Click Here For Research Papers Online!

Battered Women's Syndrome: A Survey of Contemporary Theories

In 1991, Governor William Weld modified parole regulations and

permitted women to seek commutation if they could present evidence

indicating they suffered from battered women's syndrome. A short while

later, the Governor, citing spousal abuse as his impetus, released seven

women convicted of killing their husbands, and the Great and General

Court of Massachusetts enacted Mass. Gen. L. ch. 233 § 23E (1993), which

permits the introduction of evidence of abuse in criminal trials. These

decisive acts brought the issue of domestic abuse to the public's

attention and left many Massachusetts residents, lawyers and judges

struggling to define battered women's syndrome. In order to help these

individuals define battered women's syndrome, the origins and

development of the three primary theories of the syndrome and

recommended treatments are outlined below.

I. The Classical Theory of Battered Women's Syndrome and its Origins

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV),

known in the mental health field as the clinician's bible, does not recognize

battered women's syndrome as a distinct mental disorder. In fact, Dr. Lenore

Walker, the architect of the classical battered women's syndrome theory, notes

the syndrome is not an illness, but a theory that draws upon the principles of

learned helplessness to explain why some women are unable to leave their

abusers. Therefore, the classical battered women's syndrome theory is

best regarded as an offshoot of the theory of learned helplessness and

not a mental illness that afflicts abused women.

The theory of learned helplessness sought to account for the passive

behavior subjects exhibited when placed in an uncontrollable

environment. In the late 60's and early 70's, Martin Seligman, a famous

researcher in the field of psychology, conducted a series of experiments

in which dogs were placed in one of two types of cages. In the former

cage, henceforth referred to as the shock cage, a bell would sound and

the experimenters would electrify the entire floor seconds later,

shocking the dog regardless of location. The latter cage, however,

although similar in every other respect to the shock cage, contained a

small area where the experimenters could administer no shock. Seligman

observed that while the dogs in the latter cage learned to run to the

nonelectrified area after a series of shocks, the dogs in the shock cage

gave up trying to escape, even when placed in the latter cage and shown

that escape was possible. Seligman theorized that the dogs' initial

experience in the uncontrollable shock cage led them to believe that

they could not control future events and was responsible for the

observed disruptions in behavior and learning. Thus, according to the

theory of learned helplessness, a subject placed in an uncontrollable

environment will become passive and accept painful stimuli, even though

escape is possible and apparent.

In the late 1970's, Dr. Walker drew upon Seligman's research and

incorporated it into her own theory, the battered women's syndrome, in

an attempt to explain why battered women remain with their abusers.

According to Dr. Walker, battered women's syndrome contains two distinct

elements: a cycle of violence and symptoms of learned helplessness. The

cycle of violence is composed of three phases: the tension building

phase, active battering phase and calm loving respite phase. During the

tension building phase, the victim is subjected to verbal abuse and

minor battering incidents, such as slaps, pinches and psychological

abuse. In this phase, the woman tries to pacify her batterer by using

techniques that have worked previously. Typically, the woman showers

her abuser with kindness or attempts to avoid him. However, the

victim's attempts to pacify her batter are often fruitless and only work

to delay the inevitable acute battering incident.

The tension building phase ends and the active battering phase begins

when the verbal abuse and minor battering evolve into an acute battering

incident. A release of the tensions built during phase one

characterizes the active battering phase, which usually last for a

period of two to twenty-four hours. The violence during this phase is

unpredictable and inevitable, and statistics indicate that the risk of

the batterer murdering his victim is at its greatest. The batterer

places his victim in a constant state of fear, and she is unable to

control her batterer's violence by utilizing techniques that worked in

the tension building phase. The victim, realizing her lack of control,

attempts to mitigate the violence by becoming passive.

After the active battering phase comes to a close, the cycle of

violence enters the calm loving respite phase or "honeymoon phase."

During this phase, the batterer apologizes for his abusive behavior and

promises that it will never happen again. The behavior exhibited by the

batter in the calm loving respite phase closely resembles the behavior

he exhibited when the couple first met and fell in love. The calm

loving respite phase is the most psychologically victimizing phase

because the batterer fools the victim, who is relieved that the abuse

has ended, into believing that he has changed. However, inevitably, the

batterer begins to verbally abuse his victim and the cycle of abuse

begins anew.

According to Dr. Walker, Seligman's theory of learned helplessness

explains why women stay with their abusers and occurs in a victim after

the cycle of violence repeats numerous times. As noted earlier, dogs

who were placed in an environment where pain was unavoidable responded

by becoming passive. Dr. Walker asserts that, in the domestic abuse

ambit, sporadic brutality, perceptions of powerlessness, lack of

financial resources and the superior strength of the batterer all

combine to instill a feeling of helplessness in the victim. In other

words, batterers condition women into believing that they are powerless

to escape by subjecting them to a continuing pattern of uncontrollable

violence and abuse. Dr. Walker, in applying the learned helplessness

theory to battered women, changed society's perception of battered women

by dispelling the myth that battered women like abuse and offering a

logical and rationale explanation for why most stay with their abuser.

As the classical theory of battered women's syndrome is based upon the

psychological principles of conditioning, experts believe that behavior

modification strategies are best suited for treating women suffering

from the syndrome. A simple, yet effective, behavioral strategy

consists of two stages. In the initial stage, the battered woman

removes herself from the uncontrollable or "shock cage" environment and

isolates herself from her abuser. Generally, professionals help the

victim escape by using assertiveness training, modeling and recommending

use of the court system. After the woman terminates the abusive

relationship, professionals give the victim relapse prevention training

to ensure that subsequent exposure to abusive behavior will not cause

maladaptive behavior. Although this strategy is effective, the model

offered by Dr. Walker suggests that battered women usually do not

actively seek out help. Therefore, concerned agencies and individuals

must be proactive and extremely sensitive to the needs and fears of

victims.

In sum, the classical battered women's syndrome is a theory that has

its origins in the research of Martin Seligman. Women in a domestic

abuse situation experience a cycle of violence with their abuser. The

cycle is composed of three phases: the tension building phase, active

battering phase and calm loving respite phase. A gradual increase in

verbal abuse marks the tension building phase. When this abuse

culminates into an acute battering episode, the relationship enters the

active battering phase. Once the acute battering phase ends, usually

within two to twenty-four hours, the parties enter the calm loving

respite phase, in which the batterer expresses remorse and promises to

change. After the cycle has played out several times, the victim

begins to manifest symptoms of learned helplessness. Behavioral

modification strategies offer an effective treatment for battered

women's syndrome. However, Dr. Walker's model indicates that battered

women may not seek the help that they need because of feelings of

helplessness.

II. An Alternate Battered Women's Syndrome Theory: Battered Women as

Survivors.

Over the years, empirical data has emerged that casts doubt on Dr.

Walker's explanation of why women stay with their batterers or, in

extreme cases, why they kill their abusers. Two researchers, Edward W.

Gondolf and Ellen R. Fisher, make reference to voluminous statistics

that refute the classical battered women's syndrome theory, and suggest

Dr. Walker erroneously attributes a victim's refusal to leave her

batterer to learned helplessness. For instance, the two, in discounting

Dr. Walker's theory, cite a study conducted by Lee H. Bowker that

indicates victims of abuse often contact other family members for help

as the violence escalates over time. The two also note that Bowker

observed a steady increase in formal help-seeking behavior as the

violence increased. In addition to citing empirical data, Gondolf and

Fisher point out that using Dr. Walker's theory to explain the battered

woman's actions in extreme cases creates the ultimate oxymoron: a woman

so helpless she kills her batterer. In an effort to account for the

shortcomings of the classical battered women's theory, Gondolf and

Fisher offered the markedly different survivor theory of battered

women's syndrome, which consists of four important elements.

The first element of the survivor theory surmises that a pattern of

abuse prompts battered women to employ innovative coping strategies and

to seek help, such as flattering the batterer and turning to their

families for assistance. When these sources of help prove ineffective,

the battered woman seeks out other sources and employs different

strategies to lessen the abuse. For example, the battered women may

avoid her abuser all together and seek help from the court system. Thus,

according to the survivor theory, battered women actively seek help and

employ coping skills throughout the abusive relationship. In contrast,

the classical theory of battered women's syndrome views women as

becoming passive and helpless in the face of repeated abuse.

The second element of Gondolf and Fisher's theory posits that a lack of

options, know-how and finances, not learned helplessness, instills a

feeling of anxiety in the victim that prevents her from escaping the

abuser. When a battered woman seeks outside help, she is typically

confronted with an ineffective bureaucracy, insufficient help sources

and societal indifference. This lack of practical options, combined

with the victim's lack of financial resources, make it likely that a

battered women will stay and try to change her batterer, rather than

leave and face the unknown. The classical battered women's syndrome

theory differs in that it focuses on the victim's perception that escape

is impossible, not on the obstacles the victim must overcome to escape.

The third element expands on the first and describes how the victim

actively seeks help from a variety of formal and informal help sources.

For instance, an example of an informal help source would be a close

friend and a formal help source would be a shelter. Gondolf and Fisher

maintain that the help obtained from these sources is inadequate and

piecemeal in nature. Given these inadequacies, the researchers conclude

that the leaving a batterer is a difficult path for a victim to embark

upon.

The fourth element of the survivor theory hypothesizes that the failure

of the aforementioned help sources to intervene in a comprehensive and

decisive manner permits the cycle of abuse to continue unchecked.

Interestingly, Gondolf and Fisher blame the lack of effective help on a

variation of the learned helplessness theory, explaining help

organizations are too overwhelmed and limited in their resources to be

effective and therefore do not try as hard as they should to help

victims. Whatever the case may be, the researchers argue that we can

better understand the plight of the battered woman by asking did she

seek help and what happened when she did, rather than why didn't she

leave.

Because the survivor theory of learned helplessness attributes the

battered woman's plight to ineffective help sources and societal

indifference, a logical solution would entail increased funding for

programs in place and educating the public about the symptoms and

consequences of domestic violence. There are battered women's advocacy

programs in place in courts located throughout the country. However,

inadequate funding limits their effectiveness. By increasing funding,

citizens can assure that all battered women will receive the assistance

that will permit them to escape their batterer. Additionally, if we

educate citizens about the harmful effects of domestic abuse, the public

will no longer treat victims with indifference.

To recap, Edward W. Gondolf and Ellen R. Fisher developed the survivor

theory of battered women's syndrome to explain why statistics indicate

that battered women increase their help seeking behavior as the violence

escalates. The theory is composed of four important elements. The

first recognizes that battered women actively seek help throughout their

relationship with the abuser. The second element posits that a lack of

options, know-how and finances creates anxiety in the victim over

leaving her batterer. The third element describes the inadequate and

piecemeal help the victim receives. Finally, the fourth element

concludes that the failure of help sources, not learned helplessness,

accounts for why many battered women remain with their abusers. Under

the survivor theory, the best method for helping battered women is to

increase funding for battered women's assistance programs and agencies

and educate the public about the harmful effects of domestic abuse.

III. Battered Women's Syndrome Equals Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Although the DSM-IV does not recognize battered women's syndrome as a

distinct mental illness or disorder, some experts maintain that battered

women's syndrome is just another name for post traumatic stress

disorder, which the DSM-IV recognizes. The post traumatic stress

disorder theory is also applied to individuals who were never exposed to

domestic abuse, and, in the domestic abuse ambit, does not exclusively

focus on the battered woman's perception of helplessness or ineffective

help sources to explain why she stayed with her batterer. Instead, the

theory focuses on the psychological disturbance an individual suffers

after exposure to a traumatic event.

In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association added the post traumatic

stress disorder classification to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

of Mental Disorders III, a manual used by mental health professionals to

diagnose mental illness. Although the diagnosis was controversial at

the time, post traumatic stress disorder has gained wide acceptance in

the mental health community and revolutionized the way professionals

regard human reactions to trauma. Prior to the disorder's inception,

experts attributed the cause of emotional trauma to individual

weakness. However, with the advent of the theory of post traumatic

stress disorder, experts now attribute the etiology of emotional trauma

to an external stressor, not a weakness in the psyche of the individual.

Since 1980, the American Psychiatric Association has revised the

criteria for diagnosing post traumatic stress disorder several times.

Currently, the diagnostic criteria for post traumatic stress disorder

include a history of exposure to a traumatic event and symptoms from

each of three symptom clusters: intrusive recollections,

avoidant/numbing symptoms and hyper arousal symptoms. Recent data

indicate that many individuals qualify for a post traumatic stress

disorder under the current diagnostic criteria, with prevalence rates

running between 5 to 10% in our society.

As noted earlier, in order for a diagnosis of post traumatic stress

disorder to apply, the individual must have been exposed to a traumatic

event involving actual or threatened death or injury, or a threat to the

physical integrity of the person or others. The authors of the early

theory of post traumatic stress disorder considered a traumatic event to

be outside the range of human experience, such events included rape,

torture, war, the Holocaust, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and

Nagasaki, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanos, airplane crashes and

automobile accidents, and did not contemplate applying the diagnosis to

battered women. The American Psychiatric Association loosened the

traumatic event criteria in the DSM-IV, which replaced the DSM-III and

DSM-IIIR. Presently, the traumatic event need only be markedly

distressing to almost anyone. Therefore, battered women have little

trouble meeting the DSM-IV traumatic event diagnostic requirement

because most people would find the abuse battered women are subjected to

markedly distressing.

In addition to meeting the traumatic event diagnostic criteria, an

individual must have symptoms from the intrusive recollection,

avoidant/numbing and hyper arousal categories for a post traumatic

stress disorder diagnosis to apply. The intrusive recollection category

consists of symptoms that are distinct and easily identifiable. In

individuals suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, the traumatic

event is a dominant psychological experience that evokes panic, terror,

dread, grief or despair. Often, these feelings are manifested in

daytime fantasies, traumatic nightmares and flashbacks. Additionally,

stimuli that the individual associates with the traumatic event can

evoke mental images, emotional responses and psychological reactions

associated with the trauma. Examples of intrusive recollection symptoms

a battered woman may suffer are fantasies of killing her batterer and

flashbacks of battering incidents.

The avoidant/numbing cluster consists of the emotional strategies

individuals with post traumatic stress disorder use to reduce the

likelihood that they will either expose themselves to traumatic stimuli,

or if exposed, will minimize their psychological response. The DSM-IV

divides the strategies into three categories: behavioral, cognitive and

emotional. Behavioral strategies include avoiding situations where the

stimuli are likely to be encountered. Dissociation and psychogenic

amnesia are cognitive strategies by which individuals with post

traumatic stress disorder cut off the conscious experience of

trauma-based memories and feelings. Lastly, the individual may separate

the cognitive aspects from the emotional aspects of psychological

experience and perceive only the former. This type of psychic numbing

serves as an emotional anesthesia that makes it extremely difficult for

people with post traumatic stress disorder to participate in meaningful

interpersonal relationships. Thus, a battered woman suffering from post

traumatic stress disorder may avoid her batterer and repress

trauma-based feelings and emotions.

The hyper arousal category symptoms closely resemble those seen in

panic and generalized anxiety disorders. Although symptoms such as

insomnia and irritability are generic anxiety symptoms, hyper vigilance

and startle are unique to post traumatic stress disorder. The hyper

vigilance symptom may become so intense in individuals suffering from

post traumatic stress disorder that it appears as if they are paranoid.

A careful reading of post traumatic stress disorder symptoms and

diagnostic criteria indicates that Dr. Walker's classical theory of

battered women's syndrome is contained within. For instance, both

theories require that the victim be exposed to a traumatic event. In

Dr. Walker's theory, she describes the traumatic event as a cycle of

violence. The post traumatic stress disorder theory, on the other hand,

only requires that the event be markedly distressing to almost

everyone. Thus, the cycle of violence described by Dr. Walker is

considered a traumatic stressor for the purposes of diagnosing post

traumatic stress disorder. Additionally, like the classical theory of

battered women's syndrome, the theory of post traumatic stress disorder

recognizes that an individual may become helpless after exposure to a

traumatic event. Although the post traumatic stress disorder theory

seems to incorporate Dr. Walker's theory, it is more inclusive in that

it recognizes that different individuals may have different reactions to

traumatic events and does not rely heavily on the theory of learned

helplessness to explain why battered women stay with their abusers.

There are several methods a professional can utilize to treat

individuals suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. The most

successful treatments are those that they administer immediately after

the traumatic event. Experts commonly call this type of treatment

critical incident stress debriefing. Although this type of treatment is

effective in halting the development of post traumatic stress disorder,

the cyclical nature and gradual escalation of violence in domestic abuse

situations make critical incident stress debriefing an unlikely therapy

for battered women.

The second type of treatment is administered after post traumatic

stress disorder has developed and is less effective than critical

incident stress debriefing. This type of treatment may consist of

psychodynamic psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, pharmacotherapy and

group therapy. The most effective post-manifestation treatment for

battered women is group therapy. In a group therapy session, battered

women can discuss traumatic memories, post traumatic stress disorder

symptoms and functional deficits with others who have had similar

experiences. By discussing their experiences and symptoms, the women

form a common bond and release repressed memories, feelings and

emotions.

To summarize, many experts regard battered women's syndrome as a

subcategory of post traumatic stress disorder. The diagnostic criteria

for post traumatic stress disorder include a history of exposure to a

traumatic event and symptoms from each of three symptom clusters:

intrusive recollections, avoidant/numbing symptoms and hyper arousal

symptoms. After exposure to a traumatic event, defined by the DSM-IV as

one that is markedly distressing to almost everyone, an individual

suffering from post traumatic stress disorder may suffer intrusive

recollections, which consist of daytime fantasies, traumatic nightmares

and flashbacks. The individual may also try to avoid stimuli that

remind him/her of the traumatic event and/or develop symptoms associated

with generic anxiety disorders. Critical incident stress debriefing,

psychodynamic psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, pharmacotherapy and

group therapy are all recognized as effective treatments for post

traumatic stress disorder.

IV. Conclusion

Although there are many different theories of battered women's

syndrome, most are all variations or hybrids of the three main theories

outlined above. A sound understanding of Dr. Walker's classical

battered women's syndrome theory, Gondolf and Fisher's survivor theory

of battered women's syndrome and the post traumatic stress disorder

theory, will permit the reader to identify the origins and essential

elements of these various hybrids and provide them with a better

understanding of the plight of the battered woman. Given the prevalence

of domestic abuse in our society, it is important to realize that the

battered woman does not like abuse or is responsible for her

victimization. The three theories discussed above all offer rationale

explanations for why a battered women often stays with her abuser and

explore the psychological harm caused by abuse while discounting the

popular perception that battered women must enjoy the abuse.

.