Family Violence, Trauma And Social Learning Theory

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Violence is defined as an unjust or unwarranted exertion of force or power used intentionally against another person or against oneself. Its outcome is injury; which can be physical or psychological, fatal or nonfatal. I cannot imagine how this definition does not include “verbal and emotional” abuse as an act of purposeful negligence (Abbassi, & Aslinia, 2010). A more defined comprehensive definition of violence is need to properly assess the problem. Violence is deep-rooted in all cultures past and present. Just by turning on the television we are exposed to various acts of violence every day. Important factors such as stress and overburdening, together with a combination of other factors like mental health, poverty, unemployment, lack …show more content…

It is also known as intergenerational transmission of violence (Jasinski, 2001). Many believe that violent behavior is passed down through each generation (Abbassi, & Aslinia, 2010) through vicarious learning or through being subjected to violence directly or indirectly. In the article Family Violence, Trauma and Social Learning Theory, the authors contends that children learn violent behaviors and then teach these behaviors to their children (Abbassi & Aslinia, 2010). These children may not need to the direct victim of a violent act, just merely witnessing the act is adequate enough to learn and later reenact that behavior. When used to describe violence against women, social learning theory is the major cause (Jasinski, 2001). In other words, individuals learn that in order to get what they want, violence is the best approach.
Those that are against social learning theory as a cause of violence, contends that it does not explain much of the spectacle of violence against women (Jasinski, 2001). The argument is that this theory is inadequate because not everyone that is exposed to violence grow up to have violent behavioral patterns. Studies have found only a small percentage of perpetrators have been exposed to violence when they were young (Jasinski, 2001). Although, social learning theory may not explain for all causes of violence, it is however, a very vital …show more content…

Studies concluded that an injury may impair the impulse control mechanism in the brain causing increase in aggressive behavior (King, 2012). The cerebral cortex has been the fundamental part of the brain considered when looking at violent behavior. The cerebral cortex is the external part of the brain that is partitioned into two halves comprising of four lobes. The frontal and temporal lobes manages the impulses and emotion, these regions of the brain are most contemplated when studying violence. The limitation of the brain injury is that it does not explain all occurrences of violence as everyone who exhibit violent behavior does not have a brain injury (Ali & Naylor,

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