Effects Of Physical Abuse On Women

Women who are chronically battered has been categorized as a subclass of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is composed of the following symptoms: re-living the battering as if it were reoccurring even when it is not, efforts to circumvent the psychological effect of battering by avoiding activities, people, and emotions, hyperarousal or hypervigilance, disrupted interpersonal relationships, body image distortion or other somatic concerns, and sexuality

According to Walker (1991) "when coupled with ongoing individual therapy, women attending Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) support groups, which have been proven beneficial, they become empowered by knowing they are not alone." They are sharing their shame as well as self-blame, and research has proven a restored functionality and well-being in victims of IVP.

For the past 30 years, violence had increase against women within abusive relationships, why women stay and endure the pain and why they relinquish violence. Women who are being battered share certain observable characteristics. Speaking with a battered woman should reveal these characteristics and help to identify her as a sufferer of Battered Women Syndrome.

Barbai, Ben-Shakhar and Shalev (2007) conducted a research study to investigate the role that learned helplessness (LH) played in the length and severity of violence towards the female population as well as the severity of symptoms and diagnosis of major depression (MDD) and Post Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) on women who had been exposed to domestic violence for a long period of time. The study took place with 101 battered women who reside at different shelters in Israel.

The children who participated in the treatment program were children who saw IPV against their mother. The authors interviewed 14 children between the ages of 8 and 12 with an average age of 10. The authors stated 15 children were initially chosen, but one was excluded due to sound recording problems. The authors conducted face-to-face interviews before or at the beginning of treatment and interviews ranged from 20 to 60 minutes. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and then analyzed. The qualitative computer NVivo-7 was used to sort and code the data. Interviews were semi-structured with questions covering different topics about experiences of witnessing IPV as well as a child’s present situation at home and school. Open-ended questions were used to detect different themes. A semi-structured interview was used to support the children’s narration of difficult experiences and to make sure that topics of interest were covered. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyze, and report patterns related to children’s experiences of IPV observed in the data. Each interview was read several times by all three authors and annotations and significant topics were observed, grouped and eventually different themes were

On the one hand, the emotionally abused are mainly females that have experienced a dramatic trauma in their life (Etain et al, 2010). According to Burns et al., (2010) women who had been sexually, physically, or emotionally abused are greater emotion instruction compared to women without abuse histories. Many women who have been sexually, physically, or emotionally abused have a greater aggression of emotion compared to women who have never had an abusive history. In the study done by Burns et al., (2010) asked 912 female college students to participant in a survey which revealed that women who has reported a history of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse which later resulted in them having emotional problems, which later cause depression during their lifetime. Bell and Higgins (2015) supported the idea that physically abused women with childhood emotional abuse (CEA) may increase the risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) within youthful and adult relationships. IPV may later on cause the women to select a partner,

The violence women experience in domestic abuse can be life threatening, and even long term. The types of injuries women are exposed to are horrendous. These injuries are followed by emotion, psychological, and sexual abuse (Fergusson, Horwood, & Ridder 2005). Family

To further understand how to help victims of IPV, a systematic review of the existing literature on short-term interventions was conducted (Arroyo, Lundahl, Butters, Vanderloo, & Wood, 2017). The aforementioned needs of safety, counseling, and connections to resources were also mentioned in this study, and it was determined that clients using counseling and advocacy services at their shelters received “50% gains on targeted outcomes compared to those who did not” (Arroyo et al., 2017). Through the use of counseling services, clients experienced decreased post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression symptoms, and stress, and they felt increased self-esteem and life functioning (Arroyo et al., 2017). The specific treatments studied were interpersonal psychotherapy,

The effects of interpersonal violence vary significantly from person to person and cannot be defined by pre-formulated assault syndromes or lists of expected symptoms. Instead, post-victimization consequences are the complex result of a wide number of trauma-specific, historic, victim, and social variables, ensuring that the clinical presentation of any given woman cannot be reviewed merely by the fact of her assault, an assault syndrome, or even by her DSM-5 diagnosis. “This is not to say that some effects are not relatively common among women who are victimized, such as depression, anxiety, or posttraumatic stress.” (Briere & Jordan, 2004, p. 1267) Even these, however, are not inevitable, nor are they specific to a given type of assault.

Females are more likely to experience domestic violence with a boy/girlfriend over a spouse and are least likely to have their parents be their abusers. Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by a male intimate partner. Worldwide, almost 30% of women who have been in a relationship report that they have experienced some form of sexual and or physical violence’s by their partner in their lifetime (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014). As a result of the physical injuries these woman endure, they are at risk for mental health problems such as substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, depression and psychotic symptoms. Research shows that 1 in 4 adults are suffering with diagnosable mental disorder. It also indicates, around 54% to 84% of women who have experienced Domestic Violence suffer from PTSD. Around 63% to 77% of women who experience Domestic Violence have depression, and 38% to 75% experienced anxiety (National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). According to the ACLU, nearly 60% of people in women prison nation-wide, and as many as 94% of some women’s prison populations, have a history of physical or sexual abuse before being incarcerated (American Civil Liberties Union,

In this article, researchers focus on assessing the extent types of abuse among women aged 60 and older, describing their experience with different and repeated types of abuse, and knowing how far this abuse could affect their health. The researchers’ method was a telephone survey and the questions were about type and frequency of abuse, and a report about their health status and conditions. According to the findings, it was found that approximately half of the women had experienced at least one type of abuse whether psychological, physical, or sexual since turning 55 years old. Multiple types of abuse was experienced by other women. Some abused women were able to report more health conditions than those who were not abused. It is important

considered to ensure a safe recovery for the victim of abuse. Therapy can be a very powerful tool in helping victims heal after abuse. The therapy addresses the fear and guilt that the victim feels as well as helping to mend difficult relationships and unhealthy behaviors that develop. Trauma therapy helps a victim move pass her abusive experiences and helps her understand that the psychological effects of the abuse are normal and can, very well, be treated. A battered woman’s symptoms after abuse are referred to as traumatic triggers: "typical trauma triggers include the memory of the way the batterer’s face or eyes look when he

In our society today it is easy to read on the internet or see on TV about a woman that has been physically abused by her husband or her boyfriend that is a professional athlete. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to most women between the ages of fifteen and forty-four in the United States, that is more than car accidents, muggings, and even rapes combined. “Each year an estimated 2 million to 4 million woman in the United States are abused by their male partners. Many of them are severely physically assaulted, and thousands are killed” (www.mayoclinic.com). Statistics such as these are phenomenal .Domestic Violence is not only characterized by physical acts of violence but as well as psychological abuse, it also occurs in all economic, ethnic, and social backgrounds. “Domestic violence is the victimization of a person with whom the abuser has or has had an intimate, romantic or spousal relationship” (Barkley, Lynn, vol. 2, No. 7).

When most people think of abusers, their minds go straight towards the stereotypical picture of a man beating a women but men are not the only partners in a relationship that can be abusive. Women also violent towards their intimate partners, it is not just a male crime. The stereotyping of males being the abusers has partly contributed to the reason why there isn’t a lot of data on female abusers. It wasn’t until recently that psychologist had started do research in this field. Some of the data that has come from this newly emerging field is interesting. A number of surveys and research studies have found competing ideas about women who commit intimate partner violence. Some say that men and women are both commit about equal rates of intimate partner violence and some goes as far as to say that women commit more than men. Women might use more violence according to some of these studies but the motives and result of the violence is different among men and women.

“Battered women and their children experience a myriad of negative consequences as a result of domestic violence” (Borrego, Gutow, Reicher & Barker, 2008, p. 495). Families with children of every racial and ethnic group in the United States are affected by domestic violence (Buckley, Holt & Whelan, 2013). Domestic violence can result in physical injury, psychological trauma, and in severe cases, even death (National Domestic Violence Statistics, 2014). The devastating consequences of domestic violence can cross generations and last a lifetime (National Domestic Violence Statistics, 2014). Similarly, with sexual abuse, individuals may experience immediate shock, fear and or disbelief. Long term symptoms of abuse, coercion and violence includes anxiety, fear, post-traumatic stress disorder and may lead to brain development defects. Within my internship experience, three of my female clients were victims of childhood sexual abuse and are clearly still exhibiting psychosocial effects brought on by their