Psychiatric morbidity and personality characteristics of battered women

Forty-nine battered women attending a surgical emergency department were studied with regard to prior and current psychiatric morbidity, substance abuse and personality characteristics, and were compared with a control group. More battered women than controls had consulted a psychiatrist and half of them were classified as heavy consumers of alcohol. One third of the assaulted women were found to be depressed, compared to 6% of the controls. The groups also differed in respect of muscular tension, aches and pain, and autonomic disturbances, the battered women having more pronounced symptoms. It is important for psychiatrists to recognize the symptoms that battered women often exhibit. With better early diagnosis, these women could be offered more appropriate psychosocial therapy.