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Battered Women's Syndrome - A Look At Contemporary Theories

        In 1991, Governor William Weld modified parole regulations and
permitted women to seek commutation if they could present evidence
indicating they suffered from battered women's syndrome. A short while
later, the Governor, citing spousal abuse as his impetus, released
seven women convicted of killing their husbands, and the Great and
General Court of Massachusetts enacted Mass. Gen. L. ch. 233 23E
(1993), which permits the introduction of evidence of abuse in
criminal trials. These decisive acts brought the issue of domestic
abuse to the public's attention and left many Massachusetts residents,
lawyers and judges struggling to define battered women's syndrome. In
order to help these individuals define battered women's syndrome, the
origins and development of the three primary theories of the syndrome
and recommended treatments are outlined below.

I. The Classical Theory of Battered Women's Syndrome and its Origins

        The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM-IV), known in the mental health field as the clinician's bible,
does not recognize battered women's syndrome as a distinct mental
disorder. In fact, Dr. Lenore Walker, the architect of the classical
battered women's syndrome theory, notes the syndrome is not an
illness, but a theory that draws upon the principles of learned
helplessness to explain why some women are unable to leave their
abusers. Therefore, the classical battered women's syndrome theory is
best regarded as an offshoot of the theory of learned helplessness and
not a mental illness that afflicts abused women. The theory of learned
helplessness sought to account for the passive behavior subjects
exhibited when placed in an uncontrollable environment. In the late
60's and early 70's, Martin Seligman, a famous researcher in the field
of psychology, conducted a series of experiments in which dogs were
placed in one of two types of cages. In the former cage,...