קורבנות גברית לאלימות בין בני זוג, האשמה עצמית ותפיסת תפקידי מגדר

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as a social issue in most countries,
as well as in Israel, since the 1970s. While the feminist perspective views IPV as
a struggle for male dominance, recent decades have seen accumulating research
pointing to a more symmetrical phenomenon of partner violence. The present study
is based on Gender Schema Theory, which posits that gender roles are internalized
through cognitive schemas. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of
gender roles on self-blame perception among male victims of IPV. The research
hypothesis posits that the stronger a man's identification with masculine gender roles,
the greater his self-blame for being a victim. Conversely, a stronger identification
with feminine gender roles was expected to be associated with lower self-blame.
The research hypotheses were supported, revealing a cognitive dissonance between
masculine gender roles and the perception of oneself as a victim. The contribution
of this research lies in the understanding that victimization and self-blame are not
exclusive to women but also occur among men. This insight enriches both the
academic and clinical fields by deepening the understanding of the challenges faced
by male victims of IPV.