Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between family dysfunction and domestic violence with violent behavior of university students in North Jordan. A stratified random sample included 1560 undergraduate students from three universities. The distribution of self- administrated questionnaire was done based on the schedule of registration made by the department of the admission and registration at each university. The results revealed a prevalence rate of 11.9% concerning participation in violence (quarrels) among students at the three universities during the last 3 years. About 16.5% of students who participated in the study indicated that their families suffer from dysfunction. Participation of students in quarrels was significantly affected by witnessing and exposure to domestic violence. Students who participated in the study ranked first the family as institution that contributed to acquiring violent behavior, followed by the surrounding community, media, school, and finally university. In conclusion, domestic violence and family dysfunction appear to be significant factors leading to occurrence of violence among university students.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bandura, A. (1973). Social learning theory of aggression. In J. F. Knutson (Ed.), The Control of Aggression (pp. 201–250). Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company.
Bell, C. C., & Jenkins, E. J. (1993). Community violence and children on Chicago’s Southside. Journal of Psychiatry, 56, 46–54.
Bonomi, A. E., Allen, D. G., & Holt, V. L. (2006). Conversational silence, coercion, equality: the role of language in influencing who gets identified as abused. Social Science & Medicine, 62(9), 2258–2266. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.10.022.
Bryant, S. A., & Spencer, G. A. (2003). University students’ attitudes about attributing blame in domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 18(6), 369–376. doi:10.1023/A:1026205817132.
Dahlberg, L. (1998). Youth violence in United States: major trends, risk factors, and prevention approaches. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(3), 259–272. doi:10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00009-9.
DuRant, R. H., Barkin, S., & Krowchuk, D. P. (2001). Evaluation of a peaceful conflict resolution and violence prevention curriculum for sixth-grade students. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 28, 386–393. doi:10.1016/S1054-139X(00)00194-4.
DuRant, R. H., Cadenhead, C., & Pendergrast, R. A. (1994). Factors associated with the use of violence among black adolescents. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 612–617. doi:10.2105/AJPH.84.4.612.
Ellickson, P. L., & McGuigan, K. A. (2000). Early predictors of adolescent violence. American Journal of Public Health, 90(4), 566–572. doi:10.2105/AJPH.90.4.566.
Eron, L. D., Huesmann, L. R., & Zelli, A. (1991). The role of parental variables in the learning of aggression. In D. Pepler & K. Rubin (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression (pp. 169–188). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.
Farrington, D. P. (1998). Predictors, causes, and correlates of male youth violence. In M. Tonry & M. Moore (Eds.), Crime and Justice, Youth violence, Vol, 24 (pp. 421–475). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Finley, L. L. (2006). Examining school searches as systemic violence. Critical Criminology, 14, 117–135. doi:10.1007/s10612-006-9002-4.
Ghayth, T. (2007, April 26). Violence at universities. Alrai. Retrieved http://www.alrai.com/pages.php?opinion_id=5833-30k.
Hurrelmann, K., & Richter, M. (2006). Risk behavior in adolescence: the relationship between developmental and health problems. Journal of Public Health, 14, 20–28. doi:10.1007/s10389-005-0005-5.
Klassen, D., & O’Connor, W. A. (1988). A prospective study of predictors of violence in adult male mental health admissions. Law and Human Behavior, 12(2), 143–158. doi:10.1007/BF01073122.
Liang, H., Flisher, A. J., & Lombard, C. J. (2007). Bullying, violence, and risk behavior in South African school students. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31(2), 161–171. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.08.007.
McCord, J. (1996). Family as crucible for violence: comment on Gorman- Smith et al. Journal of Family Psychology, 10(2), 147–152. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.10.2.147.
Rappaport, N., & Thomas, C. (2004). Recent research findings on aggressive and violent behavior in youth: Implications for clinical assessment and intervention. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 35(4), 260–277.
Scott, C. L., & Resnick, P. J. (2006). Violence risk assessment in persons with mental illness. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 11(6), 598–611. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2005.12.003.
Smith, E. P., Gorman-Smith, D., Quinn, W. H., Rabiner, D. L., Tolan, P. H., & Winn, D.-M. (2004). Community-based multiple family groups to prevent and reduce violent and aggressive behavior: the great families program. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 26(1S), 39–47. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2003.09.018.
Wolf, K. A., & Foshee, V. A. (2003). Family violence, anger expression styles, and adolescent dating violence. Journal of Family Violence, 18(6), 309–316. doi:10.1023/A:1026237914406.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Okour, A.M., Hijazi, H.H. Domestic Violence and Family Dysfunction as Risk Factor for Violent Behavior among University Students in North Jordan. J Fam Viol 24, 361–366 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9235-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9235-6