Willing Victims: The Husbands of Paranoid Women

The authors describe a marital syndrome associated with the diagnosis of paranoid state in nine married women. These women had chosen husbands who were passive, socially isolated, and unable to directly express angry or sexual feelings; they were likely to be active participants in the bizarre behavior of their wives. The authors conclude that this diagnosis in a married woman may relate not only to her psychological state but to specific characteristics of her husband and marriage as well.