NCJ Number
144844
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1993) Pages: 101-112
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Counselors at shelters for battered women were surveyed to determine how their views of responsibility for wife abuse related to the nature of services they provide to battered women.
Abstract
Data were collected from a random sample of shelters for battered women in North Carolina and Virginia. Each counselor was asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire. Eleven of the 22 shelters participated in the study, and 121 (78 percent) of the counselors in these shelters completed the questionnaire. Results revealed a significant relationship between counselors' views of responsibility and their services. Counselors who viewed the husband and wife as equally responsible for wife abuse were the most supportive of a woman's decision to remain married and were most likely to believe that batterers are able to stop being abusive. Counselors who viewed the batterer as completely responsible for wife abuse were more likely to encourage battered women who want to remain married to end their marriage and believed that batterers are unable to stop being abusive. Counselors were significantly more likely to believe that husbands were primarily responsible for the abuse. Because the directors of the shelters that declined to take part in the study all believed that batterers are always responsible, the findings probably underrepresent counselors who view the husband as completely responsible. Tables and 33 references (Author abstract modified)