Battered Wives (From International Perspectives on Family Violence, P 123-137, 1983, Richard J Gelles and Claire P Cornell, ed. - See NCJ-93704)

• NCJ Number: 93707
• Author(s): J J Gayford
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Lexington Books
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from British Journal of Hospital Medicine, (November 1979), P 496-503

Annotation

An overview of current research on wife victimization in the United Kingdom explores the dynamics of violence in marriage through discussions of terminology, epidemiology, case histories, and investigation and management of these cases.

Abstract

Some of the etiological factors related to wife battering include family background, education, employment, psychiatric history, premarital violence, and social conditions. The physical effects of men losing control and violently asaulting their wives are seen in injuries to the head and neck, bruising around the arms and wrists, and burns. A battered wife may be characterized as one of the following: inadequate, highly competent, or provocative. The relationship between battered wives and their husbands is intense, with both parties striving to keep it alive despite the obvious failings. Although both parties need to be considered in terms of their frustration tolerance which can be lowered by external social factors or internal psychological and physical factors, the husband's frustration tolerance is the critical factor. The problem of violence starts when a man with a low frustration tolerance is paired with a highly provocative woman. Over 40 footnotes are provided.