NCJ Number
141487
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1993) Pages: 57-69
Date Published
1993
Length
13 pages
Annotation
To examine female sexuality in physically abusive marriages, this study compared 60 abused women with a demographically matched sample of nonabused women in distressed marriages (aged 19-29).
Abstract
The sample of abused women was obtained from couples who were enrolled in treatment under the Domestic Conflict Containment Program, a specialized group therapy program for treating physically abusive marriages. The sample of nonabused women was selected from couples who were enrolled in marital group therapy, so as to control for any confounding effects of marital discord and dissatisfaction. Prior to any treatment, all women were given a questionnaire battery, which included demographic information and the following nine measures of the variables under investigation: sexual satisfaction, sexual attitudes, intimacy and compatibility, feminism, sexual aversion, sexual arousal, sexual assertiveness, and frequency of sexual intercourse. The physically abused women reported significantly lower levels of intimacy and compatibility in their marriages. Additionally, abused women evinced a more traditional sex-role ideology, a greater negative or erotophobic disposition toward sex, and a stronger avoidance of sex than did nonabused women. Also, as compared to nonabused women in distressed marriages, the abused women rated themselves as having a lower degree of sexual assertivenes, arousability, and satisfaction. Despite these findings, the abused women reported a significantly greater frequency of sexual intercourse in their marriages than did the nonabused women. 2 tables, appended subscales of the Affectionate Partners Test, and 31 references