Dorothy Otnow Lewis - Research Work

Research Work

Dr. Lewis is a graduate of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Radcliffe College and Yale University School of Medicine. During her research Dr. Lewis found that most if not all of the inmates she worked with have been abused as children. She has found that in most cases both the accused and the family members have been reluctant to discuss the abuse that happened in the past, in many cases she found that the inmates blocked out the memories. In some cases she was able to find testimony to this abuse as well as corroborating evidence. The corroborating evidence often included scars from the abuse as well as hospital and criminal records. In many cases the hospital records of the abuse were attributed to other causes often accidents; however the explanations often didn't match the injuries. She found that the parents of these children often had the same problems as the children and that they taught their behavior to the children. They often relied on excessive force to discipline their children and used it inconsistently. In many cases the children who received the strictest discipline became the most violent. In some cases these children found that if they told other adults about the abuse, which in some cases was very extreme, they found that adults didn't believe them because the stories were too bizarre.