Attitudes of Psychiatric and Nonpsychiatric Medical Practitioners Toward Battered Women: An Exploratory Study

• NCJ Number: 117955
• Author(s): D G Saunders; K Rose
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 30 pages
• Grant Number(s): 17139-01
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Paper Presented at the 3rd National Conference for Family Violence Researchers, University of New Hampshire, July 1987

Annotation

Information from 58 physicians and 117 nurses formed the basis of a comparison of the attitudes held by psychiatric and other medical practitioners regarding battered women.

Abstract

The participants were all staff members of a large midwestern teaching hospital and its affiliate clinic. The sample included 60 men and 115 women. Twenty-seven were psychiatric practitioners. The participants completed a two-page mailed questionnaire that gathered information about their beliefs about wife beating, their attitudes toward women, the potential bias in their responses, and their personal and professional backgrounds. Findings indicated that the mental health professionals are not predisposed to justify the abuse of women or to believe that help should be denied to victims. Thus, results challenge the stereotype that psychiatric staff blame victims and refuse to deal with their problems. Findings also suggested the need for further training of health care providers, particularly the nonpsychiatric personnel. In addition, mental health professionals may play a unique role in training or consulting with the other specialties. Tables and 43 references.