This thesis reports the results of a survey of Christian church attenders
which explored their attitudes and beliefs towards domestic violence. An
extensive review of the relevant literature covers the nature of, and research
into domestic violence; attitudes toward domestic violence; the relationship of
domestic violence to doctrines and practices in the Judeo-Chrlstian tradition
and in modern Christianity; and relevant topics in attribution theory. A survey
of beliefs and attitudes about husband-to-wife physical violence was designed
for this project. The questionnaire consisted of 53 items using a 5 point Likert
scale and an optional, open-ended comments section. It was distributed to 12
congregations, representing 6 denominations, in the Canberra region.
Participation was voluntary, and 340 questionnaires were completed. The
gender ratio of the respondents is consistent with other studies of church
attending populations, and Chi-square analysis found no significant
differences in gender balance among the denominations. Factor analysis of the
responses identified 8 subscales which explored themes of responsibility for
and justification of violence, community support for perpetrators and victims,
and beliefs about sex roles. Analysis of variance revealed significant
differences among the denominations in beliefs about sex roles, but failed to
find expected parallels in the justification and responsibility subscales. This
sample is more in agreement than is the general population that neither a
wife's action nor her verbal behaviour is justification for a husband to use
physical force against her, and it is personally more willing to give support to
victims of domestic violence and to helping perpetrators to change. Gender is
more frequently a significant factor across the subscales than denomination.
Comments from 190 respondents were categorised and provide qualitative
data which is juxtaposed with the quantitative results. Directions for future
research are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218843 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Cogan, Nancy, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Professional & Community Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Nancy Cogan |
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