Wife Abuse and its Relation with Psychosomatic Disorders Symptoms among a Sample of Married Women in Hebron Governorate

Abstract

The study aims to recognize the level of wife abuse and its relation with psychosomatic disorders symptoms among a sample of married women in Hebron Governorate, and the differences in their averages due to: family economic level, difference in age between spouses, number of children, nature of work, using the descriptive correlational approach. The study applies the tools: wife abuse, psychosomatic disorders symptoms, on an available sample including 300 married women in Hebron Governorate, due to the difficulty of enumerating the study population, and the obstacles in communicating with members of the study community due to the circumstances imposed by the covid-19 pandemic. The results reveal that the average of wife abuse reaches 2.27, with a percentage 45.4%, and at a low level, where "psychological abuse" came first with a moderate level, and "physical abuse" came last. The results shows that the average of psychosomatic disorders symptoms is 2.16, with a percentage 43.2%, and at a low level. The results indicate the existence of statistically significant differences in the mean of the total score and the sub-dimensions of the scale of wife abuse due to the family economic level, in favor of the lower level, and a significant differences in the physical dimension in favor of the higher age difference compared to the lowest, and the existence of differences in the psychological dimension in favor of wife who do not work. The results show that there are statistically significant differences in the mean of psychosomatic disorders symptoms in favor of the higher and lower economic level compared to the moderate one, while there are no differences attributable to variables: difference in age between spouses, number of children, and the nature of work. The results also show a statistically significant correlation between wife abuse and psychosomatic disorders symptoms, with a value of the Pearson correlation coefficient .682, and the existence of a statistically significant effect of the dimensions of wife abuse in predicting psychosomatic disorders, as these dimensions together predicted 47.2% of the variance in the level of psychosomatic disorders symptoms.