Film Analysis Midterm Question--minimum 1000 to max 1200 wordsC

Film Analysis Midterm Question--minimum 1000 to max 1200
words:
Compare and contrast the role that kinship plays in these 2 films
(A Better Life and Sin Nombre). Consider kinship from a
variety of different angles, including the formation of kinship
bonds you forge or claim for yourself, struggles and tensions
within and between families, and the threat or fear of losing
kinship bonds.Consider the impact of race, class, gender,
ethnicity, and sexuality on the formation and transmission of
kinship bonds.
Grades will be based on the strength of your argument and the
quality of the specific film examples you bring to your analysis.
Your essay should reflect a close, critical read of the films, and
you need to use plenty of specific film examples as evidence in
your essay, but you do not have to include time stamps from the
films. Instead, you can assume the reader has a working
knowledge of the films from recent viewing, and your examples
need to be clear and convincing in support of your argument.
Module 1: Models, Theories, and Basic Concepts of Domestic
Violence
One of the most difficult problems in the study of domestic
violence has been developing clear,
useful, accepted, and acceptable definitions.
Violence, for instance, is essentially a political term, referring
to any act that is considered harmful by
a group with sufficient power to enforce their definition. For
example, in Sweden, spanking is
considered abusive and is outlawed; in the United States, it is

considered to be an acceptable form of
discipline by much of the adult population.
The noted child policy specialist James Garbarino (1989) offers
a clarification of the ambiguities
associated with definitions of domestic violence and its various
subsets of abuse. From his
perspective, domestic violence is not a natural fact, but a social
judgment. Instead of being a set of
objective categories of action, it is a process that evolves out of
a series of negotiated settlements
between citizen values, professional expertise, and political
climate.
For the purposes of this course, we define violence as "an act
carried out with intention, or perceived
intention, of causing physical pain or injury to another person"
(Gelles & Strauss, 1988, p. 14). This
definition, however, will be modified as we consider the
concept of violence from various perspectives
and cultures. Domestic violence refers to those abusive
situations occurring within or resulting from a
domestic or familial partnership and will encompass physical,
sexual, verbal, and emotional abuse
towards and among children, parents, and partners of various
orientations.
Systems Model
Traditionally, the study of domestic and family violence has
been relatively unproductive, because it
has focused on two seemingly discrepant aspects:
• understanding and intervening with the victim
• understanding and changing the behavior of the offender.

The systems model provides a conceptual framework for the
study of domestic and family violence
that moves beyond this impasse. A system, after all, is a whole
that functions as a whole through the
interdependence of its parts. For our purposes, this model
contains two subsystems: the personal
and family response subsystem and the organizational response
subsystem. These subsystems are
dynamic; they interact on a field composed of cultural beliefs,
national values, and political tensions
and are shaped by historical, environmental, and social forces.
Personal and Family Response Subsystem
Here is the first component of the systems model. We will look
at each level in turn.
Figure 1-1
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The family unit, the location in which violence occurs (red),
lies at the center of the personal and
family response system. The next level of support (yellow),
comprised of church groups, friends,
neighbors, and relatives, surrounds the family unit. On the
outskirts of this level, we find the broad
level of general impact and social support (green)—the
economic and community influences.
This model illustrates how acts of domestic and family violence

occur within the personal subsystem
and how they are affected by the dynamics within that system.
All these interactions are
superimposed on the broader environment of cultural beliefs and
historical attitudes.
Organizational Response Subsystem
The following graphic represents the second component of the
systems model, referred to as the
victim and offender response system. This subsystem enables us
to examine service delivery issues
at three levels. In order to illustrate how this subsystem works,
let us consider the case of "Kristen."
Figure 1-2
Level 1
Level 1 (red) concerns itself with those issues facing the first
professional notified of the abuse. As
the case of Kirsten reveals, the mechanics of interaction at this
level are not as straightforward as
they may appear. Kristen, a teacher and married 40-something
suburbanite mother of two adolescent
girls, was having a sexual affair with a 16-year-old boy in her
middle-school eighth-grade class. She
confided in a friend, also a teacher, who referred her to a
psychologist. Keep in mind that both
teachers and psychologists are mandated to report even
suspected child abuse, which this situation
certainly was. This case, however, was never reported to
protective services. Kristen terminated
therapy after one visit and eventually divorced her husband,
abandoned her children, and helped her
adolescent "lover" get emancipated from his parents. She

subsequently married, and later was
divorced by, him.
In this case, the formal organizational response system failed
miserably. It broke down at the first
level. How could this breakdown have occurred? Were the
professionals contacted simply negligent?
To better understand this breakdown, we must examine the
interaction and possible impact of the
other two levels.
Level 2
Level 2 (purple) consists of the system in which the initially
contacted professional works. It
encompasses interorganizational relationships among the
various service resource groups. In this
case, the teacher/friend did not work at the same school or even
in the same school district as
Kristen. A high-school teacher hardened by frequent accounts of
the sexual exploits of older
students, she was more concerned about the impact of Kristen's
actions on Kristen's family. She was
not particularly concerned about the fact that a boy, obviously
older than most middle school
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students, was having sex. She saw her responsibility in terms of
referring her friend to a
psychologist, not reporting the abuse.

The psychologist worked in private practice and had no
connections to or interactions with the school
system in question. Had Kristen sought help from a community-
based mental health agency or a
youth-services bureau, the outcome might have been vastly
different. Peer supervision among
clinicians would have put the situation in proper perspective,
negating the impact of the personal
biases, cultural expectations, and societal influences.
Level 3
Level 3 (blue) encompasses the larger professional, political,
and legal arena within which all
professionals operate. A backdrop of historical attitudes and
national values further influences the
actions at this level. For example, this incident occurred in the
early 1980s, close to the end of the
so-called "sexual revolution," a time when sexual mores were
very lax. Note as well that the victim
was a 16-year-old male. Had it been a male teacher with a
female student repeating the eighth grade
for the third time, societal attitudes might have been more
condemning of the teacher's behavior. The
psychologist, a male born in the Middle East, viewed the
incident as being educational for the "young
man." This case highlights well the problems facing the first
professional contacted: ethical dilemmas,
legal issues, and questions of perception and judgment.
In order to grasp the complex nature of domestic violence, you
must understand how these disparate
models interact. You will gain additional practice in this task
when you take a look at the thoroughly
illustrated case study of Jim and Barbara Scott. This case study

highlights the necessity of
approaching domestic violence from a systems perspective and
will be referenced for discussion
throughout the course.
As you review this case study, you will see how the interaction
of the components that comprise both
the personal system and the organizational system determine the
course of domestic violence.
Components of the personal system place Jim, Barbara, Ann,
and Billy at risk. Initially the violence is
responded to within the personal system, but once the school
system intervenes and brings the
violent incident to the attention of child protective services, the
organizational response system takes
over. This sets off a continuous interaction between the systems
that affects the outcome of the case,
resulting in the family system being changed by the feedback
mechanisms within the organizational
system.
For Further Thought:
Review the case history and think about all the different
factors at work here.
Domestic violence is a multidimensional problem. We must
examine it at the level of the individual,
the family and domestic unit, the immediate social network, and
the larger environmental network.
We must further evaluate each of these components in relation
to the legal, medical, and social
service resources available to each. Simple problems can have
simple solutions, but nothing about
domestic violence is simple.

Although we are introducing you to several key concepts in this
module, your understanding of
systems model interaction and of the multifaceted nature of
domestic violence provides the
cornerstone, the foundation upon which all else is built. We
recommend that you apply your
understanding of the systems model to your approach of
subsequently introduced models and
concepts. By doing so, you will see how the systems model
provides a framework comprehensive
enough to approach the complex nature of domestic violence.
Unfortunately, What Lisa Knew (1990), Joyce Johnson's
riveting account of the Lisa Steinberg case, is
no longer in print. It provided a horrifying look at the complete
failure of the organizational response
system to protect this child. In lieu of reading the book, you are
asked to research this case online to
supplement course material. A conference may be established
for you to share websites and to
discuss your thoughts and feelings about this case with your
course mates.
We will use the case study of Lisa Steinberg to illustrate the
various theories concerning the causes of
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domestic violence.
Case Study: Lisa Steinberg
Environmental Theories
There are three major perspectives of environmental theories:
historical, biological, and cultural.
Historical Perspective
This research examines the individual, familial, or cultural
historic precedents for aggression and
violence in a particular situation.
Biological Perspective
Still in the early stages of development, this research
investigates the influence of biology on
aggression and violence. It has focused on two areas: ethology
and physiology.
• Ethology, the study of behavior in natural settings, emphasizes
the importance of
understanding the genetic inheritance of behavior patterns
acquired through natural selection
and aimed at survival of the species. The concept instinct
broadly designates these patterns.
• Physiology, the second of the biological perspectives,
researches the ways in which physical
factors such as hormones, genes, and neurological factors
determine behavior. Much research

has been devoted to the relationship between the male sex
hormone testosterone and
aggression. To date, however, the evidence suggesting that
aggression causes hormonal
variation appears at least as convincing as the hypothesis that
the hormone causes aggression.
Researchers also have examined genetic patterns in an effort to
determine whether some patterns
increase and other patterns decrease aggressive behavior. Like
the research with hormones, however,
there is no conclusive evidence of a consistent relationship
between chromosomal abnormalities and
aggression.
While researchers have identified brain structures implicated in
aggression, they note that even direct
manipulation of these structures does not overcome the normal
social restraints on violence.
At the same time, we must recognize that biological and genetic
defects as well as neurological
conditions may contribute to domestic stress and violence.
Dramatic examples of impaired cognition
and perception such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy,
epilepsy, and even minimal brain
dysfunction can be major stressors that inhibit communication,
cause frustration, and even
precipitate violent episodes.
The impact of alcohol and drug abuse on brain functions and
aggressive behavior represents another
area for biological research. Studies suggest that alcohol
consumption and certain drugs can lead to
aggressive behavior; however, their role in domestic violence is
better understood in terms of their

contribution to family tension and the subsequent escalation of
conflict. Drug and alcohol intoxication
also serves as a convenient excuse for violent behaviors,
allowing abuser and victim to continue
cohabiting.
How do the various theories from the biological perspective
apply to the Lisa Steinberg case? Do some fit better than
others? Does a combination of biological factors provide a
better explanation for you? Explain.
Cultural Perspective
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The term culture refers to those elements of a people's history,
tradition, values and social
organization that help to define them as a group and to
distinguish them from other peoples. In
American culture, violence is a major theme, often condoned or
even glamorized through various
aspects of the media. American society's valorization of

individualism and success in competition,
particularly for males, often translates into the use of violence
to obtain a desired goal or to
compensate for failing to obtain it.
Commentators often praise American society as a cultural
"melting pot;" yet, the reality of a diverse
mix of cultural differences may be reflected in the sanctioning
of corporal punishment in some child
rearing practices and the use of force as a control mechanism.
Psychosocial Theories
There are several psychological perspectives in the study of
aggression and violence: psychodynamic
and psychoanalytic, social psychological, and victimization.
Psychodynamic and Psychoanalytic Perspectives
These perspectives developed from clinical inference of early
studies of individual patients and were
heavily influenced by medical models, which viewed both
victim and offender as somehow
psychologically impaired. This belief allowed us to comfortably
distance ourselves from the offender
and also contributed to the blaming-the-victim mentality, which
remains prevalent today.
Subsequent controlled research studies continued to reflect the
desire to discover a violent
personality type, a fundamental flaw in personality that would
account for domestic violence.
Offender studies drew up personality profiles, scrutinized early
childhood experiences, and assessed
coping and defense mechanisms in the hope that a treatable
pathology would be found. Studies

suggest that there are combinations of personality
characteristics and impairments that increase the
risk for domestic violence in both victims and offenders;
however, different combinations seem to
contribute to different forms of abuse (Bolton & Bolton, 1987).
We stress that although violence can be attributed to psychotic
processes within the individual,
domestic violence is more likely to be a function of complex,
situationally specific variables.
Social Psychological Perspective
Recent research focuses on the victim and offender as parts of a
violent unit, with victim-vulnerability
and offender-stress factors seen as critical components. Social
psychologists, for example, theorize
about the ways in which individuals interact with their
environment to produce violence. Social
learning and cognitive theorists concentrate on the role of
learned behavior in a social context, most
notably learning by modeling. According to these theorists,
violence is a learned aggressive behavior
that, in not being consistently punished, is continually
reinforced. Cognitive theorists focus their
attention on belief systems that govern the acceptability of
aggressive behavior and which exert
control over biologically endowed aggressive tendencies, an
approach that is increasingly influential.
Specific components of the social psychological perspective
include the frustration-aggression
hypothesis, resource theory, and social exchange/social control
theory.
• Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis- Researchers believe that
frustration, an emotion

arising from being thwarted (by oneself or others) in reaching a
goal, leads to aggression,
particularly if the individual is not inhibited by fear or anxiety.
Sufficiently aversive frustration
increases stress and arousal, which then may activate and
energize aggressive impulses.
• Resource Theory- This perspective focuses on how a balance
of power is maintained within
relationships. Theorists conceptualize the family as a power
system. Within it, the individual
with the greatest number of resources (success, prestige, age,
intelligence, love, and sexual
attraction) has power over other individuals in the system.
While all members strive to
maintain some balance of resources, the men (husbands, fathers)
tend, across cultures, to be
the most powerful by virtue of their access to greater number of
resources. Sudden
unemployment of the husband may create an imbalance of
power, which increases tension and
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may contribute to violent behavior.
• Social-exchange/Social-control Theory- This perspective
develops out of the hypothesis
that individuals engage in behavior either to get a reward or to
avoid punishment. Richard
Gelles theorizes that individuals will use violence in the family

to establish social control unless
the costs of being violent outweigh the rewards. This theoretical
framework portrays American
society as one full of sexual and generational inequalities that
weaken social controls and
reduce the cost of being violent to females, children, and the
elderly (Gelles, 1997).
How do the various theories from the social psychological
perspective account for the abuse of Lisa Steinberg? Which
single theory or combination of theories works best? Do any
combine well with one or more of the biological theories?
Victimization Perspective
This perspective deals with the changes that individuals
experience as a result of victimization. In
addition to suffering the effects of a physical assault, victimized
individuals experience mental,
emotional, and spiritual injuries. Their views of the world and
of themselves undergo profound
change. Former assumptions that allowed them to function
effectively may be shattered and can be
replaced by a state of disequilibrium, characterized by extreme
stress and anxiety. Victims are faced
with the awesome task of reconstructing their belief systems in
order to function effectively once
again in society.
An important concept from the victimization perspective is
trauma, defined as an event that
challenges our assumptive worlds and overwhelms our
psychological and biological coping

mechanisms.
Bessel A. van der Kolk, director of the Trauma Center at
Massachusetts Mental Health Center, has
documented the long-term effects of trauma (1990, 1986). As
determinants of the ways in which
victims will respond to subsequent stress, he lists these factors:
age of the victim, severity of the
trauma, the social support system, and history of prior
traumatization. Van der Kolk notes that
psychological trauma can cause psychological defects that
impair functioning, notably learned
helplessness and difficulty in modulating intimacy. Learned
helplessness refers to the victims' loss of
a sense of control over their interpersonal lives, while
difficulties in modulating intimacy range from
expecting too much or too little in a relationship and setting
oneself up as a perceived victim of
subsequent interpersonal transactions.
As a result of their abuse, traumatized people often experience
stressful life events as psychosomatic
symptoms, panic attacks, and rage reactions. Some even remain
preoccupied with the trauma to the
point that they are unable to enjoy other life experiences. Those
suffering from sublimated
preoccupation devote their energies to assisting others, bearing
witness to their traumatic
experiences, or even continuing to recreate the trauma in some
form for themselves or others.
Van der Kolk acknowledges gender-based differences in
response to trauma. He notes that men tend
to vent the resultant increased rage on their social surroundings,
while women are more likely to turn
it upon themselves in the form of self-destruction behavior or

diminished capacity to set limits on the
aggression of others. Age also affects the response; for
example, children and adolescents
traumatized by a family member, a presumed source of safety
and nurture, often develop
pathological maneuvers to reestablish some sense of safety
(1990,1986).
Bolton and Bolton (1987) conclude that the consequences of the
victimization experience are vast.
Their list includes poor self-concept, low self-esteem,
dependency problems, difficulty in trusting,
revictimization, emotional trauma and psychological
difficulties, sexual maladjustment, and social and
interpersonal problems.
Additionally, victims who have experienced intense trauma
often suffer from post-traumatic stress
syndrome, a condition characterized by an initial period of
numbness or denial. This stage may last
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for hours or even years. Afterwards, thoughts and feelings
associated with the event begin to occur
involuntarily in the form of visual images, nightmares,
obsessive ideations, and reenactments. It
remains unclear why some victims who have sustained major
psychological trauma experience no
lasting effects, while others become fixated on the trauma.
Some determinants appear to be the

severity of the trauma, the victim's state of emotional
development, and the role of social support.
Victimization effects must be examined in a developmental
context, which will be explored in module
2.
Explore the victimization process as it might apply to the Lisa
Steinberg situation.
Sociocultural Theories
The four perspectives included in this theoretical framework are
sociological, sociostructural, conflict,
and feminist.
Sociological Perspectives
This approach investigates the interdependence of and the
reciprocal relationships between the way
in which a society is organized and the social relations of
individuals within that society. It assumes
that the extent to which people can meet their needs and realize
their potentials depends upon their
living conditions and human relations, and vice versa.
Sociostructural Perspective
This method focuses on the extent to which people can meet
their fundamental human needs and
realize their potentials within the context of the prevailing
institutional order and ideology (i.e., the
social structure). David Gil (1986), a social policy theorist in
the area of domestic violence, evaluates
social structure with respect to three important areas: 1) control,

use, and development of natural
and human resources; 2) organization and design of work and
production; and 3) exchange and
distribution of life-sustaining and life-enhancing goods and
services as well as social, civil, and
political rights. Feelings of powerlessness and restriction in any
of these areas spark violence in the
larger society as well as within the domestic unit.
Conflict Perspective
This perspective presumes that conflict is an inevitable part of
social process and change. According
to this approach, culturally based, institutionalized inequities of
status, rights, and power among
individuals, sexes, ages, classes, races, and peoples appear to
encourage incidents of domestic
violence (Gill, 1986). Applied to American culture, Gil's
analysis suggests that the many inequities
and conflicting values within our socio-structure frustrate the
meeting of human needs and contribute
to family violence.
Feminist Perspective
As previously mentioned, feminist theory views social structure
critically, believing it to be a
causative factor in human violence. Virtually all feminists point
to the patriarchal organization of
society, in which men dominate and control women, as the
origin for the most serious incidents of
domestic violence. The reality of this violence, feminists asse rt,
is a reflection of men's greater
relative power, authority, and status in society. Therefore,
feminists call for a restructuring of the
relationship between the sexes as a move toward reduction and

elimination of domestic violence.
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How do the sociocultural theories add to your understanding
of the Steinberg case? Are these theories more or less useful
to you than the biological and psychological ones? Modify the
theoretical combination you previously created by adding one
or more of the social theories. Does this work for you? Why
or why not?
Psychosocial Systems Model of Domestic Violence
The Psychosocial Systems Model, based on the work of Murray
Bowen (1966, 1971) and other family
systems theorists, offers a way to conceptualize the interaction
of the various theoretical approaches,
from psychodynamic and learning to environmental and
biosocial.
This model is helpful in addressing the complex topic of child
abuse, which cannot be explained
solely by the learned behaviors or mental illness of the abusing
parent, by socioeconomic or
situational stressors, or simply by recognizing a particular set of
personality traits. The psychosocial
systems approach to domestic violence moves beyond any single
explanation of domestic violence by

focusing on the shifting dynamics in the abusing family, in the
environment, and in the culture in
which the family lives. Proponents of this approach examine
role expectations, alliances, coalitions,
enmeshments, and disengagements of family members.
Additionally this model looks at how children are frequently
used as scapegoats for parental and
relationship dysfunction. Scapegoating, projection, and role-
reversal are all notable examples of
psychodynamic concepts that should be examined within the
context of the domestic relationship
(Justice and Justice, 1990).
The psychosocial systems model, in the form of “family
systems" therapy, has been applied to the
examination of violence in couple relationships. This treatment
remains controversial, however,
because it views relationship violence as being symptomatic of
dysfunctional interactions in a couple's
relationship. In other words, according to this theory, both
batterer and victim contribute to the
escalation of tension that precedes violent episodes. From this
perspective, both partners need to
participate in family systems or “couples" therapy, an approach
that feminists have vigorously
criticized. They charge that this theory is an example of "victim
blaming," because it implies that the
woman is in some way responsible for her battering. Critics
further argue that the systems theory
treatment approach ignores the more relevant issues of gender,
power, control, and patriarchy
(Gelles, 1997).
Regardless of its desirability as a treatment method, the
psychosocial systems model's integrative

approach makes it invaluable to our understanding of domestic
violence. For more information, you
may find the following website helpful:
http://www.georgetownfamilycenter.org/pages/conceptmtp.html
Problem-Solving Process
Growing out of the systems model, the problem-solving process
is an essential tool for understanding
and evaluating applicable strategies and interventions. It
includes five major steps:
• Problem identification: Who owns the problem? Is it
individual in origin or a function of the
domestic unit?
• Problem assessment: What are the vulnerabilities, weaknesses,
and stressors? Are these
individuals from highly dysfunctional or stable families of
origin? Are there adequate social
networks?
• Goal formulation: What are the desired goals? What can be
done to achieve them? At this
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stage, individuals evaluate possible options and explore

decision making, such as the decision
to leave the home, to contact a women's shelter, or to
participate in a batterers program for
the offender.
• Strategy selection and implementation: In this step,
individuals formulate various
interventions necessary to achieve desired outcomes. They put
the plan into action by making
the necessary arrangements, for example, by choosing the
batterers group as an appropriate
intervention.
• Evaluation: This is the assessment phase of the process, which
focuses on actual outcomes.
Was the batterers' program successful in eliminating the abuse?
Skim the Scott case study and try to identify as many parts
of the problem-solving process as you can, realizing that not
all parts of the process are present in the case.
Vulnerability
The systems model documents the interplay between various
risk factors that render families or
individuals vulnerable to incidents of domestic violence. These
factors may include socioeconomic
stress, social isolation, family stress, and individual
dysfunction. Garbarino finds it essential to grasp
the concept of vulnerabilities, because it, rather than risk, is the
earlier determinant of potential
violence. He states, “The vulnerable parent is one who need not
become a high risk unless conditions

conspire to exploit or attack the parent. It is on the concept of
vulnerability that risk is built by
environmental circumstances" (1989, p. 45). For this course, the
concept of vulnerability will be
extended to all aspects of domestic violence.
Vulnerability can be viewed from several perspectives. We will
focus primarily on the developmental,
personal and familial, social systems, and organizational
response systems perspectives.
Developmental Vulnerabilities
Change and transition, the great constants in the life cycle,
differ in childhood and adulthood. The
changes, or developmental stages, that occur in infancy,
childhood and adolescence are relatively
discrete and predictable. From them, general guidelines have
been formulated to allow parents to
assess their children's progress in motor, verbal, cognitive and
social abilities. These guidelines also
determine acceptable behavioral expectations for children of
various ages.
The same structure does not hold for the biological,
psychosocial, cognitive, and social changes that
occur in adulthood. These changes are subtler and appear to
have no absolute time or sequential
order. One of the most influential theorists addressing
developmental and transitional change
throughout the life cycle is Erik Erikson (1950); his theory of
psychosocial development will be
discussed further in module 2.
The developmental perspective is helpful for understanding the
vulnerabilities inherent to various

developmental phases as well as the consequences of past
abuses as they impact upon one's current
behavior. Victims of family violence are at higher risk for
becoming both future victims and offenders.
There exists significant evidence that family violence can lead
to violence in other settings as well,
fostering both delinquent and criminal behaviors.
Keep in mind that growing up in an abusive, violent home does
not guarantee that one will become a
perpetual victim or abuser. The self-perpetuating character of
domestic violence is a vulnerability, not
a predetermined fate. It is a cycle that can be broken.
Personal and Family System Vulnerabilities
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There are three components essential to understanding the
vulnerabilities of family systems: 1) the
individual family members, 2) the family unit, and 3) the
community of which the individuals are a
part.
At the level of individual family members, vulnerability centers
on questions of personal adaptation
and the ability to cope with the demands of change. Individuals
vary in their arsenal of personal
strategies and capacities to deal with change.
For the family unit, family adaptation relies on a balance of

reciprocal relationships. One vulnerability
in our present culture is the ongoing struggle between the
family and the work community, both of
which compete for the individual's involvement and
commitment. An imbalance may occur when the
demands of the workplace take precedence over family
responsibilities.
At the community level, vulnerability occurs when there is an
imbalance between community
demands and available resources. For example, the state of
Maryland is currently facing many budget
cuts, which threaten to have a strong effect on the availabili ty
of community medical and social
services. Maryland citizens and families are facing an
imbalance between the needs of the community
and the ability of the community to meet them.
Families seldom deal with a single stressor, and demands from
the three basic components of
individual, family, and community frequently interact. As an
example of a multiple-demand event,
imagine the following: A middle-aged couple, in debt because
of an economic downturn, are dealing
simultaneously with their own aging, with the developmental
struggles of their adolescent children,
and with the care of a disabled father, whose wife recently died
after a lengthy illness.
Social System Vulnerabilities
In addition to those vulnerabilities associated with
developmental transitions, various internal
vulnerabilities exist. They are associated with passages through
the life cycle, such as births and
deaths, divorces and remarriages, chronic illnesses and

unemployment, as well as military
deployments. Additionally, social, political, and economic
events impact the family as it moves
through the life cycle, precipitating stressors and strains that
present further vulnerabilities.
Organizational Response System Vulnerabilities
The same demand and resource balance perspective operates
with regard to vulnerabilities existing
within the organizational response system. Organizations, after
all, are composed of individuals with
various personal strengths and weaknesses for accommodating
change. In addition, the response
organization itself possesses vulnerabilities, which result from
its interaction, cooperation, and
coordination with other aspects of the professional community.
In turn, the professional community is
influenced and limited by changes occurring within the larger
political system. We can use the
concepts of resources and demands, or capabilities and
vulnerabilities, to understand the
organizational response system in the same way we apply them
to the family system.
Help-Seeking Process
The help-seeking process is comprised of several stages:
• Problem Identification
• Problem Assessment
• Goal Formulation
• Strategy Selection
Thus far, we have focused on the first two stages by 1)
identifying components of the systems model

that, in interaction with each other, help define the problem, and
2) identifying several types of
vulnerabilities. These stages are essential precursors to actively
seeking help, a construct of help-
seeking behavior.
Health educator Lawrence Green and his colleagues (1980)
identified three types of factors that can
affect the help-seeking process by either encouraging or
discouraging action:
10 of 12 11/13/2021, 6:59 PM
• Predisposing factors – attitudes, perceptions, or beliefs that
either facilitate or hinder
personal motivation to act
• Enabling factors – factors that either help by their presence or
hinder by their absence like
the ability to obtain necessary assistance (limited facilities,
inadequate personnel, lack of
funds)
• Reinforcing factors – characteristics of services or attitudes of
caregivers that assist in
decision-making like the feedback or attention received.
Incorporating the factors listed above, child abuse expert
Beverly Gomes-Schwartz and her
colleagues subsequently developed a model for examining the
help-seeking process with specific

regard to child abuse. A modified version of this model is
shown in Figure 1.3.
Help-Seeking Response Model
The following diagram is based on the Gomes-Schwartz model.
Figure 1-3
This model helps us to interconnect, in process terms, the two
major components of the systems
model: the personal and family response system and the
organizational response system. The arrows
indicate the continuous ongoing interactions among the victim,
the offender, the family, and the
social environment. System change is constantly occurring,
because each interaction affects
subsequent interactions and vulnerabilities interact with each
other to influence the potential for
abuse.
Once the abuse occurs, these same factors extend to the family
and organizational or institutional
responses to the violence, which in turn are influenced by the
demand and resource balance or
imbalance in the system. Throughout the entire response
process, the personal system components
and the organizational response components are in constant
interaction, in a process of constant
change. This modified Gomes-Schwartz model will be used in
subsequent modules to capture the
dynamic and complex nature of the help-seeking process.
Using the case history of Barbara and Jim Scott, identify the

main components of the systems model, and give a concrete
example from the case for each model component. Apply the
problem-solving model to the case situation.
In this module, we have laid the groundwork for our study of
domestic violence as a multi-faceted
phenomenon. In particular, we have focused on the systems
model, with its two subsystems, as the
essential framework upon which other models and concepts are
superimposed. We have examined
11 of 12 11/13/2021, 6:59 PM
various theories of violence to illustrate the multi-faceted
nature of domestic violence. We have
discussed the problem-solving process, explored the concept of
vulnerability from several
perspectives, and introduced a help-seeking response model. For
further information on any of these
topics, consult the references cited.
References
Bolton, F., & Bolton, S. (1987). Working with violent families.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Erikson, E. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: W.W.
Norton and Company.
Garbarino, J. (1989). The incidence and prevalence of child

maltreatment. In L. Ohlin & M. Tonry
(Eds.), Family violence (pp. 219–262). Chicago: The University
of Chicago Press.
Gelles, R. J. (1997). Intimate violence in families (3rd ed.).
Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Gelles, R. J., & Cornell, C. P. (1990). Intimate violence in
families. Newbury Park, CA.: Sage
Publications.
Gomes–Schwartz, B., Horowitz, J. M., & Cardarelli, A. P.
(1990). Child sexual abuse. Newbury Park,
CA: Sage Publications.
Gil, D. (1986). Sociocultural Aspects of Domestic Violence. In
M. Lystad (Ed.), Violence in the home:
Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 124–149). New York:
Brunner/Mazel, Inc.
Green, L., Kreuter, M., Deeds, S., & Partridge, K. (1980).
Health education planning: A diagnostic
approach. Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Justice, B., & Justice, R. (1990). The abusing family (Rev. ed.).
New York: Plenum Press.
Van der Kolk, B. A. (Ed.). (1986). Psychological trauma.
Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric
Association Press.
Van der Kolk, B. A. (1990). Trauma in men: Effects on family
life. In M. Straus (Ed.), Abuse and
victimization across the life span (pp. 170–187). Baltimore: The
Johns Hopkins Press.

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