Mental Health Consequences of Intimate Partner Abuse

Battered women are exposed to multiple forms of intimate partner abuse. This article explores the independent contributions of physical violence, sexual coercion, psychological abuse, and stalking on symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among a sample of 413 severely battered, help-seeking women. The authors test the unique effects of psychological abuse and stalking on mental health outcomes, after controlling for physical violence, injuries, and sexual coercion. Mean scores for the sample fall into the moderate to severe range for PTSD and within the moderate category for depression scores. Hierarchical regressions test the unique effects of stalking and psychological abuse, after controlling for physical violence, injuries, and sexual coercion. Psychological abuse and stalking contribute uniquely to the prediction of PTSD and depression symptoms, even after controlling for the effects of physical violence, injuries, and sexual coercion. Results highlight the importance of examining multiple dimensions of intimate partner abuse.

[1]  Edna B. Foa,et al.  The Validation of a Self-Report Measure of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder , 1997 .

[2]  I. Arias.  Women's Responses to Physical and Psychological Abuse , 1999 .

[3]  P. Resick,et al.  Participation in Trauma Research: Is There Evidence of Harm? , 2003, Journal of traumatic stress.

[4]  A. Beck,et al.  An inventory for measuring depression. , 1961, Archives of general psychiatry.

[5]  D. Sugarman,et al.  The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) , 1996 .

[6]  D. Saunders,et al.  The Impact of Different Forms of Psychological Abuse on Battered Women , 1999, Violence and Victims.

[7]  K. Weinfurt,et al.  Women’s Resources and Use of Strategies as Risk and Protective Factors for Reabuse Over Time , 2005, Violence against women.

[8]  D. Follingstad,et al.  The role of emotional abuse in physically abusive relationships , 1990, Journal of Family Violence.

[9]  M. Dutton,et al.  Court-Involved Battered Women’s Responses to Violence: The Role of Psychological, Physical, and Sexual Abuse , 1999, Violence and Victims.

[10]  A. Baum,et al.  Similarity of prior trauma exposure as a determinant of chronic stress responding to an airline disaster. , 2000, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[11]  L. King,et al.  Posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology among partners of men in treatment for relationship abuse. , 2005, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[12]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  After the Crisis: A Needs Assessment of Women Leaving a Domestic Violence Shelter , 1992, Violence and Victims.

[13]  Melissa A. Polusny,et al.  Cumulative trauma: The impact of child sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, and spouse abuse , 1996, Journal of traumatic stress.

[14]  R. Devellis,et al.  A Population-Based Study of the Prevalence and Distinctiveness of Battering, Physical Assault, and Sexual Assault in Intimate Relationships , 2002 .

[15]  Jacquelyn C. Campbell,et al.  Women's Responses to Battering Over Time , 1999 .

[16]  P. Resick,et al.  The Relative Effects of Intimate Partner Physical and Sexual Violence on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptomatology , 2003, Violence and Victims.

[17]  W. Gleason.  Mental Disorders in Battered Women: An Empirical Study , 1993, Violence and Victims.

[18]  Frances L. Coleman,et al.  Stalking Behavior and the Cycle of Domestic Violence , 1997 .

[19]  I. Arias,et al.  Psychological Abuse: Implications for Adjustment and Commitment to Leave Violent Partners , 1999, Violence and Victims.

[20]  Nancy Thoennes,et al.  Stalking in America : findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey , 1998 .

[21]  M. Cascardi,et al.  Co-occurrence and Correlates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depression in Physically Abused Women , 1999, Journal of Family Violence.

[22]  A. Burgess,et al.  Understanding Violence Against Women , 2013 .

[23]  L. L. Marshall.  Psychological abuse of women: Six distinct clusters , 1996, Journal of Family Violence.

[24]  Benjamin E. Saunders,et al.  Victim and crime factors associated with the development of crime-related post-traumatic stress disorder , 1989 .

[25]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  Women Who Use Domestic Violence Shelters: Changes in Depression Over Time , 1995 .

[26]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  The Process Through Which an Advocacy Intervention Resulted in Positive Change for Battered Women Over Time , 2002, American journal of community psychology.

[27]  Kathleen C. Basile,et al.  The Differential Association of Intimate Partner Physical, Sexual, Psychological, and Stalking Violence and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in a Nationally Representative Sample of Women , 2004, Journal of traumatic stress.

[28]  P. Resick,et al.  Intimate Partner Violence and Stalking Behavior: Exploration of Patterns and Correlates in a Sample of Acutely Battered Women , 2000, Violence and Victims.

[29]  H. Resnick,et al.  An Examination of Physical Assault and Childhood Victimization Histories within a National Probability Sample of Women , 1997 .

[30]  L. L. Marshall,et al.  Distress and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Abused Women , 1995, Violence and Victims.

[31]  A. Adlakha,et al.  Acute neurologic deficit in a battered woman. , 1993, Hospital practice.

[32]  Prior interpersonal trauma: the contribution to current PTSD symptoms in female rape victims. , 2000, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[33]  Jacquelyn C. Campbell,et al.  Women's responses to battering: a test of the model. , 1999, Research in nursing & health.

[34]  J. Mcfarlane,et al.  Battered and pregnant: a prevalence study. , 1987, American journal of public health.

[35]  Jacquelyn C. Campbell,et al.  Predictors of Depression in Battered Women , 1997 .

[36]  M. Thompson,et al.  Risk Factors for Physical Injury Among Women Assaulted by Current or Former Spouses , 2001 .

[37]  P. Resick,et al.  Marital Rape , 2003, Trauma, violence & abuse.

[38]  Jacquelyn C. Campbell,et al.  Intimate partner stalking and femicide: urgent implications for women's safety. , 2002, Behavioral sciences & the law.

[39]  G. Clum,et al.  Psychological distress associated with interpersonal violence: A meta-analysis , 1995 .

[40]  P. Resick,et al.  The Impact of Severe Stalking Experienced by Acutely Battered Women: An Examination of Violence, Psychological Symptoms and Strategic Responding , 2000, Violence and Victims.

[41]  R. Spence,et al.  Effect of Early Body Image Dissatisfaction on Subsequent Psychological and Physical Adjustment After Disfiguring Injury , 2000, Psychosomatic medicine.

[42]  I. Frieze.  Investigating the Causes and Consequences of Marital Rape , 1983, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society.

[43]  R. Tolman.  The Validation of the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory. , 1999, Violence and Victims.

[44]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  Battered Women’s Multitude of Needs , 2004 .

[45]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  Beyond Bruises and Broken Bones: The Joint Effects of Stress and Injuries on Battered Women's Health , 2002, American journal of community psychology.

[46]  R. Novaco,et al.  Life Constraints and Psychological Well-Being of Domestic Violence Shelter Graduates , 2005, Journal of Family Violence.

[47]  P. Tjaden,et al.  Extent, nature, and consequences of intimate partner violence , 2000 .

[48]  R. Tolman.  The Development of a Measure of Psychological Maltreatment of Women by Their Male Partners , 1989, Violence and Victims.

[49]  J. Golding.  Intimate Partner Violence as a Risk Factor for Mental Disorders: A Meta-Analysis , 1999, Journal of Family Violence.

[50]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  The long-term effects of battering on women's health. , 1998, Women's health.

[51]  L. L. Marshall.  Effects of Men’s Subtle and Overt Psychological Abuse on Low-Income Women , 1999, Violence and Victims.

[52]  K. O’leary,et al.  Injuries of women and men in a treatment program for domestic violence , 1994, Journal of Family Violence.

[53]  M. Mechanic.  Beyond PTSD: Mental Health Consequences of Violence Against Women , 2004, Journal of interpersonal violence.

[54]  K. O’leary,et al.  Depressive symptomatology, self-esteem, and self-blame in battered women , 1992, Journal of Family Violence.

[55]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  Long-term Trends in Depression among Women Separated from Abusive Partners , 2003 .