There is a widespread agreement among gender and family violence investigators
that gender and socioeconomic inequalities play key roles in domestic
violence against women (DVAW). By integrating the concepts of gender
traditionalism and decision-making power into a variety of resource-based
theories, this study develops a gender perspective to explore the linkages
between gendered correlates and psychological and physical DVAW in
urban Thailand. Based on a random sample of 770 married women in Bangkok,
results from our Tobit regression models indicate that when Thai wives
accept gender traditionalism, have significantly greater or smaller economic resources
than their husbands, or have significantly greater or smaller decision-making
power, they are at greater risk for multiple forms of domestic
violence. However, contrary to expectations, Thai wives who report higher
levels of social contact or integration do not experience less domestic violence.
It is concluded that gender egalitarianism in urban Thailand can greatly
reduce the risk of DVAW.