Why men and boys behave badly

On almost a weekly basis the media reveals, often in excruciating detail, that some male sport star, politician or personality, somewhere, has abused, sexually or in another way, a girlfriend or a woman they have come into contact with.

The trend is a worrying one but a new study from the United States may shed some light on why some men behave in this manner.

The study by researchers from the University of California examined the lives of boys who commit dating violence in an attempt to prevent violence against girls and they found home and other environments were factors.

The study, "The Social and Emotional Contexts of Adolescent and Young Adult Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Study," is the first study to document the social and environmental factors experienced by adolescent males who have abused dating partners.

The study's senior author Dr. Elizabeth Miller, an assistant professor of pediatrics at UC Davis Children's Hospital, says despite a number of studies on the consequences of dating violence for girls, it is still unclear what triggers the male violence.

Dr. Miller says an understanding of the fundamental social and environmental factors involved is crucial to preventing the behaviour, but until now, there was little information on young men who hurt their partners.

She says their research represents a critically important piece of the puzzle in terms of designing meaningful prevention and intervention programs to prevent adolescent relationship violence.

Lead author Elizabeth Reed says existing research has often pointed to individual characteristics of males, such as substance abuse or having traditional attitudes towards women, but less is known about what leads to male violence within dating relationships.

The researchers say violence in dating relationships affects certain groups of boys more than others and it is necessary to look beyond individuals to see how environments affects behaviour - such as family life, school, peer environment and communities - which might promote such characteristics among boys, so that the issue is addressed appropriately.

For the study, Miller and Reed conducted in-depth interviews with 19 boys, ages 14 to 20, with known histories of perpetrating intimate partner violence and who lived in mostly urban neighborhoods in metropolitan Boston; they had been referred by their schools or families to an intervention program for abusive behaviour with girlfriends.

The researchers identified common themes from listening to the boys and from information from their previous work which was part of this larger research project on adolescent relationship violence and health.

The researchers say the recurring themes included problematic home environments, inadequate support at school, community contexts characterized by violence and peer interactions that encourage the sexual maltreatment of girls.

The researchers suggest that focusing on the influence of one of these contexts alone will be ineffective and an understanding of the complex interplay of how they influence boys' behaviour, within intimate relationships is needed and intervention programs that aim to address boys' abusive behaviours toward their girlfriends may be more effective if they also address a broad array of difficulties faced within boys' lives.

The researchers say the study is from an urban sample of boys in programs for dating violence perpetration and, therefore, does not represent all boys who perpetrate abusive behaviors toward girlfriends but does offers some important, initial insights into the life contexts of boys that may contribute to dating violence.

Dr. Miller says talking to students in schools about dating violence, will not do the trick, as what is needed is meaningful prevention that addresses the failures of the structures and systems in place that are supposed to support boys.

The lack of positive mentorship and support at home and in school are key factors and given the high numbers high school drop-out rates, school-based programs cannot reach those males who have already dropped out of school.

Miller is currently conducting a research study on a dating violence prevention program called Coaching Boys into Men, sponsored by the Family Violence Prevention Fund which trains coaches to work with high school-aged athletes to stop violence against women and girls.

Miller says dating violence prevention programs need to be designed that meet these young men and women where they are and that speak directly to their needs - emotionally, socially, academically - at the places where they hang out.

The research is published in the September issue of the American Journal of Men's Health.