[Abuse in marriages and living-together relationships].

The authors have studied the type and frequency of cases of wife-battering attending an emergency outpatient clinic in Trondheim, Norway. Most patients were between 20 and 30 years old. They had multiple traumas, with a predominance of traumas near the head and neck region. Almost half (44%) of the abusers were unemployed, and most of them were 30-40 years old. Alcohol was reported as an important precipitating factor by 75% of the victims. Comparison with a corresponding study carried out ten years ago shows that the frequency of wife-battering seems to be almost unchanged.