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.
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