Applying the concept of lifestyle in association with aggression and violence in Greek cohabitating couples

Abstract

The current study investigated the role of lifestyle as a significant factor related to the aggression and violence between cohabitating partners. Based on previous research, lifestyle was defined as a special reflection of socialization into society and working life, where different lifestyles should also be able to produce different patterns of socialization into people's roles as partners. It was found that gender and years of cohabitating were significantly related to Emotional aggression and Sexual violence; lifestyle patterns were associated with specific forms of violence. More specifically, the lifestyles of Pleasure & Elegance and the one of Culture-Intellectualism were found to promote Emotional aggression. Also, the lifestyle of Yuppies/Workaholic and that of Physical activities stimulated the appearance of Sexual violence between partners. Moreover, individuals with Tradition-Religiousness lifestyle were more likely to show lower levels of Physical & Sexual violence while the adherents of the Substance abuse lifestyle pattern appeared to have an inclination towards Physical & Sexual Violence. Finally, the occurrence of one form of violent behaviour was likely to be related to the other forms of violent behaviour. Aggr. Behav. 33:73-85, 2007.

Managing intimate partner violence at the social services department of a Greek university hospital

“…The prevalence of IPV according to unpublished national data from Greece was 3.6 percent and 3.5 percent for physical and sexual violence respectively and 56 percent for verbal and emotional aggression (Artinopoulou & Farsedakis, 2003). According to a more recent population survey, the prevalence of all forms of IPV victimization for a period of 12 months prior to the survey was significantly higher compared to the one found in the previous study (Tzamalouka, Parlalis, Soultatou, Papadakaki, & Chliaoutakis, 2007).…”

“…The patriarchal model of function within the Greek family and the sex role differentiation and power distribution characterizing the Greek traditional family structure could partly explain the current finding (Kaklamanaki, 1984;Tzamalouka et al, 2007). This finding could also be attributed to gender stereotypes resulting in low reporting rates by male victims (Tzamalouka et al, 2007). Furthermore, most of the IPV cases were encountered at the ages 18-47 with the majority of them aged between 28 and 37 years.…”

“…In many cases, the imbalance of power within the couple has been shown to lead to the normalization of the belief that husbands are more often abusive towards their wives, as a means of controlling them (Kulwicki, 2002). The patriarchal model of function within the Greek family and the sex role differentiation and power distribution characterizing the Greek traditional family structure could partly explain the current finding (Kaklamanaki, 1984;Tzamalouka et al, 2007). This finding could also be attributed to gender stereotypes resulting in low reporting rates by male victims (Tzamalouka et al, 2007).…”

Measuring the effectiveness of an intensive IPV training program offered to Greek general practitioners and residents of general practice

“…The necessity to improve health care response to IPV in Greece has been well justified in previous research [34-36]. This study reports on the evaluation of an intensive IPV training program offered to practicing GPs and residents of general practice.…”

Defining Physicians’ Readiness to Screen and Manage Intimate Partner Violence in Greek Primary Care Settings

“…Certain circumstances mentioned below, underline the importance of this study for the Greek primary health care. Most importantly, IPV in Greece has been found to be very prevalent in the general population (Papadakaki, Tzamalouka, Chatzifotiou, & Chliaoutakis, 2009; Tzamalouka, Parlalis, Soultatou, Papadakaki, & Chliaoutakis, 2007), but underrecognized and insufficiently documented in hospital records (Petridou et al, 2002). Surprisingly, although IPV has been shown to be more prevalent in rural than urban areas (Petridou et al, 2002), no actions have ever been commenced to improve identification of IPV in primary care settings.…”