Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Domestic Violence against Women in Cambodia: Husband’s Control, Frequency of Spousal Discussion, and Domestic Violence Reported by Cambodian Women

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Family Violence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study sought to examine the effects of husband’s control and frequency of spousal discussion on domestic violence against Cambodian married women, using the 2005 Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey data. The sample included 1,707 married women, aged 16–49 (M = 35.14). Structural Equation Modeling showed that husband’s control positively predicted both emotional and physical violence. Frequency of spousal discussion positively predicted emotional violence, an association consistent with the idea that a husband holding patriarchal beliefs would interpret women’s more frequent discussion as a violation of Cambodian norms for quiet, submissive wives. Frequency of spousal discussion and husband’s control were positively correlated. The role of gender issues in husband’s control and frequency of spousal discussion are discussed with respect to violence in the lives of Cambodian women.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arcbuckle, J. (1983–2007). Amos 16.0.1 (Build 1330). NET Framework Version 1.1.

  • Archer, J. (2000). Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual partners: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 651–680.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arias, I., & Pape, K. (1999). Psychological abuse: Implications for adjustment and commitment to leave violent partners. Violence and Victims, 14, 55–67.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Babcock, J., Waltz, J., Jacobson, N., & Gottman, J. (1993). Power and violence: the relation between communication patterns, power discrepancies, and domestic violence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 40–50.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238–246.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bernard, M. L., & Bernard, L. J. (1983). Violent intimacy: the family as a model for love relationships. Family Relations, 32, 283–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1992). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. Sociological Methods and Research, 21, 230–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burger, A. L., & Jacobson, N. S. (1979). The relationship between sex role characteristics, couple satisfaction, and couple problem-solving skills. American Journal of Family Therapy, 7, 52–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cahn, D. D. (1990). Intimates in conflict: a research review. In D. D. Cahn (Ed.), Intimates in conflict: a communication perspective (pp. 1–22). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cahn, D. (1996). Family violence from a communication perspective. In D. D. Cahn & S. A. Lloyd (Eds.), Family violence from a communication perspective (pp. 1–19). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castro, R., Casique, I., & Brindis, C. D. (2008). Empowerment and physical violence throughout women’s reproductive life in Mexico. Violence Against Women, 14, 655–677.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chou, C.-P., & Bentler, P. (1995). Estimates and tests in structural equation modeling. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 37–55). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cubbins, L., & Vannoy, D. (2005). Socioeconomic resources, gender traditionalism, and wife abuse in urban Russian couples. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 37–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danziger, K. (1976). Interpersonal communication. New York: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobash, R. E., & Dobash, R. P. (1979). Violence against wives: a case against patriarchy. New York: Free.

    Google Scholar 

  • Downs, W. R., Rindels, B., & Atkinson, C. (2007). Women’s use of physical and nonphysical self-defence strategies during incidents of partner violence. Violence Against Women, 13, 28–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellsberg, M., Peña, R., Herrera, A., Liljestrand, J., & Winkvist, A. (2000). Candies in hell: women’s experiences of violence in Nicaragua. Social Science & Medicine, 51, 1595–1610.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fabiano, P. M., Perkins, W., Berkowitz, A., Linkenbach, J., & Stark, C. (2003). Engaging men as social justice allies in ending violence against women: Evidence for a social norms approach. Journal of American College Health, 52, 105–111.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greig, A., Kimmel, M., & Lang, J. (2000). Men, masculinities and development: Broadening our work towards gender equality. Gender in Development Monograph Series #10: UNDP. Downloaded from www.health.columbia.edu/pdfs/men-masculinities.pdf on September 30, 2009.

  • Hamberger, L. K. (2005). Men’s and women’s use of intimate partner violence in clinical samples: Toward a gender-sensitive analysis. Violence and Victims, 20, 131–151.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, D. (2008). An examination of social risk factors for wife abuse in the Dominican Republic. Family Therapy, 35, 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacob, T., & Tennenbaum, D. L. (1988). Family assessment: rationale, methods, and future directions. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. (1995). Patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence: two forms of violence against women. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 57, 283–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. (2006). Conflict and control: gender symmetry and asymmetry in domestic violence. Violence Against Women, 12, 1003–1018.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Källmén, H., & Gustafson, R. (1998). Alcohol and disinhibition. European Addiction Research, 4, 150–162.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kalmuss, D. (1984). The intergenerational transmission of marital aggression. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 46, 11–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimuna, S., & Djamba, Y. (2008). Gender based violence: correlates of physical and sexual wife abuse in Kenya. Journal of Family Violence, 23, 333–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kocacik, F., Kutlar, A., & Erselcan, F. (2007). Domestic violence against women: a field study in Turkey. The Social Science Journal, 44, 698–720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markman, H. J., & Floyd, F. (1980). Possibilities for the prevention of marital discord: a behavioral perspective. American Journal of Family Therapy, 8, 24–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markman, H. J., & Notarius, C. I. (1987). Coding marital and family interaction: current status. In T. Jacob (Ed.), Family interaction and psychopathology (pp. 329–389). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Women’s Affairs. (2008). A fair share for women: Cambodia gender assessment 2008. Phnom Penh: Cambodia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, C., & Hoover, S. (1999). Measuring emotional abuse in dating relationships as a multifactorial construct. Violence and Victims, 14, 39–53.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nagae, M. (2008). The cultural script of intimate partner violence among Japanese. Retrieved December 29, 2008, from PsycINFO database.

  • National Institute of Public Health, National Institute of Statistics and ORC Macro. ((2006)). Cambodia demographic health survey 2005. Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Calverton, Maryland, USA: National Institute of Public Health, National Institute of Statistics and ORC Macro.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norsworthy, K. I. (2003). Understanding violence against women in Southeast Asia: a group approach in social justice work. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling, 25, 145–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okun, B. F. (1991). Effective helping, interviewing, and counseling techniques (3rd ed.). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, L., Castleton, A., & Lloyd, S. (1996). Relational control and physical aggression in satisfying marital relationships. In D. D. Cahn & S. A. Lloyd (Eds.), Family violence from a communication perspective (pp. 218–239). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiu-Thornton, S., Senturia, K., & Sullivan, M. (2005). ‘Like a bird in a cage’: Vietnamese women survivors talk about domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 959–976.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith-Hefner, N. J. (1999). Khmer American: identity and moral education in a diasporic community. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. D. (1990). Patriarchal ideology and wife beating: a test of a feminist hypothesis. Violence and Victims, 5, 257–273.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, D., Sullivan, T., Swan, S., Tate, D., & Klein, I. (2006). The role of coping and problem drinking in men’s abuse of female partners: Test of a path model. Violence and Victims, 21, 267–285.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinmetz, S. (1978). The battered husband syndrome. Victimology, 2, 499–509.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stickley, A., Timofeeva, R., & Sparén, P. (2008). Risk factors for intimate partner violence against women in St. Petersburg, Russia. Violence Against Women, 14, 483–495.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. A. (1974). Leveling, civility and violence in the family. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 36, 13–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. A. (1990). The conflict tactics scales and its critics: an evaluation and new data on validity and reliability. In M. A. Straus & R. J. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence in American families: risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8, 145 families (pp. 49–73). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

    Google Scholar 

  • Telch, C. F., & Lindquist, C. (1984). u. Violent vs. nonviolent couples: a comparison of patterns. Psychotherapy, 21, 242–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, L. E. (1979). The battered women. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitchurch, G. D., & Pace, J. L. (1993). Communication skills training and interspousal violence. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 21, 96–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yodanis, C. L. (2004). Gender inequality, violence against women, and fear: a cross-national test of the feminist theory of violence against women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19, 655–675.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yount, K., & Carrera, J. (2006). Domestic violence against married women in Cambodia. Social Forces, 85, 355–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venis, S., & Horton, R. (2002). Violence against women: a global burden. The Lancet, 359, 1172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sothy Eng.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Eng, S., Li, Y., Mulsow, M. et al. Domestic Violence against Women in Cambodia: Husband’s Control, Frequency of Spousal Discussion, and Domestic Violence Reported by Cambodian Women. J Fam Viol 25, 237–246 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9287-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9287-7

Keywords

Navigation