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Premarital Abuse: What Is the Effect on the Victim?

NCJ Number
120788
Journal
Journal of College Student Development Volume: 30 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1989) Pages: 339-344
Author(s)
V Witt
Date Published
1989
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The prevalence of abuse in premarital relationships is documented, and this research explored depression and self-esteem as two possible outcomes or correlates of premarital abuse.
Abstract
Respondents were recruited from accounting, educational psychology, and anthropology classes, and 131 of 200 college students completed questionnaires (99 women and 32 men). Respondents were primarily white and between 18 and 22 years of age. It was hypothesized that victims of premarital abuse would differ from nonvictims on measures of depression and self-esteem. Depression was significantly higher for persons categorized as abused than for nonabused persons. Depression levels, however, did not fall into the clinically depressed range. Contrary to expectations, self-esteem was not adversely affected by abuse. A possible influence on respondents' self-reports was their belief about whether they were actually abused. Additional research is recommended to determine how much premarital abuse actually occurs, the "hidden victim" or the person who admits to the occurrence of abuse but does not acknowledge that he or she was abused, the effect of premarital abuse on victims, and reasons why persons remain in abusive premarital relationships. 16 references, 2 tables.