Attributions about domestic violence: A study of community attitudes

Attributions of responsibility and causality, and other beliefs about behaviours and affective states of individuals in domestic violence situations, were investigated in interviews with 188 men and women (aged 18 to 65 years) in six suburban locations in Melbourne, Australia. Participants were selected using a stratified random sampling procedure designed to include persons from three different socio-economic levels. Two vignettes depicting a man's physical and verbal abuse of his female partner were presented. In one scenario, the battered woman kills her abuser; the other scenario shows the abuser being taken away by police. The results indicated that attributions of responsibility were best predicted by beliefs about the impact of alcohol and the extent to which the actors could predict control and moderate violent behaviour. Most respondents believed the battered woman acted in self-defence and should not be found guilty of murder for killing the perpetrator. The findings are discussed in relation to community reactions to domestic violence, laypersons' intuitive theories of domestic violence, and the implications of these explanations in jury decision making.