Chemical dependency and psychiatric disorder in imprisoned wife-beaters

Abstract

To detect psychopathology in wife-beaters, a selected group of 18 males sentenced to prison for assault or battery committed against their wives or steady partners was studied. Alcohol and drug dependency was found in 89 per cent of the males and was thus the most common disorder. Apart from signs and symptoms of depression, which was revealed in 39 per cent of the men and could generally be explained by their current situation, no further psychiatric disorders were found. However, most of the men showed a prominent tendency to externalize blame and many of them also denied their offences. Treatment of alcohol and drug addiction should be included in any therapeutic programme aimed at rehabilitating these men.