de poverty, pregnancy, and job dissatisfaction for the abuser. Factors such as unemployment or status inconsistency between partners may cause the male to feel his dominance is threatened; evidence includes the prevalence of reported wife abuse in poor families with unemployment of batterers (Straus et al, 1980).
Clinical features associated with wifebeating have been noted and explained. A large percentage (76%) of female psychiatric inpatients (aged 17-80) were found to have a history of abuse from the opposite sex (Hoffman, 1988). Depression is commonly found in battered women; Guttentag and Salasin (1976) believe this results from powerlessness and stress. Seligman's theory of learned helplessness is also used to explain the psychological responses observed with the battered woman; more depression and apathy than normal groups of women are demonstrated.
Additionally, battered women are found to demonstrate symptoms of anxiety, hostility, problem solving difficulties, loss of identity and self-esteem, health problems, and psychosomatic symptoms (Claerh
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