If you read relationship advice columns or read psychology books you may have run across the term "battered wife syndrome." The average person may wonder how such a relationship could exist in more progressive times. Up until recently in human history, "wife rearing" was not considered unusual. Knowing the history and symptoms of "battered wives" is the first step to some solution.
History
Spousal abuse is not a recent trend, societies have tolerated and even encouraged a man to abuse his wife. The word "family" has a Latin root meaning, "a group of slaves owned by an individual". Ancient cultures considered women as the property of men. English law went so far as to legalize domestic violence as punishment for "misbehavior."
What Is BWS?
Some doctors debate what exactly constitutes battered . The medical community general agrees that it consists of a wife or significant other continuing a relationship despite the occurrence of physical or emotional abuse. At what point spousal abuse creates the condition called "battered wife syndrome" remains up for interpretation.
General Symptoms Of BWS
Battered wife syndrome usually needs to occur frequently over a significant time period. The victim, overwhelming the female in most cases, begins to believe that she is the root cause of the abuse and cannot fathom another explanation. Battered wives often come from an abusive upbringing and marry at a young age to escape this life. Wives often take antidepressants to deal with the abuse. Panic and anxiety are typical reactions to domestic violence. Battered wife syndrome can include only some, or even none of these symptoms.
Diagnosis
According to a Canadian Medical Association Journal report, doctors very rarely make a proper diagnosis of BWS, this is caused by both the patient and the doctor. Patients often just give the doctor complaints about physical ailments instead of divulging the occurrence of domestic abuse. On the other hand, primary care doctors often disregard relationship matters, and some do not even want to deal with a problem such as spousal abuse.
BWS In Custody Cases
A majority of states consider the presence of domestic violence when making custody battle decisions. The courts tend to believe that witnessing domestic violence in a relationship potentially could damage a child's mental state or skew the child's view of a proper relationship later in life. Quite often, spousal abusers report that they commit domestic violence due to experiencing it during their own childhood.
Tags: domestic violence, wife syndrome, battered wife, battered wife syndrome, Battered wife