Societal Isolation, Violent Norms, and Gender Relations: A Reexamination and Extension of Levinson's Model of Wife Beating

This article reanalyzes cross-cultural data on wife beating using Murdock and White's Standard Cross-Cultural Sample. Geographic isolation, violent norms, and intergender competition over material and intimate resources and rewards emerge as significant sources of cross-cultural variation in spouse abuse. The conclusion, which provides a provocative foundation for future research, is that wife beating is more common in cultures that embrace the use of violence and that promote competition between husbands and wives.