NCJ Number
178111
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: June 1999 Pages: 173-191
Date Published
1999
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study explored the extent and pattern of wife abuse in Hong Kong Chinese families.
Abstract
The sample included 1,132 married women aged 18 or older randomly selected from the community. Respondents were required to be currently or previously married or to have cohabited with a man for the past year. Occurrence of wife abuse was assessed by the Conflict Tactics Scale. Among the surveyed women, 67.2 percent reported at least one incident of verbal abuse, and 10 percent experienced at least one incident of physical abuse by their husbands during the surveyed year. Husband-to-wife minor physical violence was almost seven times more common than husband-to-wife severe physical violence (9.8 percent versus 1.4 percent). Couples' age and their age differences were related to physical wife abuse but not verbal wife abuse. Specifically, physical wife abuse in the form of minor violence occurred most often among married men and women aged 30 or below; and both minor and severe physical violence to a wife was found most often among couples whose ages were more than 20 years apart. Couples' educational level, differences in education, occupation, family income, and number of children were not related to various forms of wife abuse; whereas, the length of marriage and marital satisfaction were significant correlates of wife abuse. Results are discussed for relevant local and Western studies. 6 tables and 32 references