Wife Abuse in the Medical Setting: An Introduction for Health Personnel

• NCJ Number: 126796
• Author(s): E Stark; A Flitcraft; D Zuckerman; A Grey; J Robison; W Frazier
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 61 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health and Human Services; National Clearinghouse on Domestic Violence
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Domestic Violence monograph series No. 7

Annotation

Because of the statistics of battered wives and the implications for suicide attempts among victims, victims' use of various medical services and the current pattern of medical response to battering, this monograph is designed to help health professionals recognize and respond to domestic violence.

Abstract

An overview of the problem of domestic violence points out that health professionals, while trying to improve the health of battered women, often inadvertently strengthen the social relations that cause battering. The second section of the monograph describes the stages of a domestic violence relationship including injury, self-abuse, institutional abuse, and medical and psychosocial problems. In this section are discussed issues including the frequency of abuse, elements of the battering syndrome, the medical services used by battered women, and the association between psychosocial problems and abuse. The third section presents both the profile method and the retrospective method of identifying battered women. Finally, the monograph explores the stages of battering syndrome from a medical perspective, as well as dimensions of treating battered women. 15 tables, 1 figure, 73 references, and 1 appendix