Although women do abuse men, by far the greatest proportion of abusive incidents are committed by males. Thus, what is often discussed as "spouse abuse," is actually wife assault. According to Straus and Gelles (1990), at least 1.8 million women are battered by their husbands every year in the United States.
Regarding wife assault, Campbell and Lancaster (1994) refer to it as one of America's major community health problems; this because of its greater prevalence than other forms of domestic or partner violence, its greater potential for homicide, its effects on children in the household, and its long-term emotional and physical consequences. In other words, understanding wife assault is imperative.
The purpose of the review of literature presented here is to bring some understanding to the process of wife assault by examining whether cyclical wife assault is associated with abusers' personality; specifically, the review examines Donald Dutton's (1995a, 1995b) theory that cyclical wife abusers suffer from Borderline Personality Organization (BPO). To provide context, the review begins with a description of historical or early models of wife assault, emphasizing their problematic nature in terms of providing a complete picture of wife assault.
The historical overview is then followed by an explication of: (1) the work of Lenore Walker (1979) regarding the cyclical nature of wife assault and (2) the work of John Gunderson (1984) regarding the stages associated with Borderline Personality Organization as manifested in intimate relationships. Dutton's (1995a, 1995b) theory and research in terms of showing similarities between Walker and Gunderson's theories is then examined with an emphasis upon his research into the etiology of wife assault and the characteristics of abusers. The final section of the review examines the general research investigating BPO and wife assault.
Some of the earliest explanations for the ...