Question

Olivia is now 23 years old and four months pregnant. One year ago she married a young man named Jon. Their relationship has been turbulent from the start, but ever since the pregnancy and Olivia beginning to show, Jon has been increasingly controlling of the household finances as well as where Olivia goes, who she is with, and who she talks to. Jon appears to be isolating Olivia from her friends and family. He is often distant and stern with her, while Olivia tries to be the “perfect wife.” Jon is hypervigilant when he is at home. Olivia is not happy in the marriage, but when her best friend, Helena, said to her over the phone that she thought Jon was abusive, Olivia defended him and said that she would never leave since she had no place to go and no access to money. Olivia also added that Jon does not hit her or call her names, so he is not really abusing her and she guesses all will be OK.

Olivia and Jon are a Mormon couple, and divorce is highly frowned upon by their faith and their families..

Do you feel that Jon is an abusive husband? Defend your answer based on the literature.

Is Olivia showing signs of battered woman syndrome? Explain.

How might Olivia's psychosocial or cognitive development play a role in this scenario?

Compare and contrast the many ways this scenario would be different if Olivia were abusing Jon instead of him abusing her. Differentiate how Jon would be viewed by society as an abused husband versus how Olivia would be viewed by society as an abused wife.

Answer 1

Jon is an abusive husband,abuse does not have to be in physical form but can be in emotional ,verbal and other forms. The fact that jon is controlling olivias life ,by not allowing her to talk to her friends or family show signs of controlling behaviour and demeaning her. this affects her self esteem and worth.Olivia tries to be her best to be accepted by her husband.In any relationship both should accept each other as they are to maintain harmony.

Battered woman syndrome is a physical and psychological condition of a person who has suffered emotional ,physical or sexual abuse from another person.Long term abuse can end in a mental disorder. Olivia is showing signs of battered woman syndrome as she is in denial to her friend that she is abused and assuming all will be ok.She is not retaliating to the situation in anyway.Olivia is silently accpeting whatever way she is being abused.She is not happy in the marriage and in state of denial of her abuse. She does not have friends or family for support ,this could affect her emotional state of well being leading to depression,anger, self hatred.

Our society does not restrict abuse to women alone,the same applies to a man in a relationship.women are said to be having higher tolerance level than the man ,men resort to other habits such as alchohol dependancy to relieve their stress.Cultural factors do play a role in such relationships. If their culture considered divorce as frowned upon,,they are binding themselves more in misery rather than religion.There is no gender difference regarding abuse, the society would consider it as a immoral act.What the society feels should not matter to them. It is betwwen two individuals and they must act upon what is safe and healthy for their wellbeing.