Abstract
Many women are victimized by their boyfriends. Furthermore, male social networks may encourag e members to abuse their girlfriends. A review of relevant literature shows that social support theory may be useful for understanding this problem. The purpose of this paper is to describe this social psychological theory's potential contribution to the study of woman abuse in dating relationships.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ageton, S. (1983).Sexual Assault among Adolescents, D.C. Heath, Lexington, Mass.
Alder, C. (1985). An exploration of self-reported sexually aggressive behavior.Crime Delinq. 31: 306–331.
Baldwin, W., and Cain, V. S. (1980). Social class and help-seeking behavior.Fam. Plan. Perspect. 12: 34–43.
Blanchard, W. H. (1959). The group process in gang rape.J. Social Psychol. 49: 259–266.
Bowker, L. H. (1983).Beating Wife-beating, Lexington Books, Toronto.
Breines, W., and Gordon, L. (1983). The new scholarship on family violence.Signs J. Women Cult. Society 8: 491–531.
Caplan, G. (1974).Social Systems and Community Mental Health, Behavioral Publications, New York.
Card, J. J., and Wise, L. L. (1978). Teenage mothers and teenage fathers: The impact of early childbearing on the parents' personal and professional lives.Fam. Plan. Perspect. 10: 199–235.
Cassel, J. C. (1976). The contribution of the social environment to host resistance.Am. J. Epidemiol. 104: 107–123.
Cate, R., Henton, J., Koval, J., Christopher, F. S., and Loyd, S. (1982). Premarital abuse: A social psychological perspective.Journal of Family Issues 3: 79–90.
Cobb, S. (1976). Social support as a moderator of life stress.Psychosomatic Medicine 3: 300–314.
Cohen, S., and Hoberman, H. (1983). Positive events and social supports as buffers of life change stress.J. Appl. Social Psychol. 13: 99–125.
Cohen, S., and Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis.Psychological Bull. 98: 310–357.
Dobash, R. E., and Dobash, R. (1979).Violence against Wives: A Case against the Patriarchy, Free Press, New York.
Durkheim, E. (1951).Suicide: A Study in Sociology, Free Press, Glencoe, Ill.
Ellis, D. (1988). Post-separation woman abuse: The contribution of social support.Victimol. 13.
Ellis, D., and Wight, L, (1987). Post-separation abuse: The contributions of lawyers.Victimol. 13.
Furstenberg, F. F. (1976). The social consequences of teenage parenthood.Fam. Plan. Perspect. 8: 148–164.
Furstenberg, F. F., and Crawford, A. G. (1978). Family support: Helping teenage mothers to cope.Fam. Plan. Perspect. 10: 322–333.
Gibson, P. (1984). Under his thumb: Teenage battering.Healthsharing 3: 10–13.
Goffman, E. (1961).Asylums, Anchor Books, New York.
Hall, S., Critcher, C., Jefferson, T., Clarke, J., and Roberts, B. (1978).Policing the Crisis: Mugging, the State and Law and Order, Macmillan, London.
House, J. S. (1981).Work Stress and Social Support, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.
Kanin, E. J. (1957). Male aggression in dating-courtship relations.Am. J. Sociol. 63: 197–204.
Kanin, E. J. (1967a). Reference groups and sex conduct norm violation.Sociological Quart. 8: 1504–1695.
Kanin, E. J. (1967b). An examination of sexual aggression as a response to sexual frustration.J. Marr. Fam. 29: 428–433.
Kanin, E. J. (1984). Date rape: Unofficial criminals and victims.Victimol. 9: 95–108.
Kessler, R. C., and McLeod, J. D. (1985). Social support and mental health in community samples. In Cohen, S., Syme S. L. (eds.),Social Support and Health, Academic Press, New York. pp. 219–240.
Koss, M. P., Gidycz, C. A., and Wisniewski, N. (1987). The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of students in higher education.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 55: 162–170.
Kraus, S., and Perrotta, P. (1980).A Stressor Specific Approach to the Assessment of Social Support, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Montreal.
Laner, M. R. (1983). Courtship abuse and aggression: Contextual aspects.Sociological Spect. 3: 69–83.
Laner, M. R., and Thompson, J. (1982). Abuse and aggression in courting couples.Dev. Behav. 3: 229–244.
Leslie, G. R. (1979).The Family in Social Context, Oxford, New York.
Levine, M., and Perkins, D. V. (1980).Tailor Making Life Events Scale, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Montreal.
Makepeace, J. M. (1981). Courtship violence among college students.Fam. Relat. 32: 97–102.
Makepeace, J. M. (1983). Life events stress and courtship violence.Fam. Relat. 32: 101–109.
Makepeace, J. M. (1984). Unpublished manuscript, St. John's University, St. Joseph, Minn.
Mead, G. H. (1934).Mind, Self and Society, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Morrell, L. (1984). Violence in premarital relationships.Response Fall 17–18.
Mirande, A. M. (1968). Reference group theory and adolescent sexual behavior.J. Marr. Fam. 30: 572–577.
Rook, K. S. (1985). The functions of social bonds: Perspectives from research on social support, loneliness and social isolation. In Sarason, I.G., and Sarason, B. R. (eds.),Social Support: Theory, Research and Applications, Martinus Nijhof, The Hague, The Netherlands, pp. 243–268.
Sarason, I. G., and Sarason, B. R. (1985).Social Support: Theory, Research and Applications, Martinus Nijhof, The Hague, The Netherlands.
Schechter, S. (1982).Women and Male Violence, South End Press, Boston.
Schmitt, R. (1972).The Reference Other Orientation, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.
Schulz, B., Bohrnstedt, G. W., Borgatta, E. F., and Evans, R. (1977). Explaining premarital sexual intercourse among college students: A causal model.Social Forces, 56: 148–165.
Sigelman, C. K., Berry, C. J., and Wiles, K. A. (1984). Violence in college students' dating relationships.J. Appl. Social Psychol. 5: 530–548.
Straus, M. A., and Gelles, R. J. (1986). Societal change in family violence from 1975 to 1985 as revealed by two national surveys.J. Marr. Fam. 48: 465–479.
Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., and Steinmetz, S. K. (1980).Behind Closed Doors: Violence in the American Family, Doubleday/Anchor, New York.
Turner, R. J. (1983). Direct, indirect and moderating effects of social support upon psychological distress and associated conditions. In Kaplan, H. P., (ed.),Psychological Stress: Trends in Theory and Research, Academic Press, New York, pp. 105–155.
Walker, L. E. (1977–78). Battered women and learned helplessness.Victimology 3,4: 525–534.
Walker, L. E. (1983). The battered women syndrome study. In Finkelhor, D., Gelles, R. J., Hotaling, G. T., and Straus, M. A. (eds.),The Dark Side of Families, Sage, Beverly Hills, pp. 31–48.
Walston, B. S., Alagna, S. W., DeVellis, B. M., and DeVellis, R. F. (1983). Social support and physical health.Health Psychol. 4: 367–391.
Whitehead, A. (1976), Sexual antagonisms in Herefordshire. In Barker, D. L., and Allen, S. (eds.),Dependence and Exploitation in Work and Marriage, Longman, London, pp. 169–203.
Wilcox, B. L., and Vernberg, E. M. (1985). Conceptual and theoretical dilemmas facing social support. In Sarason, I. G., and Sarason, B. R. (eds.),Social Support: Theory, Research and Applications, Martinus Nijhof, The Hague, The Netherlands, pp. 3–20.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
DeKeseredy, W.S. Woman abuse in dating relationships: The relevance of social support theory. J Fam Viol 3, 1–13 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00994662
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00994662