NCJ Number
177999
Date Published
1997
Length
140 pages
Annotation
This volume focuses on abused women who were sexually, physically, or psychologically abused as children and provides a tentative typology of these females in terms of the particular types of abuse they experienced as children, the resultant symptomatology, and management and treatment strategies.
Abstract
The introduction emphasizes that examination of the female's role in the battering relationship in no way negates the validity of male accountability for the actual battery that results from the underlying dynamics. However, focusing only on changing male thinking and behavior patterns will not alleviate the problem of abusive relationships, because many women return to abusive partners or find new abusers once they have left the home and received needed support and guidance. Many victims share the same borderline, traumatic bonding, and attachment issues as their abusers. Abused women who experienced childhood abuse vary in their symptoms, including confusion regarding what is normal and abnormal, a tendency to relive childhood abuse through adult relationships, a quest for victim bonding, an avenue to vent hostility, and flirtation with violence. The text explains the characteristics of dysfunctional families. It then describes and recommends treatment goals for four types of abused women: (1) survivors of misfortune; (2) unintentional game players or adult children of double-bind parents; (3) intentional game players who have unresolved victim bonding; and (4) true victims, who have histories of early unresolved trauma. The discussion notes that these categories are not rigid and may overlap. The final section examines general concerns related to abused women; the traits of batterers; and issues related to whether a woman is healthy, a survivor, or a victim. Checklists; appended charts, exercises for adult battered women, survey instrument, and survey results; annotated reading list; 35 references