NCJ Number
209693
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2005 Pages: 29-38
Date Published
February 2005
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study explored the gender-role attitudes, belief in wife abuse myths, and definitions of wife abuse among Chinese police officers and social workers residing in Hong Kong.
Abstract
Victims of domestic violence who seek help may experience secondary victimization due to the way they are responded to by professionals, which has deleterious outcomes for their recovery and adjustment. Police officers and social workers are among the first professionals battered women turn to for help. The current study sought to explore the perceptions of Chinese police officers and social workers toward wife abuse and to examine the factors related to their perceptions. Participants were a convenience sample of 74 Chinese police officers and 71 Chinese social workers who completed a questionnaire measuring attitudes toward the equality of the sexes, perceptions of behaviors that constitute wife abuse, and endorsement of myths and stereotypes about wife abuse. Results of statistical analyses indicated that police officers held comparably more conservative gender-role attitudes, endorsed more myths about wife abuse, and held more restrictive definitions of physical and psychological wife abuse. Significant predictors of definitions of physical wife abuse among police officers were identified as marital status, educational attainment, and endorsement of wife abuse myths; the only significant predictor of definitions of psychological abuse among police officers was gender-role attitudes. Implications of the findings are discussed and include the need for enhanced police and social worker training on domestic violence victimization. Tables, references