Understanding Relationship Abuse: Types, Effects & Prevention

1. Chapter 14 Violence and Abuse in Relationships

2. Chapter Outline • Types and Incidence of Abuse • Explanations for Violence/Abuse in Relationships • Abuse in Dating Relationships • Abuse in Marriage Relationships • Effects of Abuse

3. Chapter Outline • The Cycle of Abuse • General Child Abuse • Child Sexual Abuse • Parent, Sibling, and Elder Abuse

4. The Cycle of Abuse

5. True or False? • As of 2006, a Pentagon survey of the Army, Navy and Air Force military academies reported virtual elimination of sexual harassment of women.

6. Answer: False • Half of the women in the Army, Navy and Air Force academies in a 2004 Pentagon survey reported being sexually harassed.

7. True or False? • Women are as likely to stalk a former lover as a man.

8. Answer: False • In about 80% of the cases, the stalker is a heterosexual male who follows his previous lover. Women who stalk are more likely to target a married male.

9. True or False? • Women in abusive relationships report more psychological symptoms (depression/anxiety) than men in abusive relationships.

10. Answer: True • Women in abusive relationships report more psychological symptoms (depression/anxiety) than men in abusive relationships.

11. Abuse • Violence (physical abuse) • The intentional infliction of physical harm by either partner on the other. • Emotional abuse • Designed to denigrate the partner, reduce the partner’s status, and make the partner vulnerable, so the abuser has more control.

12. Uxoricide • Pg. 396 • Lacy Peterson was the victim of uxoricide at the hands of Scott Peterson, who was convicted and sentenced to death.

13. Examples of Emotional Abuse • Calling the partner obese, stupid, crazy, ugly. • Controlling the money to ensure dependence. • Threatening to harm one’s self if the partner leaves. • Threatening to harm one’s children or take them away. • Demeaning or insulting the partner in front of others. • Threatening to harm the partner, the partner’s relatives, or the partner’s pets.

14. Question • The intentional infliction of physical harm is called • violence. • abuse. • rape. • neglect.

15. Answer: A • The intentional infliction of physical harm is called violence.

16. Stalking • Willful, repeated, and malicious following or harassment of another person. • In about 80% of the cases, the stalker is a heterosexual male who follows his previous lover. • Women who stalk are more likely to target a married male.

17. Relationship Violence/Abuse: Cultural Factors • Violence in the Media • Corporal Punishment • Gender Inequality • View of Women and Children as Property • Stress

18. Relationship Violence/Abuse: Community Factors • Social Isolation • Poverty • Inaccessible or Unaffordable Community Services • Lack of Violence Prevention Programs

19. Relationship Violence/Abuse: Individual Factors • Psychopathology • Personality Factors • Alcohol and Other Drug Use

20. Dependency Jealousy Need to control Unhappiness and dissatisfaction Anger and aggressiveness Quick involvement Blaming others for problems Jekyll-and-Hyde personality Isolation Other factors Relationship Violence/Abuse: Personality Factors • Individual Factors • Personality Factors

21. Relationship Violence/Abuse: Family Factors • Child Abuse in Family of Origin • Parents Who Abused Each Other

22. Abuse in Dating Relationships • Acquaintance rape is nonconsensual sex between adults who know each other. • Date rape refers to nonconsensual sex between people who are dating or on a date. • Rophypnol—”Date Rape Drug” causes profound, prolonged sedation and short-term memory loss.

23. INSERT VIDEO • 4. Teens in Abusive Relationships (Run time 6:23)

24. Abuse in Marriage Relationships • General Abuse • The ways in which spouses are abusive toward each other resemble the abusive behavior of unmarried couples. • Rape • 10% of married women in a Boston survey reported that they had been raped by their husbands.

25. Physical injury. Fear feelings of helplessness confusion Isolation Humiliation Anxiety stress-induced illness symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder suicide attempts. Effects of Partner Abuse on Victims

26. Effects of Partner Abuse on Children • QuestionSome women are abused during their pregnancy, resulting in a high rate of miscarriage and birth defects. • Negative effects may also accrue to children who witness domestic abuse. • It is not unusual for children to observe and become involved in adult domestic violence.

27. Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: 2003

28. Question • Which of the following is not a factor in domestic abuse? • abuse in the family of origin • egalitarian gender roles • cultural tolerance of violence • violence seen as a way to solve problems

29. Answer: B • Egalitarian gender roles is not a factor in domestic abuse.

30. Should You End an Abusive Marital Relationship? • Those opting for divorce felt they couldn’t live with someone who had abused or would abuse them. • Others felt that marriage was too strong a commitment to end if the abuse could be stopped.

31. Love Emotional dependency Commitment to the relationship Hope View of violence as legitimate Guilt Fear Economic dependence Isolation Why People Stay in Abusive Relationships

32. Disengaging from an Abusive Relationship • The catalyst for breaking free combines: • sustained aversiveness of staying • perception that she and her children will be harmed by staying • awareness of an alternative path

33. INSERT VIDEO • 12. Woman Survives Amazing Tale of Abuse(Run Time: 16:01)

34. Treatment of Partner Abusers • Treatment involves: • teaching responsibility for their abusive behavior • developing empathy for their partner’s victimization • reducing their dependency on their partners • improving their communication skills

35. Question • What is the key factor for staying in an abusive relationship? • guilt • feeling stuck • emotional dependence and love • financial dependency

36. Answer: C • Emotional dependence and love is the key factor for staying in an abusive relationship.

37. Question • What is a characteristic of a woman who leaves an abusive relationship? • isolation from family • disengaging from the husband • dependence on husband • feeling they deserved the abuse

38. Answer: B • Disengaging from the husband is a characteristic of a woman who leaves an abusive relationship.

39. General Child Abuse • Child abuse is interaction or lack of interaction between a child and his or her parents or caregiver that results in nonaccidental harm to the child’s physical or psychological well-being. • Child abuse includes physical abuse, verbal abuse, and neglect.

40. Child Abuse: Contributing Factors • Parental psychopathology • Unrealistic expectations • History of abuse • Displacement of aggression • Social isolation • Fatherless homes

41. Child Abuse: Other Factors • The pregnancy is premarital or unplanned, and the father or mother does not want the child. • The child suffers from developmental disabilities or mental retardation. • The parents are unemployed. • Abuse between the husband and wife is present. • The children are adopted or are foster children.

42. Effects of Child Abuse • Few close social relationships • Inability to love or trust • Communication problems and learning disabilities • Aggression, low self-esteem, depression, and low academic achievement • Physical injuries • Increased risk of alcohol or substance abuse and suicidal tendencies as adults • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

43. Child Sexual Abuse • In extrafamilial child sexual abuse the perpetrator is someone outside the family. • A more frequent type of child sexual abuse is intrafamilial child sexual abuse (formerly referred to in professional literature as incest).

44. Megan’s Law • Pg. 416 • The rape and murder of 7-year old Megan Kanka resulted in Megan’s Law.

45. Strategies to Reduce Child Sexual Abuse • Regendering cultural roles • Providing specific information on sex abuse • Improving the safety of neighborhoods • Providing sexuality education at school • Promoting public awareness campaigns

46. Your Opinion • To what degree do you believe that convicted child molesters who have served a prison sentence should be free to live wherever they like without neighbors being aware of their past?

47. Parent and Sibling Abuse • Parent Abuse • It is not uncommon for teenage and younger children to physically and verbally lash out at their parents. • Sibling Abuse • Most incidents of sibling violence consist of slaps, pushes, kicks, bites, and punches.

48. Elder Abuse • Neglect • Physical abuse • Psychological abuse • Social abuse • Legal abuse

49. Elder Abuse • Pg. 418 • If you suspect elder abuse or are concerned about the well-being of an older person, call your state abuse hotline immediately.