Ethical decisions in treating battered women.

Abstract

Examines the ethical aspects of a recent treatment recommendation evolved out of the literature that suggests that battered women should be encouraged by their therapists to leave their abusive relationships. The American Psychological Association's (1981) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and 5 ethical principles--autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and fidelity--defined by T. Beauchamp and J. Childress (1979) are cited as helpful sources in determining whether the treatment recommendation is ethically justifiable. The psychological dynamics of battered women are described, and it is noted that these women may be particularly vulnerable to viewing an authority's (i.e., the therapist's) opinion as definitive. On one side of the issue is respect for the individual's autonomy and an assumption that the battered woman syndrome does not render a victim incompetent. On the other side of the dilemma, under the principle of beneficence, is a determination that, because these women have limited competence due to the battered woman syndrome, a weak paternalistic intervention must be made. It is concluded that the latter argument is weightier and that such treatment recommendations are ethically just. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)