Woman abuse: facts replacing myths

644 Pages·1986·1.46 MB·English

by  Lewis Okun

Woman Abuse : Facts Replacing Myths
title: SUNY Series in Transpersonal and
Humanistic Psychology
author: Okun, Lewis.
publisher: State University of New York Press
isbn10 | asin: 088706079X
print isbn13: 9780887060793
ebook isbn13: 9780585063829
language: English
Family violence--United States, Wife abuse-
subject
-United States.
publication date: 1986
lcc: HQ809.3.U5O37 1986eb
ddc: 362.8/3
Family violence--United States, Wife abuse-
subject:
-United States.
Woman Abuse
Facts Replacing Myths
Lewis Okun
State University of New York Press
Published by
State University of New York Press Albany
© 1986 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
For information, address State University of New York Press, State
University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Okum, Lewis, 1954
Woman abuse.
(SUNY series in transpersonal and humanistic psychology)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Family violenceUnited States. 2. Wife abuse
United States. I. Title. II. Series.
HQ809.3.U5037 1985 362.8'3 84-26912
ISBN 0-88706-077-3
ISBN 0-88706-079-X (pbk.)
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
Page v
CONTENTS
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiv
Purpose of the Present Work
Author's Interest and Experience
Values Assumptions
Terminology
Outline of the Book
I Review and Critique of the Literature on Battering
1 History 1
Woman Abuse in Historical Perspective
2 The Empirical Literature 11
History
Problems with the Literature
Overall Trends
The Empirical LiteratureMethods and Designs
Critique of the Empirical Literature
3 Results of Empirical Works 35
Incidence and Prevalence
Relative Incidence of Battered Wives and Battered
Husbands
Age
Marital Status
Page vi
Race
Religion
Socioeconomic Variables
Patterns in Woman Abuse
Sexual Issues in Woman Abuse
Not Separating, Separating, and Returning
Seeking Intervention
Assailants' Criminal Records
Military Service
Alcohol and Conjugal Violence
Child Abuse and Conjugal Abuse
Family Histories of Violence
Miscellaneous Quantitative Findings
Clinical Descriptions
4 Theoretical Literature 78
Psychoanalytic Approaches
Learning Theory
Coercive Control Theory
Sociological Theories
Feminist Theories
Empirical and Theoretical Literature Compared
Universal Problems of the Theoretical Literature
Family Violence vs. Woman Abuse
The Intergenerational Transmission Hypothesis
5 Coercive Control and Woman Abuse 113
Thought Reform and Woman Abuse
Coercive Control and Pimping
When Is a Family Not a Family?
II The Current Study
6 Method 141
Setting
Method
Limitations of the Present Study
Advantages of the Study
Hypotheses to Be Tested
Characteristics of the Shelter Sample
Characteristics of the Counseling Sample
Page vii
7 Comparisons of the Samples to the General Population 168
Age Characteristics
Racial Characteristics
Number of Children
Premarital Pregnancy Rates
Employment Rates
Welfare Recipient Status
Marital Status
Childhood Exposure to Conjugally Violent Parents
Childhood Subjection to Child Abuse
Educational Level of Assailant Partners
Alcohol Abuse among Batterers
Military Experience among Batterers
8 Concordance Between Victims' and Assailants' Reports 182
9 Factors Relating to the Termination or Resumption of 190
Cohabitation Between the Battered Woman and Batterer
Whether Partner Sought Batterers' Counseling
Age
Race
Number of Children and Age of Children
Economic Factors
Psychoactive Medications and Previous Counseling
Marital Status
Length of Relationship
Time Elapsed Since the Initial Conjugal Assault
Number of Previous Separations
Other Factors Regarding Previous Separations
Magnitude of Abuse: Number, Frequency, and Severity
of Conjugal Assaults
Physical Retaliation in Self-defense by the Women
Conjugal Abuse of Shelter Residents' Mothers
Child Abuse Sustained by Shelter Residents
Concomitant Child Abuse by the Batterer
Distance Traveled by Battered Women to Shelter
Assailant's Level of Education
Page viii
Assailant's Alcohol Abuse
Batterer's Criminal Record of Violent Offenses
10 Additional Results 207
Factors Relating to the Level of Violence
Predictors of Batterers' Counseling Outcomes
11 Summary and Discussion of Results 222
Discussion
Indications for Future Research
Appendix A: Table of Variables Collected from the Shelter234
Sample
Appendix B: The Shelter Intake Form 241
Appendix C: Table of Variables Collected from the 246
Batterers' Counseling Sample
Appendix D: The Batterers' Counseling Intake Form 251
Notes 254
Bibliography 283
Index 290