Page 399 - Sociology and You

Chapter 11 The Family
use of physical violence. One set of researchers found that almost one-third of the husbands in their survey had acted violently against their wives and that wives were almost as likely to have used phys- ical violence against their husbands. Other studies also show that husbands and wives assault each other at about the same rate. Much of the violence committed by women, however, involves self-pro- tection or retaliation, and as a category, females are not as violent as males (Gelles, 1997).
Is abuse always physical? Family violence is not limited to physical abuse. Verbal and psycho- logical abuse are also a part of many families. Psychologists report that the feelings of self-hate and worthlessness that are often the effects of abuse can be as damaging as physical wounds. And more than nine million children in the United States suffer from neglect, a condition of being ignored rather than abused.
What is the most common form of family
violence? Probably the most frequent and most
tolerated violence in the family occurs between chil-
dren. This sibling violence appears to be prevalent
and on the rise. Abuse among siblings may be based
on rivalry, jealousy, disagreements over personal
possessions, or incest. Although it declines somewhat as children get older, it does not disappear.
Little is known about abuse of elderly people, because less research has been done in this area. Abuse of older people usually takes the form of phys- ical violence, psychological mistreatment, economic manipulation, or ne- glect. Estimates of elder abuse range from 500,000 to 2.5 million cases annually (Gelles, 1997). Some observers fear that abuse of older people will increase as baby boomers age and the population grows older.
Section 3 Assessment
1. Choose the word from each pair that best describes the typical American family.
a. nuclear or extended
b. patrilineal or bilateral
c. neolocal or matrilocal
d. polygynous or monogamous
2. Identify three factors discussed in the text that are associated with
divorce.
Critical Thinking
3. Making Predictions What is your prediction for the divorce trend in the United States in 2050? Use information in this section to support your answer.
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Abuse directed against the elderly in nursing homes has been a recent concern of social activists.
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All happy families resem- ble each other; each un- happy family is unhappy in its own way.
Count Leo Tolstoy Russian writer
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