Future intimate partner violence perpetrators: Predictions from male student population in a South African University

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a study that investigated how the environment in which males grow up or raised contributes to becoming perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). The study sought to ascertain the potency of IPV among young males studying at the Walter Sisulu University. This study adopted Social Learning and Containment Theory to foreground the explanation for intimate Partner Violence. A sample size of 108 males from ages 16- 35, selected from the study population by the use of stratified random sampling technique completed a survey instrument (questionnaire). Data were analysed and interpreted using chi-square, factor analysis, correlation, regression and analysis of variance. Some emerging findings in the paper revealed that males raised by abusive parents and have at some point in time witnessed their fathers being discourteous to their mothers would practice the same behaviour in future. Reliability test showed the adequacy of all the variables as individual and combined component at more than 0.05 acceptable threshold. While descriptive analysis suggests that young men that are too open to be influenced by peer advice are prone to intimate partner violence, the multivariate factor analysis found coercive personality trait as most important factor that represent future intimate partner violence. Further regression analysis found future intimate partner violence to be a function of Age (being younger), having degree of influence on peers, witnessed father battering mother, having battered a girlfriend, poor academic performance, frequent changing of academic programmes and heavy reliance on peers for advice, all at significant level. This study has shown that lived experience and imitating the behaviour of significant-others may spell positive or negative implication on the future of young adults.

Key Word: Partner Violence, Gender, South Africa,