ABSTRACT
Experts say that about one quarter of women in relationships will be physically abused during the course of a relationship (Eigenberg, 2001). Domestic violence is a common cause of marital failure (Levinger, 1966) and is raised frequently in divorce actions (Pagelow, 1992). Many women with chronic pain are battered women (Kaser-Boyd, 2004; Walker, 1994). Some women charged with child neglect or child abuse are battered women (Cammaert, 1988; Kaser-Boyd, 2004; Walker, 1994). Sometimes women who commit crimes are battered women who are acting at the direction of their violent partner, perhaps under duress. Clinicians who have not specialized in evaluating battered women may discover a need for a method to evaluate Battered Woman Syndrome in the course of answering other questions for the courts. This chapter illustrates the use of psychological tests, with special emphasis on the Rorschach, to evaluate battered women, determine whether there is Battered Woman Syndrome and its severity, and how to rule out malingering. This chapter is written especially for the practitioner who employs a battery of psychological tests, is skilled in the use of each test, and might use the Rorschach to add information that is not available from other sources. This chapter is written with two goals in mind: to explain and describe the experience of the battered woman and the effects of that experience and to illustrate how to capture and measure that experience using the Rorschach. Elsewhere, I have discussed the history and social context of battering, provided an overview of the assessment process, discussed severity, described the typical batterer, and suggested questions for providing testimony about Battered Woman Syndrome (Kaser-Boyd, 2004).
