Social dominance, hostile sexism and justifications: Examining attitudes towards wife abuse among Turkish men

Abstract

This study aims to determine the process through which social dominance orientation (SDO) tends to increase positive attitudes towards physical wife abuse among men. 211 adult men (aged between 18 and 65 years; Mage = 28.91; SD = 10.50) with different levels of education and various professions (e.g., students, teachers, engineers, doctors, workers, police officers) participated in the study. Measures of attitudes towards physical wife abuse and participants' levels of SDO, justifications and ambivalent sexism were assessed. Results revealed that, when controlled for age, education and economic level, SDO predicted positive attitudes towards physical wife abuse via both hostile sexism and justifications of physical wife abuse. That is, men who desire male dominance over women support sexist practices by accepting legitimizing myths that justify the inequality and hierarchy. Implications are discussed.