Brandi Whitfield Psychology

“The individual’s relationships are generally unstable. Marked changes in feelings about people, high levels of anger, and impulsivity compromise social and work activities. There are high rates of depression and substance abuse” (Lubit, 2016). Wuornos’s lack of a solid attachment figure, developed into an overly controlling attachment towards Tyra Moore an on and off again girlfriend she had when she committed the murders. Her explosive temper led to multiple arrests throughout her life, along with preventing the ability to form a stable relationship. Aileen’s continuous self-harm through substance abuse and prostitution would eventually escalate into an attempt at suicide by taking a gun and shooting herself in the stomach. Once reaching a hospital to treat the gun wound, when questioned about her suicide attempt Aileen would state ‘I wasn’t the first time she attempted suicide’ (Tower

In a natural survey conducted in England, women reported higher rates of intimate partner violence than men, whether the violence was physical or emotional (Jonas et al., 2014). Intimate partner violence among college students appears to be similar to research on adult married and cohabiting couples. A five-year longitudinal study of more than 2,000 college students in the United States showed that twenty-six percent of college students experienced physical intimate partner violence in their freshman year (Nabors & Jasinski, 2009). As a college student and friend of many, I believe that it is important for me become more knowledgeable about intimate partner violence and know about the characteristics of an abuser. There are four types or characteristics

Domestic violence should have harsher punishments because domestic violence is a growing problem that is passed down from past generations to future generations. Victim boys who have witnessed domestic violence are more than likely to become abusers themselves, continuing the cycle of violence to the next generation. Without help, girls who witness domestic violence are more vulnerable to abuse as teens and adults. The age group of 18 to 34 years of age in women are at a higher risk of being abused. More than 4 million women experience physical assault and rape by their partners. Domestic violence also affects the family in the different ways that a family works together, such as the destruction of trust between the victor and the victim. If

that within “an annual basis, an estimated 1.3 million American women are victims of male perpetrated intimate partner violence. [And] at some point in their abusive relationship, some of these women resort to the use of deadly force.” (Terrance, Plumm, & Kehn, 2013). Before deadly force is used, the abuse that these women, and further, people suffer through is hostile and violent, with an uncertainty of when their partner is going to get violent again. However, not all women report the abuse that they have been victimised; men are less as likely to report it as society does not fully recognise that men can be abused as well; therefore, there is not a lot of research pertaining Battered Person Syndrome to the male gender. Overall, the cycle within the abusive situation can be seen as psychological torture with periods of the “tension-building phase where the perception of danger from the batterer kept escalating at different rates for different people. The battered woman trie[s] to please the man during this period and her behaviour could slow down or speed up movement into the second phase, or the acute battering incident. The second is the shortest part of the cycle but has the highest risk for physical or

This research paper focuses on the prevalence of domestic violence in the United States. Domestic violence impacts the lives of people from various age cohorts, sexual orientation, educational levels, ethnicities, and socioencomic backgrounds. Studies have revealed that domestic violence impacts the live of one and every four women, in comparison to one in every seven women. Women and children are primary victims of domestic violence when compared with men. Victims of domestic violence often experience devastating effects, such as suffering from extreme cases depression, developing Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), and dissociation. There are physical scares, such as black eyes and bruises, which remind them daily of their victimization.

Domestic violence is a growing topic and should be acknowledged between all relationships since it not just limited to heterosexual relationships. McClennan found that of the 19 million same-gender couples about 5.7 million reports either being a victim or perpetrator of domestic violence (2005). Research being so scarce on this topic leaves a small chunk to figure out how children are affected by domestic violence in these certain situations. Social learning theory definitely explains why children grow up to be perpetrators or victims of domestic violence in a heterosexual relationship, but other relationships are left open for interpretation and

The immense sense of guilt that was imposed on me, translated back into my experiences during practicum in college. I was able to empathize with individuals I worked with and understand the limitations of parents seeking help, due to the potential fear of victim blaming. During my final year of practicum, I worked at The Roy McMurtry Youth Centre with young males who were incarcerated. Through attending multi-disciplinary team meetings, the disturbing issue of youth being exposed to childhood abuse seemed to be an ongoing pattern. The reoccurring theme entailed that childhood abuse and exposure to violence impacted the child’s emotional and psychological well-being, resulting in deviant lifestyles. Throughout my academic career, I’ve adopted an anti-oppressive view working alongside vulnerable communities that are lacking the resources and equality based on status within society. After reviewing literature around domestic violence and using my own personal encounters, it’s apparent that there is more emphasis on the victim. There is a gap between perpetrators and intervention strategies to reduce the risks of violence continuing. Specifically, influencing my desires to further research into the psychological aspects as to why women stay in abusive

Statistically, women experience the negative impacts of intimate partner violence at a greater rate than men, with as many as 23% of women worldwide experiencing measured negative impact in comparison to 6.9% of men (García-Moreno et al., 2013). According to the World Health Organization, women who have experienced intimate partner violence are almost twice as likely to experience symptoms of depression as women who have not had this negative experience (García-Moreno et al., 2013). Intimate partner violence also contributes to PTSD, with 20% of women in the United States experiencing one or more symptoms of PTSD as a result of experiences with intimate partner violence (Breiding, 2011). Additionally, in the United States, 42% of women who experienced intimate partner violence sustained a physical injury (Breiding, 2011). The impacts listed, both mental and physical, are not relegated only to the victims, but also to society, as the health system and the criminal justice system are taxed with trying to provide appropriate and necessary services to victims, survivors, perpetrators, and children

Most of the time, the criminal is the father, grandfather, or stepfather, and the victim is usually a female in the same family, although males are molested as well. Most of the victims do not report the crimes because they feel afraid, ashamed, and are too young to seek help. Physical violence in children cause physical and psychological effects in all children that experience abuse by a family member in most cases (Margolin, 1998). Furthermore, cases that involve children that are abused by family members cannot be calculated because most cases are not reported which leads to miscalculation in cases that are not reported.​​​​Violence in the home results in serious threats to children’s development worldwide. An estimated, thirty-three percent of women, are assaulted by their husbands or male family members in front of their children. In most countries, children’s exposure to women abuse is not evaluated however, young people who surveyed, witnessed incidents of physical domestic abuse against their mothers or stepmothers (Pepler, 1989). In addition, the United States was evaluated that as many as ten million children were exposed to violence between their parents each year. Then, children under the ae of twelve are

Young boys in the family who grow up watching their father mistreat their mother are more likely to abuse their spouse as they grow older. Past family history of domestic violence gives young boys the idea that women are weak and are not to be respected during their relationship. Young girls who eyewitness their family going through domestic violence are likely to be victimized by their spouse (Goldsmith 1).

An estimated 8.2 million children are exposed to violence within their home every year (Alpert). The “American Academy of Family Physicians” stated that “women and men exposed to “Physical Aggression” as a child are 3.5 and 3.8 times more likely to be “perpetrators or victims in adulthood.” Many studies have shown that exposure to violence even when it takes place in another room has shown to be extremely damaging to children as them being abused directly. Thus, parents who display conflict and hostile negative interaction with each other may model unregulated behavior for their children (Violence). The “Center for The Journey of Family Violence” indicated that women who witnessed serious parental conflict during their childhood were much more likely to be victimized by their current partner. Statistics show that 70% of female victims who have grown up in households where they saw violence occur regularly or have experienced being battered themselves are much more likely to become victims of “Intimate Partner Abuse” (therapy).

Findings have been found that show a strong correlation between exposure to violence in childhood and increased odds of perpetrating inter-parental violence later on in life (VanderEnde, Mercy, Shawa, Kalanda, Hamela, Maksud, Ross, Gupta, Wadonda-Kabondo and Hillis, 2016). Having witnessed violence in the home as children, it is assumed that people learn from others and then imitate those actions later on in life. A strong correlation has also been found between men who witnessed violence as a child and showed less severity in crimes towards a non-intimate partner but very high severity of violence towards an intimate partner (Murrell, Christoff and Henning, 2007). These findings suggest that observing inter-parental violence as an adolescent can lead to higher severity in violent acts towards an intimate partner later on in life having learnt these violent acts as a child and thinking that this violence is how to communicate and resolve conflict with their partner (Murrell et al., 2007; Bandura 1973). Similar results have occurred in Wei and Brackley’s (2010) study which found a significant risk factor of people who witnessed violence as a child to later perpetrating this violence. Limitations did occur as there was a small sample size in Wei and Brackley’s (2010) study which could see the findings as unreliable however other research involving a larger sample size saw similar and significant results (Murrell et al., 2007; and VanderEnde et al., 2016). Therefore extensive research has suggested that people who witness domestic violence as a child have a higher chance of perpetrating violence in adulthood towards an intimate partner based off learning the violent act in childhood and perceiving it as a way to resolve conflict with their

There are many more abusive relationships in our community than we think there are. According to the National Institute of Justice, 1.5 million women are victims of domestic violence. Every one in 10 teen girls suffers from dating violence (Chicago Tribune), and one in five teens who have been in serious relationships say they were hit or pushed. Many women are in abusive relationships and I’m writing this paper to bring to your knowledge the many components of an abusive relationship.

Historically, domestic violence has been a devastating social problem affecting individuals from every segment of the American society irrespective of race, class, age, religion, sexual orientation, nationality and economic status. Although, men to a smaller extent experience domestic violence, it is usually understood as a women 's issue; which inadvertently affects children. Approximately, 85 to 95% of victims are females (Laney, 2010). Every 9 seconds in the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten (National Domestic Violence Statistics, 2014). 72% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner and 94% of the victims of these murder suicides are females. Moreover, 9.4% of women in the United States have been raped by an intimate partner in their lifetime (National Domestic Violence Statistics, 2014). Intimate partner violence accounts for 15 % of all violent crimes (National Domestic Violence Statistics, 2014). Domestic violence (DV) or intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors that occur in a relationship, used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over the other partner. These behaviors can be physical, emotional, economic or psychological where control is exercised through physical, emotional, sexual and economic abuse, threats and isolation among others.

Observational learning and exposure to domestic violence in childhood is a prevalent issue well documented in recent literature. It is a topic of interest due to the relationship between exposure to domestic violence childhood and adulthood perpetration of domestic violence. One of the most common types of domestic violence is known as intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV can be defined as intentional physical, emotional, psychological, or sexual abuse against an intimate partner (VanderEnde, Mercy, Shawa, Kalanda, Hamela, Maksud, Ross, Gupta, Wadonda-Kabondo, & Hillis, 2016; Kerley, Xu, Sirisunyaluck, & Alley, 2009). This relationship is of importance within the community due to the rising number of domestic violence acts. The impact that domestic violence exposure has on children has been of interest, as it may hold