Psychopathology And Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is an epidemic and the number one health concern in our country. There are more abusers and their victims compared to past years. As a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship, domestic violence is used by one person to gain or maintain power and control over another one. It can be physical, sexual, emotional, and economic abuse and not look the same in every relationship because every relationship is different. This kind of abuse affects people of all ages and sexes, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, education and employment levels. Abuse towards children and the elderly can be violent or aggressive behavior. Thus, there are many types of abuse that one can suffer; awareness of the signs of domestic violence is especially important before getting into any kind of intimate relationship.

One dominant attribute of domestic violence is the rate of recurrence for substance use or abuse in domestic violence incidents. Researchers have determined that there is an extremely high correlation between the use of these substances and domestic assaults. Research endorsed by the National Institute of Justice has established that

Although we lost Ellen Pence, a woman who changed how domestic violence is addressed, in 2012, there are many lives that are being saved to this day because of her work. Ellen Pence found her calling in 1977 when she began working for the Minneapolis Housing Authority that helped individuals relocate with housing complications (StarTribune, 2010). It was then that she immersed herself through domestic violence cases and set the standard for addressing these cases. Ellen Pence is especially known for establishing the Duluth Program, a program that address batterers in the court systems, and Praxis Training, which are training on addressing domestic violence for law enforcement, advocates, community agencies, and institutions. Pence’s 35 years of service change the way domestic violence cases were handled, educated key players in domestic violence cases, and showed the world what it was like to be a victim of domestic abuse. Without her efforts, many individuals in power addressing these cases would be lost and those to who are victims would not be understood as they are today.

Alcohol is blamed for many sexual assaults and domestic violence cases over the years. Of course it is an easy substance to blame with it is one of the most widely used depressant in the world, but it is important to note that the amount consumed determines the effect on your body. There are however many sources that have conducted studies about how alcohol doesn’t lead to an increase in physical violence in a relationship. These studies show that there is truly only one contributor to domestic violence and it’s not alcohol, it’s the people and the choices they choose to make beforehand.

On 03/18/2017 at approximately 2132 hours, I was dispatched to 8340 Rd. 46 in the County of Montezuma, and State of Colorado for reports of a domestic disturbance.

“Domestic Violence Has Been a Problem Throughout U.S History” and “Prevalence of Domestic Violence in the United States” discusses what contributes to domestic violence. The authors of “Prevalence of Domestic Violence in the United States” provide an informative article about the seriousness of domestic violence. The authors point out that frequent alcohol use contributes to an increase in violence. The have been several studies that indicate a relationship between domestic abuse and the use of alcohol. The author states, “The research indicates that a high percentage of those who engage in marital violence are alcoholics or at least very

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior or coercive control in any relationship that is used by one person to gain or maintain power and control over another. (Violence). Most of society’s think domestic violence is when one of the spouses is abusing the other spouse. Domestic violence can occur between anyone who has lived together at one point of time; couples who have never lived together, but have a child together and family member who has live together in the same household. Domestic violence can happen to anyone, regardless of their class, religion, ethnic background, education, age, gender, disability status, sexual orientation, gender presentation, or immigration status. The domestic violence can place in different categories, such as; emotional abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse and financial abuse. Researcher had discovered tactics that the abusers use to control their victims such as; dominance, humiliation, isolation, threats, intimidation, denial and shifting blame. (Helpguide.org).

We all know by now that domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence, not only

Trait theories explain domestic violence by addressing traits that are “stable ways of perceiving, thinking about, and behaving towards the environment (in this case a spouse or family member)” (Cullen, Agnew, Wilcox, p.40, 2014). These traits, biological and psychological, are outside of the offender’s control and can explain why some individuals commit crime, but others do not (Lecture). The biological and psychological traits do not directly lead to domestic violence, but instead can influence an individual to use domestic violence as a way for the body to handle what’s in the offender’s body (drugs, hormones, or genes) or dealing with the brain’s way of coping with emotions and mental illnesses. Trait theories as a whole explains that

There are several characteristics of abusers. Abusers can be anyone from your parents to your children. Many times abusers have issues that haven’t been resolved. Some of the abuse results from being abused or it comes from social problems. Regardless of the situation abuse is never okay and should be handled accordingly. This essay will cover the characteristics of abusers of domestic violence and what roles substance abuse plays in domestic violence. One characteristic of an abuser is destroying an individual’s property and the things they care about. When an abuser feels like an individual is going to leave the abuse, the abuser will sometimes feel threatened and start trashing their items in their house. It is a way of controlling the situation and trying to make it work out in their favor. Another characteristic is the way an abuser controls everything in one’s life their money, who that individual talks to, and if that person works. Controlling behaviors from abusive persons can get to the point where the individual may feel that they don’t have control over their own life or allowed to do anything due to fear of upsetting the abuser. An abuser may not want the person to work or make more money than them. According to text “Controlling a person’s employment by trying to get him or her fired, making excessive calls to work, or creating scenes are examples of efforts to control the victim’s financial situation and force dependence”

In this paper I will be addressing the correlation that is between substance abuse and domestic violence. There are many factors that play a role in why domestic violence occurs in a home; this paper will be focusing on the factor of drug abuse in particularly. Early on in the course we learned that domestic violence does not only pertain to intimate partner violence but also to child abuse, elder abuse, and any other abuse of a person that occurs with inside the home. I will be providing research from scholarly journals that support the findings that substance abuse is related to domestic violence on all levels (intimate partner violence, child abuse, and elderly abuse).

In today’s society, it is very common to find domestic abuse in households, but not much is being done to stop it. After researching the various causes of domestic violence, one can conclude that there are many reasons that may have triggered the abuser’s sudden need to have the upper hand. Unemployment, drug or alcohol abuse, extreme jealously, or feeling inferior to their partner’s education level or occupational status are just a few factors which may lead to one’s violent outrage. Also, in most cases an intergenerational cycle of domestic violence can be the main cause of the abuser’s

Alcohol is said to be a contributing factor in domestic violence or intimate partner violence. Some individuals turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with the strains associated with their family structure and socioeconomic situations at hand, however a number of researchers indicates that there may be a correlation between the risk of domestic violence and certain personality characteristics. For example, alcohol abuse may increase the risk of violence in men who think abuse of women is appropriate.

Domestic violence is a prevalent issue that has enormous consequences for both the victimized individuals and their families. There are many injuries, deaths, rapes, and separation of families, and other fatalities which can all be interconnected to domestic violence. Which raises the question who are the perpetrators? why are they violent? Were they also abused? The answers to these questions may shed some insight on what goes on inside the mind of an abusive and violent individual.

In introduction this paper is going discuss, based on psychological theories, what impact and effects witnessing domestic violence can have on children. The purpose of this paper is to further an understanding on explaining its consequences based on a few psychological theories. It will begin with defining what domestic violence in order to get a clear indication on what it actually involves and further presenting a sample papers studying the question, on its impact and effect, it is suggested to have on children, in order to produce a paper with both high validity and reliability. Then moving onto presenting various psychological theories which on could considered relevant to the topic in question. By further engaging in a discussion in attempt to highlight and acknowledge several aspects regarding its consequences.