Exploring Spousal Violence: Effects on Family Roles and Socialization

This essay examines the pervasive issue of spousal violence and its detrimental effects on parent-child relationships. It highlights how violence between spouses negatively impacts the roles of both parents and children, leading to neglect, trauma, and impaired socialization. The essay argues that children exposed to spousal violence may develop negative perceptions of relationships, potentially perpetuating violent behavior or becoming delinquent. Furthermore, it emphasizes the disruption of healthy parenting styles and the need for policy interventions to address spousal violence as a significant social problem. The essay concludes by asserting that spousal violence is a societal issue demanding comprehensive solutions to protect families and children. Desklib offers a variety of resources, including past papers and solved assignments, to aid students in their academic pursuits.

Running head: SPOUSAL VIOLENCE
SPOUSAL VIOLENCE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SPOUSAL VIOLENCE
Spousal violence is not a new phenomenon as it had been in practice for more than
centuries now. However it has been conceptualized as a form of violence by the radical feminists
who had by their slogan that the personal is the political had raised the issue of physical violence
on women a matter of concern by their activism and projection of the inequality between men
and women. Spousal violence has adverse effects on parent child relationships, shaping the role
of the parents, shaping the role of the child, socialization of the child and also on the parenting
styles (Bell, 2017). These aspects shall be discussed in the essay with reference to the issue of
spousal violence in order to show how they are related to each other.
It has been found out that children of couples whose relationship is plagued by means of
violence has a negative equation with parents. The child is usually afraid of the one waging
violence and the victim gets detached from the child due to depression and devoting time and
energy to recuperation from the physical and mental pain. Naturally, the upbringing of the child
gets neglected and the negative impact on the mind of the child as witnessing of violence causes
trauma to the mind which can put the child into a permanent state of depression (Kochanska,
2017). Thus spousal violence shapes the role of the parents by means of diverting the focus of
the parents on giving the child a better future to that of neglect and indifference, leaving the child
helpless and without the proper guidance. On the other hand it also shapes the role that the child
is likely to take up. The spousal violence can socialize the child in a way which shall normalize
the phenomenon in the mind of the child and the child can grow up to perpetrate the same on his
or her partner, or it can also happen the child can become delinquent and destroy his or her life
by means of indulging in destructive behaviour which is economically, physically and also
emotionally harmful (Goldberg & Smith, 2016). From this discussion it thus becomes clear that
socialization of the child gets either negatively affected or gets neglected as a result of spousal

2SPOUSAL VIOLENCE
violence, which is not just harmful for the present of the child but also for the future of the child
as the lack of a proper role model in life leaves them with no direction to follow (Dorsch, Smith
& McDonough, 2015). Consequently, the child tends to go astray in life and commit the wrong
actions which shall not just harm them, but also their family, and the society at large. Thus
spousal violence also has a negative effect on the parenting styles and that not juts causes
problems to the spouse being abused but also the interests of the child. The spousal violence is
not just a personal problem but a social menace which needs to be tackled by means of providing
for the proper policy decisions (Boldt, Kochanska & Jonas, 2017).

3SPOUSAL VIOLENCE
References
Bell, R. Q. (2017). A reinterpretation of the direction of effects in studies of socialization. In
Interpersonal Development (pp. 93-107). Routledge.
Boldt, L. J., Kochanska, G., & Jonas, K. (2017). Infant attachment moderates paths from early
negativity to preadolescent outcomes for children and parents. Child development, 88(2),
584-596.
Dorsch, T. E., Smith, A. L., & McDonough, M. H. (2015). Early socialization of parents through
organized youth sport. Sport, exercise, and performance psychology, 4(1), 3.
Goldberg, A. E., & Smith, J. Z. (2016). Predictors of race, adoption, and sexual orientation
related socialization of adoptive parents of young children. Journal of Family
Psychology, 30(3), 397.
Kochanska, G. (2017). Mutually responsive orientation between mothers and their young
children: Implications for early socialization. In Interpersonal Development (pp. 141-
159). Routledge.