Citation

Haj-Yahia MM, Edleson JL. J. Fam. Violence 1994; 9(1): 47-62.

Affiliation

Bethlehem University, West Bank; Tel Aviv University, Israel; University of Minnesota, 55455 Minneapolis, Minnesota

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF01531968

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article reports one of the first studies of woman abuse in the Arab world. A standardized measurement package was completed by 434 engaged Arab-Palestinian men living in Israel. The study sought to explain men's differential use of conflict tactics with their fiancées using variables representing three frameworks: (1) male dominance, (2) intergenerational learning, and (3) interpersonal skills deficit. Results revealed that a combination of factors from disparate frameworks best explained the variance. Men who used reasoning in conflicts were less likely to have originated from families where they were exposed to violence, more likely to have egalitarian expectations from marriage, and more likely to be characterized as androgynous. Men who were verbally and physically aggressive toward their fiancées, were more likely to have come from homes where they were exposed to violence, were less likely to empathize with their fiancées, and more likely to hold negative and traditional attitudes toward women.