Mental health professionals' perceptions of women's experiences of family violence

This study explored perceptions of 92 mental health professionals regarding violent families. They were asked to answer the questions on the Family Environment Scale as they thought women who lived in homes where they and their children were physically and/or psychologically abused would respond. Their scores were compared to those of 28 mothers in battered women's shelters. They differed significantly in their perceptions of violent family dynamics with regard to levels of cohesion, expressiveness, independence, intellectual-cultural orientation, active-recreational emphasis, and moral-religious emphasis. They believed the women to have lower levels on these constructs than the women actually reported. Implications suggest that mental health professionals could be more aware of the dynamics of violent families in order to efficiently uncover the violence during therapy sessions and provide appropriate services.