The influence of patriarchal ideology on outcomes of legal decisions involving woman battering cases: an analysis of five historical eras

Numerous qualitative analyses suggest that our legal system has been dominated by a patriarchal ideology that has affected judges' legal decisions on cases pertaining to woman battering. To provide a quantitative test, we analyzed legal opinions from five historical eras to determine if the number of indicators of patriarchal ideology has changed over time. We also performed logistic regression analyses to determine whether these indicators are actually associated with case outcomes. Consistent with our hypotheses, in the most recent era (a) there has been a decrease in two of the indicators of patriarchal ideology (judges are less likely to assume that the woman was the instigator and they are less likely to make internal attributions to the woman), (b) the probability of battered women winning these cases has increased, and (c) the best predictor of case outcome is the extent to which the judge believes the woman was the instigator. However, we also obtained evidence that the drawbacks of patriarchal ideology may have affected some men, as well as women, in a negative way. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.