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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 20, 1987)
Page 8 Sower o)P)l0W 80ikM01) to 001 JU n This questionnaire is designed to help you decide if you are living in an abusive situation. There are different forms of abuse, and not every woman experiences all of them. Below are various questions about your relationship with a man . As you can see, each possible answer has points assigned to it. By answering each question and then totaling these points as directed, you can compare your score with our Abuse Index. You will know it you are living in a potentially violent situation, and if you are abused, you will have some estimate of how really dangerous that abuse is. DIRECTIONS: Circle the response to each ques tion that best describes your relationship. 1. Does he continually monitor your time and make you account for every f inute (when you run errands, visit friends, commute to work, etc.)? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 10 2. Does he ever accuse you of having affairs with other men or act suspicious that you are? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 1 0 3. Is he ever rude to your friends? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 10 4. Does he ever discourage you from starting friendships with other women? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 1 0 5. Do you ever feel isolated and alone, as if there was nobody close to you to confide in? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 1 0 6. Is he overly critical of daily things, such as your cooking, your clothes, or your appearance? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 10 7. does he demand a strict account of how you spend money? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 10 8. Do his moods change radically, from very calm to very angry, or vice versa? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 1 0 9. Is he disturbed by you working or by the thought of you working? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 1 0 10. Does he become angry more easily if he drinks? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 10 11. Does he pressure you for sex much more often than you'd like? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 10 1 2. Does he become angry if you don't want to go along with his request for sex? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 10 13. Do you quarrel much over financial matters? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 1 0 14. Do you quarrel much about having children or raising them? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 3 2 10 15. Does he ever strike you with his hands or feet (slap, punch, kick, etc.)? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 16. Does he ever strike you with an object? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 17. Does he ever threaten you with an object or weapon? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 18. Has he ever threatened to kill either himself or you? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 1 9. Does he ever give you visible injuries (such as welts, bruises, cuts, lumps on head)? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 20. Have you ever had to treat any injuries from his violence with first aid? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 21. Have you ever had to seek professional aid for any injury at a medical clinic, doctor's office, or hospital emergency room? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 22. Does he ever hurt you sexually or make you have intercourse against your will? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 23. Is he ever violent toward children? Frequently 6 Sometimes 5 Rarely 4 Never 0 24. Is he ever violent toward other people outside your home and family? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 25. Does he ever throw objects or break things when he is angry? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 26. Has he ever been in trouble with the police? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 27. Have you ever called the police or tried to call them because you felt you or other members of your family were in danger? Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never 6 5 4 0 To score your responses simply add up the points directly below each question's circled answer. This sum is your Abuse Index Score. To get some idea of how abusive your relationship is, compare your Index Score with the following chart: 120-94 Dangerously abusive 93-37 Seriously abusive 36-15 Moderately abusive 14-0 Nonabusive A woman with a score of 0-14 lives in a nonabu sive relationship. The sorts of strains she expe riences are not unusual in modern homes, and she and the man deal with them nonviolently. A woman with a score in 15-36 range, however, defi nitely does live in a home where she has expe rienced some violence at least once in a while. It may be that this is a relationship where the vio lence is just beginning, or perhaps for whatever reason it has stopped at this level of severity. Women with scores in the 37-93 range are in a seriously abusive situation that can, underoutside pressures, or with the sudden strain of a family emergency, move into the dangerously severe range. Women with scores in the top range of 94-120 need to consider even more seriously the option of leaving the relationship at least temporarily (and possibly soon). The violence will not "take care of itself" or miraculously disappear. Over time the chances are very good that the woman's life will literally be in jeopardy more than once. Courtesy of the Center for Social Research and the RapeSpouse Abuse Crisis Center Editor Mark Davis Production Manager Katherine Policky Assistant Layout Editor Eric Gregory Photographic Reproduction Andrea Hoy mmmm-itmstxm