Support for survivors of domestic violence is important, but to end domestic violence once and for all, society needs to understand the people who perpetrate it and how to successfully intervene.

为家庭暴力幸存者提供支持固然重要，但要彻底终结家庭暴力，社会需要了解施暴者以及如何成功干预。

Domestic violence is very common in the United States. Nearly half of women and men in the U.S. experience sexual or physical violence, stalking or psychological harm or coercion in a romantic relationship during their lifetime.

家庭暴力在美国非常普遍。在美国，近一半的女性和男性在一生中都会在恋爱关系中遭受性暴力或身体暴力、跟踪或心理伤害或胁迫。

Domestic violence is also experienced unevenly across the U.S population. Young people are most vulnerable, with nearly three-fourths of female victims reporting that their first experience of domestic violence occurred before age 25. People of color and LGBTQ+ people also experience considerably higher rates of domestic violence than the national average. And despite similar rates of domestic violence across men and women, women report more severe effects on their lives, including higher rates of injury and need for medical care, needing help from law enforcement and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

美国人口遭受家庭暴力的程度也不均衡。年轻人最容易受到伤害，近四分之三的女性受害者表示，她们第一次遭受家庭暴力是在 25 岁之前。有色人种和女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋、变性者和跨性别者遭受家庭暴力的比例也大大高于全国平均水平。尽管男性和女性遭受家庭暴力的比例相似，但女性报告说，家庭暴力对她们的生活造成了更严重的影响，包括更高的受伤率、更高的医疗护理需求、更高的执法帮助需求以及更高的创伤后应激障碍症状。

I am a social worker who has spent the past 10 years studying how men come to use violence against their intimate partners, since the effects of their violence is often the most severe. My research has found that consistent supportive relationships with attentive adults in childhood and adulthood, along with stress management that takes trauma into account, are two promising approaches to prevent domestic violence.

我是一名社会工作者，过去 10 年一直在研究男性是如何对亲密伴侣施暴的，因为他们的暴力行为往往造成最严重的影响。我的研究发现，在童年和成年期与细心的成年人保持持续的支持关系，以及考虑到创伤的压力管理，是预防家庭暴力的两种很有前途的方法。

Understanding how someone comes to perpetrate violence is necessary to stop violence from happening in the first place.

要从一开始就阻止暴力的发生，就必须了解某人是如何实施暴力的。

Certain childhood experiences can put people at risk of committing domestic violence in the future. Researchers have found that child abuse, neglect and a negative parent-child relationship are significant risk factors that may lead someone to later perpetrate domestic violence.

某些童年经历会使人在未来面临实施家庭暴力的风险。研究人员发现，虐待儿童、忽视儿童和消极的亲子关系是可能导致某人日后实施家庭暴力的重要风险因素。

Experiencing trauma in early childhood can alter the brain, how the body responds to stress and whether someone sees the world as a threatening, harmful and untrustworthy place. For example, research has shown that people who have been exposed to trauma have increased activity in the amygdala of the brain, resulting in heightened fear and arousal that can lead to aggressive responses in the face of conflict and stress. Trauma exposure is also linked to a decrease in activity in the prefrontal cortex – that’s the part of the brain responsible for impulse control, concentration and emotional reasoning. These are essential qualities to navigate interpersonal relationships.

幼年时期的创伤会改变人的大脑、身体对压力的反应以及是否将世界视为一个充满威胁、有害和不可信任的地方。例如，研究表明，遭受过创伤的人大脑杏仁核的活动会增加，导致恐惧和唤醒增强，从而在面对冲突和压力时做出攻击性反应。创伤还与前额叶皮层活动的减少有关，前额叶皮层是大脑中负责控制冲动、集中注意力和情感推理的部分。这些都是处理人际关系的基本素质。

Toxic stress – excessive or prolonged activation of the body’s stress response – happens when someone encounters constant threats to their physical or mental safety during sensitive developmental periods. Compared to their peers, youth facing disproportionate levels of hardship and threats of poverty, racism and other structural inequities are at greater risk for toxic stress. These bodily changes can set kids up for PTSD, depression, and alcohol or drug abuse later in life, which are some of the most common risk factors of perpetrating domestic violence. One study found that nearly one-third of men in a domestic violence intervention program reported clinical levels of PTSD.

当一个人在敏感的成长时期，其身体或精神安全不断受到威胁时，就会出现毒性压力–过度或长时间激活身体的压力反应。与同龄人相比，面临贫困、种族主义和其他结构性不平等带来的过多困难和威胁的青少年更容易受到有毒压力的影响。这些身体上的变化会使孩子们日后患上创伤后应激障碍、抑郁症、酗酒或吸毒，而这些正是实施家庭暴力最常见的风险因素。一项研究发现，在一项家庭暴力干预计划中，近三分之一的男性报告患有临床程度的创伤后应激障碍。

Beliefs about traditional gender roles dictating how men and women should act is another significant contributing factor to domestic violence. Unresolved trauma mixed with rigid gender views can limit the coping skills and tools people have to navigate complex emotional challenges in romantic relationships. For example, homes that promote rigid gender scripts, such as “boys don’t cry,” and limit opportunities to learn from activities that are considered “feminine,” like caring for baby dolls, can stunt the emotional expression of boys and make them less skilled in recognizing emotions in others and themselves. Anger typically becomes the most accessible emotion.

关于传统性别角色决定男女行为方式的观念是导致家庭暴力的另一个重要因素。未解决的创伤与僵化的性别观点交织在一起，会限制人们在恋爱关系中应对复杂情感挑战的技能和工具。例如，如果家庭宣扬 "男孩不哭 "等僵化的性别观念，并限制男孩从被认为是 "女性化 "的活动（如照顾婴儿玩偶）中学习的机会，就会阻碍男孩的情感表达，使他们不善于识别他人和自己的情绪。愤怒通常会成为最容易接受的情绪。

Certainly not all people who have faced childhood adversity and trauma are destined to perpetrate violence. Studies show that a secure parent-child attachment and the presence of safe, nurturing relationships and environments during childhood protect against future violence. Positive childhood experiences, such as feeling understood in difficult times and having at least two nonparental adults taking interest in your life, can help. One study of over 6,000 adults in Wisconsin found that those reporting three to five positive childhood experiences were 50% less likely to have depressive symptoms or poor mental health days compared to those who had fewer or no positive childhood experiences.

当然，并不是所有童年经历过逆境和创伤的人都注定会实施暴力。研究表明，童年时期安全的亲子依恋关系以及安全、有教养的人际关系和环境可以防止未来的暴力行为。积极的童年经历，如在困难时期感到被理解，至少有两个非父母的成年人关心你的生活，都会有所帮助。对威斯康星州 6000 多名成年人进行的一项研究发现，那些报告有三到五次积极童年经历的人，与那些童年经历较少或没有积极童年经历的人相比，出现抑郁症状或心理健康状况不佳的可能性要低 50%。

Without these protective factors, however, many children are at risk of carrying their trauma into their adolescent and adult romantic relationships.

然而，如果没有这些保护性因素，许多儿童就有可能将他们的创伤带到他们的青春期和成年期恋爱关系中。

Supporting the health and well-being of society calls for research-based efforts to prevent and address domestic violence. Responsive relationships, or relationships where the other person is attentive, attuned and supportive, are a key way to improve the well-being of children and adults, including the mental health of survivors of abuse.

要支持社会的健康和福祉，就必须以研究为基础，努力预防和解决家庭暴力问题。顺应性关系，即另一方给予关注、体贴和支持的关系，是改善儿童和成人福祉（包括虐待幸存者的心理健康）的重要途径。

Researchers are paying more attention to the dangers of social isolation among adults. This has been exacerbated by cultural shifts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work and social media. Social isolation and unhealthy social networks can be dangerous for victims of violence and damaging for someone prone to committing violence because they can worsen mental health conditions like PTSD. Community-based programs that build supportive social networks have the potential to improve mental health risk factors for perpetrating violence.

研究人员越来越关注成年人社交孤立的危险。由 COVID-19 大流行病、远程工作和社交媒体引发的文化转变加剧了这种情况。社会隔离和不健康的社交网络会给暴力受害者带来危险，也会给有暴力倾向的人带来伤害，因为它们会加重创伤后应激障碍等心理健康问题。建立支持性社交网络的社区计划有可能改善实施暴力的心理健康风险因素。

Supportive social networks are essential for mental health. shironosov/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Most domestic violence intervention programs for men have not incorporated the understanding that trauma registers in the body as much as it does in someone’s way of thinking. These programs mostly focus on unlearning abusive tendencies and relearning healthy ways of engagement. This kind of approach includes using workbooks and thought exercises to identify abusive behaviors and thoughts about subjugating women, understand why they’re harmful, and learn healthy ways to resolve conflict.

大多数针对男性的家庭暴力干预计划都没有认识到，创伤在身体上的表现与在思维方式上的表现一样。这些计划大多侧重于消除虐待倾向和重新学习健康的交往方式。这种方法包括使用工作手册和思维练习来识别虐待行为和征服女性的想法，了解它们为何有害，并学习解决冲突的健康方法。

However, focusing on cognitive thought processes as the primary mechanism for change by itself is insufficient for lasting change. In order to meaningfully alter the effects of trauma, interventions must also engage autonomic brain processes.

然而，将认知思维过程作为改变的主要机制本身并不足以实现持久的改变。为了有意义地改变创伤的影响，干预措施还必须调动大脑自律过程。

Interventions that focus on regulating stress and emotions, such as deep breathing and mindfulness, can help address physiological symptoms of trauma and reset the body’s stress response. Resetting the body’s stress response can then help people engage in the higher-level learning necessary to adopt nonviolent thinking and behaviors and discard abusive tendencies.

以调节压力和情绪为重点的干预措施，如深呼吸和正念，可以帮助解决创伤的生理症状，重置身体的压力反应。重置身体的压力反应可以帮助人们进行必要的高层次学习，以采用非暴力思维和行为，摒弃虐待倾向。

Alleviating symptoms of PTSD and trauma in people who have perpetrated domestic violence may help them identify key triggers and develop the coping skills to respond to stress in healthier ways instead of violence.

减轻家庭暴力施暴者的创伤后应激障碍和创伤症状可帮助他们识别关键的触发因素，并发展应对技能，以更健康的方式而不是暴力来应对压力。