Pugh Brandie, Li Luye, Sun Ivan Y
University of Delaware, Newark, USA.
J Interpers Violence. 2021 Apr;36(7-8):3778-3813. doi: 10.1177/0886260518778264. Epub 2018 May 29.
In both China and the United States, public attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV) have shifted from viewing IPV as a tolerable, private matter to viewing it as a matter of public concern that should be dealt with as a crime. Empirical and comparative examinations of the perceptions of why women stay in physically abusive relationships are lacking. Answering this question calls for comprehensive, methodologically rigorous research. Using survey data collected from approximately 1,000 college students from two Chinese and two U.S. universities, this study empirically compared and contrasted factors that impact U.S. and Chinese students' perceptions as to why women remain in physically abusive relationships. Utilizing a theoretical framework of social constructionism, two common reasons were assessed: Women stay in physically abusive relationships because of learned helplessness and positive beliefs in the relationship/hope for the future. The results show that viewing IPV as a crime, gender, and beliefs of the causes of IPV were robust predictors of college students' perceptions toward why women stay in physically abusive relationships. U.S. college students were more likely to express sympathy and understanding toward why women remain in abusive relationships than Chinese students. Directions for future research and policy implications were discussed.
在中国和美国，公众对亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）的态度都已从将其视为可容忍的私事，转变为将其视为一个应作为犯罪来处理的公众关切问题。目前缺乏对女性为何会留在遭受身体虐待关系中的认知进行实证和比较研究。回答这个问题需要全面、方法严谨的研究。本研究使用从两所中国大学和两所美国大学的约1000名大学生收集的调查数据，实证比较和对比了影响美国和中国学生对女性为何留在遭受身体虐待关系中的认知的因素。利用社会建构主义的理论框架，评估了两个常见原因：女性因习得性无助以及对关系的积极信念/对未来的希望而留在遭受身体虐待的关系中。结果表明，将亲密伴侣暴力视为犯罪、性别以及对亲密伴侣暴力成因的信念，是大学生对女性为何留在遭受身体虐待关系中的认知的有力预测因素。与中国学生相比，美国大学生更有可能对女性为何留在虐待关系中表达同情和理解。讨论了未来研究的方向和政策含义。
