culture of violence theory culture of violence theory the culture of violence theory addresses the pervasiveness of specific violent patterns within a societal dimension. the concept of violence being ingrained in western society and culture has been around for at least the 20th century. developed from structural violence, as research progressed the notion that a culture can sanction violent acts developed into what we know as culture of violence theory today. two prominent examples of culture legitimizing violence can be seen in rape myths and victim blaming. rape myths lead to misconstrued notions of blame; it is common for the responsibility associated with the rape to be placed on the victim rather than the offender. furthermore, the culture of violence theory potentially accounts for inter-generational theories of violence and domestic violence. childhood exposure to violence in the household may later lead to similar patterns in marital relations. similarly, early experience with domestic violence is likely to increase an individual's potential for development of clinical symptoms. additionally, presence of a preexisting mental disorder may heighten the chances of becoming involved in an abusive relationship. there are many factors which contribute to the persistence of violence among individuals and on a societal level; gender is one relevant factor to understanding the culture of violence theory. in the united states, a majority of reported rapes involve female victims. however, there is a growing body of evidence to support the notion that women can perpetuate relational cycles of violence. while a culture of violence has an impact on people as a whole, for individuals who have experienced trauma in their lives the impact can be much larger. development of the theory as mentioned previously the culture of violence theory addresses the pervasiveness of specific violent patterns within in a societal dimension. specifically, culture of violence theory explains how cultures and societies can sanction violent acts. while related to structural violence, cultural violence theory is different by explaining why direct acts of violence or violence built into systems of society exists and how they are legitimized. research suggests that cultures can encourage and permit violence to exist as a response to various environmental obstacles, such as widespread resource impoverishment. this can be seen within various aspects of culture, such as film, television, music, language, art, and propaganda. relation to cultural values in the united states