A Caution About Discussing the Origins of Domestic Abuse
The study of domestic abuse is beset with a very large difficulty: anything offered as a cause in theory is in someway functioning as an excuse in practice. Domestic abuse is comprised of voluntary behaviors, and it is important not to lose sight of that. Just like addiction, however, there is value in understanding developmental determinants of these voluntary behaviors because it can inform intervention which reduces these behaviors or reduces the impact of these behaviors.
For a time in this website the author called this section "contributors" to avoid the controversy. That was confusing, however. This section on origins is not meant to be exhaustive or dogmatic. It is just intended to help organize and further understanding.