NCJ Number
216175
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 12 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2006 Pages: 1046-1049
Date Published
November 2006
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article offers a commentary on an article by Suzanne Swan and David Snow (contained in the same journal) that developed a theory of women’s use of violence in intimate relationships.
Abstract
The author commends Swan and Snow’s theoretical model of women’s use of violence in intimate relationships as an important contribution toward synthesizing current findings on the many and varied factors that contribute to women’s perpetration of intimate partner violence. Their inclusion of so many variables, such as coping strategies, depression, substance use, race, and class accurately captures the nuanced character of women’s violent behavior. However, the author cautions that perhaps researchers need to dig deeper and consider not only ethnic differences in women’s use of violence, but differences within ethnic groups as well; differences often masked by the broad use of ethnic group labels such as Hispanic or Asian American. Studies should also be undertaken that examine social class differences more closely and that begin to probe the influence of community cohesion or collective efficacy on intimate partner violence. References