282 results were obtained from men surveyed regarding perceptions, forms, and possible reasons for domestic violence within Melbourne. This report shall focus on the information obtained dealing specifically with the perceptions of psychological abuse; and in turn, discover if it commonly constitutes a recognised form of domestic violence within society.

The element of power within human relations is often most prominent, yet unrecognised, within the basic family structure. This unavoidable power may be that which is bestowed by nature or legal authority upon such groups as parents over children; high income earners over low income earners; the healthy over the sick or aged, and so on. The most probable cause of this power play’s invisibility can be contributed to many factors, including commonality – in that it within many aspects of everyday living, and leads us to become accustomed. At times, even desirability explains its presence – particularly in the case of the weak or elderly (Martin, 1978, p345).

Within normal circumstances, this play of power tends to promote happiness and prosperity through balanced use. But when the balance is lost, or if any party within the family uses that power for negative purposes, it may constitute domestic violence. This report seeks to suggest that even though the concept of domestic violence is widely acknowledge within society, its true nature is not fully understood, in particular, it’s element of psychological abuse (Appendix 1) - because it is not as evident as other more prominent forms of domestic violence, such as physical violence – yet just as powerful. Until such contributing factors are fully comprehended and acknowledged by all, the struggle to stop domestic violence is without a doubt, destined to fail (Loring, 1994, p1).

We attempt to determine men’s understanding of domestic violence and the different factors that contribute to it, in order to better understand if it is a lack of a clear knowledge regarding the issue that leads to continued victimization. In order to achieve this, we will firstly utilise results obtained from the R.M.I.T survey titled "Survey on men’s attitudes to psychological abuse between partners" (totaling 282), then cross-reference those responses with data obtained through our own interviews (based on the same survey), and statistical data available elsewhere.

The R.M.I.T survey comprised of 23 structured closed and open ended questions (combined), which overtly sought responses to a variety of areas ranging from the importance of domestic violence, possible contributory factors, and personal details, right through to possible actions to be undertaken by anyone baring witness to such activities. Each question remained simplistic in nature and related to the next in some degree, allowing for continued flow, which has been suggested as a useful method of obtaining distortion free responses (Bondy, 1999, p2.2.2). Of the entire survey, only two questions could be remotely interpreted as ‘intrusive’ because of their somewhat personal nature. The first, being question 6, required respondents to disclose information regarding their knowledge of individuals in domestic violence situations. The second question was number 20, which requested the financial details of each respondent. Questions such as these, which relate to personal matters, tend to inhibit truthful responses (Di-Benedetto, 1998, p3) because they pry into issues that many people feel uncomfortable disclosing. Overall, the survey was well structured, did not take too long to complete, and was considerably ethical in that it required informed consent (consent obtained by informing subject as to purpose, and other issues such as aims), clearly stated that it was to be completely voluntary and confidential. In turn, this should have lead to good quality responses because respondents would have felt more at ease disclosing information of a delicate nature.

Our own interviews targeted men between the ages of 18 onwards, and were based on random sampling of subjects from around Melbourne, via the Internet. These interviews, though limited in number (totaling 10 with a response rate of all 10), were simply proposed as a ‘somewhat’ representative sample by which to cross-examine the accuracy of the other 282 responses. Respondents were later reviewed, and even though they were randomly chosen, all ages varied, and only once was there an overlap of any personal characteristics (being that of ethnic background), thus allowing for wider, more accurate/valid sample of Melbourne’s male social make up to contrast against.

All data collected was later processed to remove any irrelevant, or incomplete information that may have inadvertently affected the accuracy of results. After this, a coding frame was developed by which each question, and its responses (variables), could be allocated a code (which translated into a value) so that the data could be analysed. This coding frame excluded question 12, which related to an open answer question that could not realistically be allocated a code because of the unlimited number of possible responses. These coded results were then placed into computer software packages named ‘statview’ and Microsoft’s ‘excel’, which would allow for the development of crosstabulations and frequency tables, which in turn would disclose any correlations within the data collected. These correlations would then help develop our own research into men’s understanding of psychological abuse, and it’s contribution to domestic violence in general.

The perceptions and beliefs of those interviewed, regarding what they perceived constituted domestic violence, were clearly reflected by the data collected in response to question 2 (this data can be viewed in detail within Table 1). The results were mixed, but the most widely accepted factor associated with domestic violence was that of physical violence (97.81%), and the least likely associated factor was neglect (66.66%). These figures are of major importance because they reflect opinions that have not been developed through role playing, like data obtained to questions 8, which put subjects into particular situations to provoke (be it emotional provocation) more life like responses. Ironically, emotional abuse and psychological abuse have been described as the same thing (Loring, 1994, p15); in fact, neglect is one of the many factors that makes up psychological/emotional abuse (Royse, 1994, p20).

Despite 155 respondents knowing of at least one victim of psychological abuse, only 133 knew perpetrators of such abuse (as shown within figure 1). This information, though strange within itself because of the fluctuation between known victims and perpetrators, shows us the extent to which psychological abuse is present within our society. The statistics show us that out of 282 individuals (which is meant to be an accurate depiction of Melbourne’s society as a whole), 155 have known of at least one victim of psychological abuse. That suggests that at least 55% of the population is somehow exposed to such activities.

Of all the different forms of psychological abuse types (question 3), each type – except for offensive behaviour which was agreed to mildly – had strong agreement (as can be seen through their mode in table 2) as to being contributors of domestic violence over all. One major question that does arise from this table is – how can one agree mildly or strongly to such a question? In effect, any agreement, be it mild or strong, simply employs it is agreed to as a contributory factor. Which in turn means that 87.86% of everyone interviewed in fact agreed that all these factors made up domestic violence.

Age group recognition is also an important factor within any analysis of results, simply because each individual generation perceives social problems in a different light, because of their upbringing and the moral values of their time. At first glance (figure 2), we see that all age groups had a significant input into the data collected, with the largest proportion of it having been contributed by those within the 31 to 36 age group (25%); and the least being contributed by those between 49 and 54 (4%). Yet when we group these ages, we discover that those between 18 and 30 contributed to 22%, those between 31 and 42 contributed to 47%, those between 43 and 54 contributed to 16%, and those over 55 contributed the final 15%. Overall, we suddenly realise that the majority of data collected belongs to middle aged men.

Figure 2:

When working with correlation tables, it is possible to contrast responses for different questions. In table 3 we contrast the general perceptions of respondents regarding their beliefs as to what constitutes psychological abuse, against results regarding domestic violence and the part played by psychological abuse. Data analysis here clearly depicts that yelling aggressively is strongly agreed upon (by 176 respondents - totaling 64%) as a form of psychological abuse, which in turn translates into domestic violence.

In testing the effects that survey wording had on respondents, we decided to compare two questions of a similar nature (Q.8 & Q.10). Both of these questions used case like scenarios to place added realism into the data collected. Question 8 asked if psychological abuse (as in the screaming and yelling abusive comments that resulted in crying) would effect the victim somewhat. 254 (94.24%) respondents agreed it would. Question 10 places the respondent in almost the exact case scenario with screaming of abusive language, which once again leads to crying, and asks if such activity denotes psychological abuse. 218 (79.85%) respondents agreed that it was. These responses can be viewed in figure 3, which clearly show the decrease in positive answers in comparison to the increase in negative.

Upon gazing at the data collected through the R.M.I.T survey, there seems to be a general consensus by respondents that psychological abuse in fact does pertain to domestic violence – a direct defilement of our hypothesis. This is evident from all the tables and figures that are enclosed within this document (all except for figures 1 & 2, which display other information not relevant to this issue).

When these results were contrasted to our own survey results, which even though were limited in number, we noticed some discrepancy. The independent results show that most people in fact perceived psychological abuse as less contributory to domestic violence. In the case of aggressive screaming, most mildly agreed (40%), as opposed to those in the initial study (21.61%). A further 30% slightly disagreed, as opposed to 2.9%. Yet - due to the size of our own data collected - it would be inappropriate to condemn the initial study based purely on such discrepancies. One possible explanation for this variation has been offered by Neuman, who suggests that surveys conducted in a rather personal manner – be it via phone or in person – may in turn cause respondents to present a positive image of themselves in regards to the questions, instead of giving true answers to questions which they may find threatening (Neuman, 1997, p238), or too close to home. This is known as social desirability bias, and may hold the explanation, particularly considering that our own data was obtained in an extremely impersonal manner via the Internet from people we would never meet.

This is probably the same reason for the discrepancies that can be found within figure 1. 155 individuals know of people who are victims of psychological abuse, yet only 133 are willing to admit to knowing perpetrators of abuse. It stands to reason that if you know a victim, you will in turn know the person who is making that individual a victim.

In either case, both sets of data indicate that those interviewed had somewhat of a moderate understanding regarding the correlation between psychological abuse and domestic violence. Surprisingly, questions that literally had the same query, or at least seemed similar, obtained different results when placed into scenario like pretences. Figure 3, which correlates questions 8 and 10 in a graphical format, is a prime example of this. Question 8 places the subject in a position where he must encounter extreme psychological abuse, whilst question 10 basically seeks the exact same response, but has no graphic description of the scenario. As can be seen by figure 3, more people were willing to define the activities as detrimental to the individual’s well being and obviously part of domestic violence (question 8), but less willing to accept that the same activity was in fact psychological abuse.

One further interesting result from the data collected can be found in figure 2. A total of 47% of the respondents were aged between 31 and 42, whilst those between 18 and 30 contributed to only 22%. This is particularly interesting when contrasted against rates of violence by age groups, because, generally speaking, individuals who are aged below 30 tend to be responsible for the majority of violent crimes (Martin, 1979, p143). It might be possible that the high rate of positive results encountered (in relation to the general understanding that psychological abuse is in fact part of domestic violence) were brought about by the 31 to 42 age group because they have outgrown crime, or possibly come to understand it’s consequences through experience. But there is no other evidence to support this theory – and for that reason should only be noted as a point of interest for possible further study.

It was also noted that some of the data from the initial survey was continuously varying – particularly within the amount of responses to each question. This can be noted in table 1 which had a total of 321 responses, figure 2 which showed 266 responses to one question yet 261 to another, table 2 received at least 3 different numbers of responses to the same question (offensive behaviour 280, continuos neglect 281, the rest of the fields each had 282 responses), and table 3 which displays a total of 273 respondents. For what ever reasons this data varies – be it data entry mistakes, incomplete surveys, or whatever - such variances threaten the validity and reliability of the collected data (Neuman, 1997, p156). It is true that perfect validity and reliability are virtually impossible to obtain (Neuman, 1997, p138), but such continued imbalances place the initial data under serious doubt regarding its objectivity.

These large variations in data lead us to further review the subject by referring to other literature. Unfortunately, research into abuse is relatively new, and most available data collected prior to the 1990’s was incomplete or so disorganised that it was functionally useless (United nations, 1989, p17). Data collected from by police, courts and counselors after 1990 suggest that domestic violence and psychological abuse disclosure in fact is on the increase (Domestic Violence & Incest Resource Centre, 1999). In 1995 a national telephone survey of 2,004 Australian adults found that there was a greater understanding of domestic violence in comparison to a similar survey conducted in 1987. This new survey indicated that more people identified psychological abuse as a form of domestic violence, compared to only 48% in 1987 (Domestic Violence & Incest Resource Centre, 1999). These figures indicate that the data obtained through the R.M.I.T survey are is in fact pointing in the correct direction – yet, the countless discrepancies ruin its reputability and it should not be used for anything more than a general basis of enlightenment as to the social position regarding psychological abuse.

This report set out to demonstrate that emotional abuse (made up of factors such as monopolization of perception, isolation, threats, omnipotence, degradation, induced debility and exhaustion (Abuse Council & Treatment, 1999)) is a major component of domestic violence, yet inadequately acknowledged as such by the male portion of our society because unlike physical violence, it is rarely ever reported (Royse, 1994, p23). In fact, psychological abuse until only recently has remained a type of domestic violence that has been comically accepted within our culture, as with William Shakespeare’s treatment of the character Katherina, in the ‘Taming of the Shrew’. Furthermore, the majority of assorted literature is quick to acknowledge that domestic violence is namely characterised on a basic level (United Nations Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, 1989, p13) by black eyes and bloody noses (Gregory, 1994). Rarely is there ever mention of psychological abuse and its contribution to domestic violence because its scars often go unseen (Peters, 1999).

It was this lack of understanding which we decided would be the basis of our hypothesis, simply because it is important that clear comprehension is reached regarding this topic. The date obtained from the R.M.I.T survey, incorporated with our own data collection and literature reviews has indicated that a better understanding of such issues has managed to developed over the last few years. Yet the rate of hospital admissions relating to domestic violence continues, suggesting considerably more needs to be done in educating and informing the common man within society through government funded promotional campaigns via television, radio, and print, as to the dangers that can develop from improper social interaction, and how to deal with it when witnessed. Independent organisations already exist that deal with this issue (the likes of which can be found at www.domestic-voilence.net), but without the financial backing and support of larger bodies, psychological abuse will continue to scar countless of victims, and in many cases, eventually manifest itself into physical acts of violence (Abuse Council & Treatment, 1999), which are sometimes even followed by coerced sexual acts (W.I.S.E, 1998, p5).

Abuse Council & Treatment (1999), "Chart of Coercion", URL - http://www.actabuse.com/chartofcoercion.html

Abuse Council & Treatment (1999), "Cycle of Violence", URL - http://www.actabuse.com/ccycleviolence.html

Astor, H (1991), National Committee on Violence Against Women, Australia: CPN Publications

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Gregory, C (1994), Mental battering of women is often overlooked, United States of America:
URL – http://www.elibrary.com

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Martin, J (1978), Violence and the family, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons

Neuman, L (1997), Social research methods, United States of America: Allyn &Bacon

Peters, L (1999), "Emotional Abuse", URL – http://www.domestic-violence.net/dv/general/emotional.htm

Royse, D (1994), How do I know its abuse, United States of America: Charles Thomas Publishing

Shakespeare, W (1996), Taming of the Shrew, Australia: Griffin Paperbacks

United Nations Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs (1989), Violence against women in the family, Vienna: United Nations Publications

Women’s Issues and Social Empowerment (W.I.S.E) (1998), "Domestic Violence Information Manual", URL – http://wwwinfoxchange.net.au/wise/DVIM/DVAbuse.htm

Psychological abuse - an ongoing process in which one individual systematically diminishes and destroys the inner self of another through threats and ongoing remarks, leading to symptoms of suicidal ideation, intrusive thoughts, terrified clinging behaviour, pervasive feelings of confusion and unreality.

Table of Mechanisms of Abuse taken from pages 4 & 5 of Loring - "Emotional Abuse"