Domestic Violence (cont.)

Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

View Full Profile

Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

View Full Profile

Domestic Violence At A Glance

• Domestic violence is also called intimate partner violence, domestic abuse, and intimate partner abuse and is any form of maltreatment that takes place in a heterosexual or homosexual romantic relationship between adults or adolescents.
• Intimate partner violence is a major public-health problem, due to its affecting more than 2 million women and 800,000 men and resulting in homelessness of victims, billions of dollars in health-care costs, and lost work productivity.
• Intimate partner abuse has been and in some ways continues to be endorsed in all societies through legal sanctioning of the subjugation of women and lack of legal protections for GLBT victims.
• While domestic abuse strikes couples of all races, religions, social economic status, and sexual orientations, risk factors for men or women becoming victims or abusers include poverty, lack of a high school education, witnessing family violence as a child, and attitudes of male domination and substance abuse, especially alcohol abuse.
• Warning signs for individuals to consider if they suspect they are the victim of intimate partner violence include feeling demeaned, assaulted, or excessively controlled by their partner.
• Warning signs friends, family members, and coworkers can look for if they wonder whether the person they care about is the victim of domestic abuse include frequent absences from school or work, numerous injuries the victim tries to explain, low self-esteem, a change in their personality, fear of conflicts, passive-aggressive behavior, blaming him- or herself, isolation from others, or stress-related physical symptoms.
• Health professionals unfortunately only screen for intimate partner abuse in about 20% of the patients seen. Domestic violence is most effectively assessed when the professional asks questions that call for more than a "yes" or "no" answer and do not directly inquire about domestic abuse, at least earlier during any assessment interview.
• Domestic abuse is treated by establishing and maintaining the safety of the victim, providing appropriate legal consequences to the batterer, addressing the emotional impact on the victim and the problems of the abuser, particularly if one of the problems includes alcohol or other substance abuse.
• The prognosis of domestic violence can be quite negative if it goes on untreated, in that the emotional and physical consequences of continued abuse can be severe and even end in homicide. Treatment can improve prognosis.
• Prevention of domestic violence involves providing economic opportunity, mentors, role models, organized community programs for youth and families, a school environment that promotes prevention of abusiveness in any relationship, and adult family members who are nurturing and who provide consistent, structured support.

REFERENCES:

Abuse, Rape, Domestic Violence Aid and Resource Collection: AARDVARC. GLBT Domestic Violence: Similarities and Differences. March 2007. Abuse, Rape, Domestic Violence Aid and Resource Collection: AARDVARC. Warning signs of domestic violence. July 2007.

Attorney General of the United States. Cyberstalking: A new challenge for law enforcement and industry. 1999 Report on Cyberstalking 1999 August.

Bailey, J.E., Kellermann, A.L., Somes, G.W., Banton, J.G., Rivara, F.P., & Rushforth, N.P. Risk factors for violent death of women in the home. Archives of Internal Medicine, Volume 157(7), April 1997.

Carswell, S. Historical development of the pro-arrest policy, in: Family Violence and the Pro-arrest Policy: A Literature Review. New Zealand Ministry of Justice 2006 December.

Carter, J. Domestic violence, child abuse and youth violence: strategies for prevention and early intervention. March 2005.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Intimate partner violence: an overview. August 2006.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Physical dating violence among high school students-United States, 2003. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 55(10), 532-535, May 2006.

Coker, A.L., Smith, P.H., McKeown, R.E., and King, M.J. Frequency and correlates of intimate partner violence by type: physical, sexual and psychological battering. American Journal of Public Health. 2000 April; 90 (4): 553-559.

De Benedictis, T., Jaffe, J., and Segal, J. Domestic violence and abuse: types, signs, symptoms, causes and effects. The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, 2006.

Ellison, C.G., Bartkowski, J.P., and Anderson, K.L. Are there religious variations in domestic violence? Journal of Family Issues. Volume 20(1), 87-113. 1999.

Fernandez, F.M., and Krueger, P.M. Domestic violence: effect on pregnancy outcome. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, Volume 99 (5), 254. 1999.

Friedmann, M.D. Barriers to screening for domestic violence. Journal of General Internal Medicine, Volume 17(2): 112-116, February 2002.

Goldsmith, T.D. Self quiz: am I in an abusive relationship? PsychCentral, October 19, 2006.

Gordon, J.A., and Moriarty, L.J. The effects of domestic violence batterer treatment on domestic violence recidivism. Criminal Justice and Behavior, Volume 30(1), 118-134 2003.

Groban, M.S. The federal domestic violence laws and the enforcement of these laws. Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse 2005.

Heru, A.M. New findings in intimate partner violence. Psychiatric Times 2008 August, 25(9).

House of Ruth. Ways to stop domestic violence. http://www.houseofruth.org, 2007.

Johnson, J. Relationship abuse, intimate partner violence and domestic violence threaten individuals and society. Planned Parenthood Federation of America. 2005.

Koenen, K.C., Moffitt, T.E., Caspi, A., Taylor, A., & Purcell, S. Domestic violence is associated with environmental suppression of IQ in young children. Development and Psychopathology, Volume 15: 297-311, 2003.

Kyriacou, D.N., Anglin, D., Taliaferro, E., Stone, S., Tubb, T., Linden, J.A., et al. Risk factors for injury to women from domestic violence. New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 341: 1892-1898. December 16, 1999.

Lehmann, C. Domestic violence overlooked in same-sex couples. Psychiatric News; American Psychiatric Association, Volume 37 (12): p. 22. June 21, 2002.

Mayell, H. Thousands of women killed for family "honor." National Geographic. February 12, 2002.

Moran, M. Partner abuse more common in adults with disorders as teens. Psychiatric News, Volume 41 (11), page 25; June 2, 2006.

Murphy, C.M., O'Farrell, T.J., and Hutton, V.V. Domestic violence before and after alcoholism treatment: a two-year longitudinal study. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Volume 60, 1999.

Murty, S.A., Peek-Asa, C., Zwerdling, C., Stromquist, A.M., Burmeister, L.F., and Merchant, J.A. Physical and emotional partner abuse reported by men and women in a rural community. American Public Health Association 2003.

National Women's History Project. nwhp@aol.com Timeline of legal history of women in the United States. A Timeline of the Women's Rights Movement 1848-1998. 2002.

O'Leary, K.D. Psychological abuse: a variable deserving critical attention in domestic violence. Violence Victimization, Volume 14 (1): 3-23. 1999.

Rodriguez, M.A., McLoughlin, E., Nah, G., and Campbell, J.C. Mandatory reporting of domestic violence injuries to the police: What do emergency department patients think? Journal of the American Medical Association. 286: 580-583. 2001.

Rudolph, M.N., and Hughes, D.H. Emergency psychiatry: emergency assessments of domestic violence, sexual dangerousness, and elder and child abuse. Psychiatric Services 52: 281-306, March 2001. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Crime definitions. 2006.

Silverman, J.G., Mesh, C.M., Cuthbert, C.V., Slote, K., and Bancroft, L. Child custody determinations in cases involving intimate partner violence: a human rights analysis. American Journal of Public Health 2004 June: 94(6): 951-957.

Sullivan, C.M., and Bybee, D.I. Reducing violence using community-based advocacy for women with abusive partners. Journal of Consultation in Clinical Psychology. Feb; 67(1): 43-53, 1999.

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Violence Against Women Office. Stalking violence. Report to Congress, May 2001.

Vachss, A. Domestic violence U.S. resources. The Zero. 1996-2007.

Washington State University. Domestic violence in the workplace guide. Human Resource Services. 2007.

Last Editorial Review: 5/26/2010

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/domestic_violence/article.htm