are male, hostile, impulsive, and are low on empathy are more likely to be susceptible to violent media exposure.[17]

Public justification of violence

Public justification of violence arise when those not necessarily directly involved in the violent act will not react negatively to the violence because they believe it is warranted.[9] Examples of public justification of violence are most evident in rape myths and victim blaming, as discussed above.[1][2][9] However, the common belief regarding legitimate violence tends to place responsibility on victims or potential victims of violence.[1][2][9] Another example that is not as often noted, is the pervasive notion of the "chosen one," within some extremist religious language and various nationalism propaganda that will function as a means to perpetuate the undermining of the other and allowance of violence against the other.[1]

In the Ottoman Empire and Turkey

Turkish sociologist Fatma Müge Göçek has argued that the Armenian genocide and other violent repression in the Ottoman Empire was caused by the Committee of Union and Progress' adoption of a "culture of violence"; she argues that this culture of violence remains embedded in Turkish political culture.[18][19]

References
  1. Galtung, Johan (2016-07-01). "Cultural Violence". Journal of Peace Research. 27 (3): 291–305. doi:10.1177/0022343390027003005. S2CID 220989188.
  2. Suarez, Eliana; Gadalla, Tahany M. (2010-01-11). "Stop Blaming the Victim: A Meta-Analysis on Rape Myths". Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 25 (11): 2010–2035. doi:10.1177/0886260509354503. PMID 20065313. S2CID 30657255.
  3. Stith, Sandra M.; Rosen, Karen H.; Middleton, Kimberly A.; Busch, Amy L.; Lundeberg, Kirsten; Carlton, Russell P. (2000-08-01). "The Intergenerational Transmission of Spouse Abuse: A Meta-Analysis". Journal of Marriage and Family. 62 (3): 640–654. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00640.x. ISSN 1741-3737.
  4. Mandelli, L.; Petrelli, C.; Serretti, A. (September 2015). "The role of specific early trauma in adult depression: A meta-analysis of published literature. Childhood trauma and adult depression". European Psychiatry. 30 (6): 665–680. doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2015.04.007. PMID 26078093. S2CID 10726299.
  5. Trevillion, Kylee; Oram, Siân; Feder, Gene; Howard, Louise M. (2012-12-26). "Experiences of Domestic Violence and Mental Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis". PLOS ONE. 7 (12): e51740. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...751740T. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051740. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3530507. PMID 23300562.
  6. Swan, Suzanne C.; Snow, David L. (2016-06-30). "The Development of a Theory of Women's Use of Violence in Intimate Relationships". Violence Against Women. 12 (11): 1026–1045. doi:10.1177/1077801206293330. PMID 17043365. S2CID 25962803.
  7. Ungar, Michael (2013-05-03). "Resilience, Trauma, Context, and Culture". Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 14 (3): 255–266. doi:10.1177/1524838013487805. PMID 23645297. S2CID 206737781.
  8. Brown, Ryan P.; Osterman, Lindsey L. (2012-07-20). "Culture of Honor, Violence, and Homicide". The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Violence, Homicide, and War. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199738403.013.0013.
  9. Ph.D, LeeAnn Kahlor; Ph.D, Matthew S. Eastin (2011-05-25). "Television's Role in the Culture of Violence Toward Women: A Study of Television Viewing and the Cultivation of Rape Myth Acceptance in the United States". Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. 55 (2): 215–231. doi:10.1080/08838151.2011.566085. ISSN 0883-8151. S2CID 145393515.
  10. Ferguson, Christopher J.; Beresin, Eugene (2017). "Social science's curious war with pop culture and how it was lost: The media violence debate and the risks it holds for social science". Preventive Medicine. 99: 69–76. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.02.009. PMID 28212816.
  11. Oram, S.; Trevillion, K.; Khalifeh, H.; Feder, G.; Howard, L. M. (December 2014). "Systematic review and meta-analysis of psychiatric disorder and the perpetration of partner violence". Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences. 23 (4): 361–376. doi:10.1017/s2045796013000450. ISSN 2045-7960. PMC 7192171. PMID 23962668.
  12. Crane, Cory A.; Hawes, Samuel W.; Weinberger, Andrea H. (2013-07-22). "Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Cigarette Smoking". Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 14 (4): 305–315. doi:10.1177/1524838013495962. PMC 3784627. PMID 23878146.
  13. Crane, Cory A.; Godleski, Stephanie A.; Przybyla, Sarahmona M.; Schlauch, Robert C.; Testa, Maria (2015-05-24). "The Proximal Effects of Acute Alcohol Consumption on Male-to-Female Aggression". Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 17 (5): 520–531. doi:10.1177/1524838015584374. PMC 4798910. PMID 26009568.
  14. Hald, Gert Martin; Malamuth, Neil M.; Yuen, Carlin (2010-01-01). "Pornography and attitudes supporting violence against women: revisiting the relationship in nonexperimental studies". Aggressive Behavior. 36 (1): 14–20. doi:10.1002/ab.20328. ISSN 1098-2337. PMID 19862768.
  15. Birkley, Erica L.; Eckhardt, Christopher I. (2015). "Anger, hostility, internalizing negative emotions, and intimate partner violence perpetration: A meta-analytic review". Clinical Psychology Review. 37: 40–56. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2015.01.002. PMC 4385442. PMID 25752947.
  16. Wolfe, David A.; Crooks, Claire V.; Lee, Vivien; McIntyre-Smith, Alexandra; Jaffe, Peter G. (2003-09-01). "The Effects of Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: A Meta-Analysis and Critique". Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. 6 (3): 171–187. doi:10.1023/a:1024910416164. ISSN 1096-4037. PMID 14620578. S2CID 12612886.
  17. Hoffner, Cynthia A.; Levine, Kenneth J. (2005-05-01). "Enjoyment of Mediated Fright and Violence: A Meta-Analysis". Media Psychology. 7 (2): 207–237. doi:10.1207/s1532785xmep0702_5. ISSN 1521-3269. S2CID 28515475.
  18. Göçek, Fatma Müge (2015). Denial of Violence: Ottoman Past, Turkish Present and Collective Violence Against the Armenians, 1789-2009. Oxford University Press. pp. 191–192. ISBN 978-0-19-933420-9.
  19. "Review Feature - The Armenian Genocide". E-International Relations. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
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