Alcohol and Family Violence: A Social Psychology Perspective

Running head: Social Psychology
Social Psychology
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Author Note

1SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Alcohol and family violence are of particular concern because it has a detrimental effect
on the physical and mental state of a person. In most instances, the perpetrators know the
victims, for instance the sufferer might be a spouse or child. Alcohol is the chief factor especially
where the sufferer is the partner of the person who is the abuser. However, even though
consumption of alcohol and violence is related, the reason behind why the aggression takes place
is still in its formative stage.
According to statistics in the year 2017, on an average, ten women a month were
subjected to domestic violence. This was just the reported cases. Many more women are
subjected to domestic violence but they choose to stay on with their partners who have abused
them. They do not report it to the authorities concerned and continue to suffer in silence. One
ought to treat complaints with the utmost care and by a woman. Domestic violence has
unfortunately become a vicious cycle because the daughters of these women also become victims
of domestic violence. This is impeding the growth and development of the island.
Bandura (1973) opines that social learning theory explains the relation between alcohol
and family violence for a plethora of reasons. According to the social learning theory, one learns
by observing. Children whose parents have a history of addiction are more likelier to develop
addiction to alcohol which can result to violent behaviour.
Bandura (1973) opines that even though the theory of social learning explains a lot about
behaviours that are complex in nature, it does not explain adequately why people develop such
behaviours. Domestic violence happens due to a plethora of reasons. This includes jealousy and a
low self-worth. The perpetrators of abuse may feel the need to be in charge of their spouse due
to a low self-worth that arises from a sense of inferiority due to low educational levels and