Abstract
The objective of this study is to assess the effects of several variables, identified by research
on Western, industrialized countries, on the occurrence of wife abuse in a developing
Asian society, Thailand. The following variables are organized in two path
analysis models: social isolation of the wife, socio-economic status, duration of the
marriage, number of children, wife's employment status, husband's level of stress, severity
of his drinking problem, and marital conflict. Two separate measures of socioeconomic
status are tested, one using traditional items--income, occupational prestige,
and education, and another measure incorporating several possessions, such as automobiles,
appliances, and entertainment items.
While the bivariate analysis showed little correlation among the independent variables
and wife abuse, the intervening variables--stress, drinking, and marital conflict--were
highly related. The results of the multiple regression and path analyses revealed that
marital conflict had the strongest effect and was the best predictor of wife abuse. Stress
and drinking also had a significant effect on wife abuse. While number of children, years
married, social isolation of the wife, and her employment status appeared to have little
impact on wife abuse, socio-economic status (both measures) is consistently related with
wife abuse, and with all the intervening variables. The combination of the variables in
the models explain approximately 15% to 20% of the variance in wife abuse in Thailand.
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