Forty-one female immigrants from Turkey, who were victims of violence
in their relationships and diagnosed with ,,reaction to severe stress
and adjustment disorders'' (F43, ICD-10) were compared with a controle
-group of the same origin, sex, age and diagnosis who had not suffered
from such violence. The frequency of emergency treatment and suicide
attempts (in the last month before the first consultation) of the vict
ims of violence were higher than in the controle-group. The victims of
violence less frequently live in large families and were more often e
mployed than the controle-group. The duration of time until the immigr
ation of the partner was significantly higher in the group of victims
than in the controle-group. The results are discussed with regard to s
tudies concerning other ethnic groups and specific aspects of psychody
namics and migration.