A Multivariate Model Explaining Men's Violence Toward Women

Violence against women by men is considered one of the most serious threats to the health and welfare of women in the US. Little is known about why male violence occurs against the female gender. Previous theory and conceptualizations explaining male violence have narrowly focused on individual factors and topologies. In order to shed light on this gender issue, this paper presents a multivariate model explaining the violence of men towards women using 4 content areas and 13 hypotheses. The content areas include 1) macrosocietal explanation; 2) biological, neuroanatomical, hormonal explanation; 3) gender role socialization or gender role conflict explanation; and 4) intergender, relational explanation. Implications of the model for educational interventions, research, and training are discussed.