NCJ Number
113390
Date Published
1988
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Although husband battering has generally not been viewed as a significant social problem, its frequency and severity warrant concern and remedial action.
Abstract
The documentation on husband beating is not as extensive as that on wife beating, but over 3 percent of 600 husbands in mandatory conciliation interviews listed physical abuse by their wives as a reason for the divorce action (Levinger, 1966). Other data indicate that not only do the percentages of wives that have used physical violence often exceed that of the husbands, but wives' average violence score tended to be higher (Steinmetz, 1977-78). The abuse of men has received little attention in research, and it is a frequent humorous topic in the comics, such that the problem does not have high priority on the agenda of social problems. Although abused husbands usually have more financial resources than abused wives, they still experience a loss in living standard when they divorce or separate from their wives. This fact along with concern for the children often inhibit abused husbands from leaving the abusive relationship. This paper concludes with a review of major studies that have examined the extent of and factors in spouse abuse across cultures. 5 tables, 36 references.