Domestic violence prevention and individual intervention strategies

¶ … domestic violence prevention as it relates to individuals. There were 10 sources used to complete this paper.

Domestic Violence Literature Review

Domestic violence is a serious issue in the United States. Each year victims of domestic violence are injured or killed at the hands of their abuser. Usually however, by the time the injury or death occurs the have been many signs along the way that it was coming and those signals were ignored.

Domestic violence does not just injure the people involved in the altercation but it also impacts those who witness the abuse. Recent studies have shown that children in homes where domestic abuse occurs have a higher rate of drug and alcohol use as adults and have a higher rate of going into a domestic violence relationship themselves (Sharron, 2005).

Domestic violence is insidious as it grows from within and destroys family units. While there are group therapy sessions and domestic violence shelters available to those who seek help the most significant assistance one can receive is education and tools about how to stop domestic violence as an individual (Sharron, 2005).

Dating Domestic Violence

There are many types of domestic violence. Fathers hitting mothers, parents beating children and children hitting parents are all common incidences of domestic violence, however, there is a growing domestic violence issue in America between boyfriends and girlfriends.

A recent case study illustrated how the problem occurs.

A.M. considers herself a jealous and possessive person. If she senses that her boyfriend is inattentive, or that he is speaking to a person she dislikes, she acts out physically against him. She reports that her anger causes her to hit, scratch or pummel him with her fists. He refuses to retaliate. She reports that she does not like it when he refuses to defend himself. She sees it as a sign of weakness, and is therefore casting her attention toward another potential partner. When asked why she physically strikes out at him, she replies that her anger is relieved when she hits him. She states, "I can't stand it when he doesn't hit me back. I don't respect that. I can't be with a guy I don't respect. The first guy who hits me back, that's the man I'll marry (Sharron, 2005)."

This is a classic case of a child raised in a home where domestic violence was an accepted practice. She now believes that it is an appropriate method of displaying anger.

A study conducted by Bergman, in 1992 concluded that 10 to 35% of dating partners in America have been victims of or perpetrators of domestic violence.

The problem does not respect gender boundaries as the prevalence of domestic violence issues between dating partners is equal with men and women being the aggressors (Sharron, 2005).

Domestic violence historically has been studied relative to spousal abuse. Abusive behaviors between unmarried courting couples were first reported in a study by Makepeace in 1981(Sharron, 2005). Since then, studies in the literature have defined behaviors, populations, gender differences, ethnic impact and intervention programs (Sharron, 2005). While the body of literature is growing, the general age range of the experimental or observed group continues to be adolescents of high school age (grades 9-12) (Henton et al., 1983; Bergman, 1992; Avery-Leaf et al., 1997; O'Keefe, 1997; Symons et al., 1994) (Sharron, 2005)."

2000 study by Pelcovitz, Kaplan, DeRosa, Mandel, & Salzinger, concluded that children who are subject to witnessing domestic violence in the home are much more likely to become either victims or abusers in a domestic violence dating relationship as adolescents and young adults (Sharron, 2005).

Hamberger and Ambuel attributed this pattern to the fact that people learn their conflict resolution tools through life experiences and those experiences often carry into adult relationships (Sharron, 2005).

Studies have demonstrated that perpetration and victimization of dating violence are prevalent in both genders. Both sexes are commonly victimized by less severe acts, such as pushing, grabbing or shoving (Henton et al., 1983). Girls are more likely to perpetrate dating violence (Malik et al., 1997; Morse, 1995; Foshee et al., 2001) (Sharron, 2005). Younger adolescent females of middle school age have been found to perpetrate more mild, moderate and severe violence than boys when controlled for self-defense (Foshee et al., 2001) (Sharron, 2005)."

In identifying the key tools that would be helpful to individuals in the prevention of domestic violence between dating partners several things were considered.

Education was found to be a primary need in the quest to reduce the incidence of domestic violence in dating partners. Education should include the ability to recognize early signals of domestic violence signs and walking away from such relationships before it reaches actual violence.

The second step according to the literature should be to provide intervention tools after the problem has already begun and harm has been caused.

All of the interventional studies conducted between 1992 and 2001 employed quasi-experimental design using pretest and post-test questionnaires that measured acquisition of knowledge and attitudes regarding dating violence (Sharron, 2005). Six studies (Jaffee et al., 1992; Frazier et al., 1995; Lavoie et al., 1995; Lonsway et al., 1998; Avery-Leaf et al., 1997; Foshee et al., 1998) worked on samples of eighth and ninth grade students who were primarily of European-American descent (Sharron, 2005). Three studies (Krajewski et al., 1996; Macgowan, 1997; Weisz & Black, 2001) focused on middle school youth. Two studies worked with primarily African-American students in urban settings (Macgowan, 1997; Weisz & Black, 2001) (Sharron, 2005). The others worked with students of European-American descent from suburban settings (Sharron, 2005)."

The study results were conclusive in the need for education.

Research has also shown that domestic violence has become a threat to the psychological and physical well being of the victims and their family members who witness the abuse.

Adults

In addition to children and dating partners there is a growing concern in America about the incidence of domestic violence between couples that live together.

Domestic violence poses serious mental and physical health risks. In fact, it is estimated that" more than 1.5 million women nationwide seek medical treatment for injuries related to abuse each year" (Stark, 2001, p. 347(Tomison, 2003)). Those who are abused can experience mental health issues, such as anxiety attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder, chronic depression, acute stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts and ideation (Tomison, 2003)."

Domestic violence in America comes with an annual $R44 million price tag with more than 20,000 hospital stays and 40,000 doctor visits each year (Tomison, 2003).

One of the issues that literature has uncovered is a lack of services or resources for women who are the victim of abuse by their domestic partner.

Shelters and batterer's intervention programs are often geographically inaccessible and not community based (Asbury, 1987; Williams & Becker, 1994; Williams-Campbell, 1993). Inaccessible services are less likely to be used despite the need. Transportation constraints, lack of money to get to appointments, and fear of entering a perceived hostile environment often result in a decreased likelihood of victims including African-Americans keeping appointments and fully participating in services (Tomison, 2003)."

Research has also uncovered issues that individuals have with seeking help for domestic violence issues that include lack of transportation to get to support groups, lack of childcare during the support groups, lack of access to the resources or the resources are filled to capacity at the time the victim calls for help.

Solutions

With the evidence the literature provides it is evident that domestic violence prevention needs to target the provision of more accessible programs. In addition the research indicates that across the board with all victims education to recognize the early signs of a potentially abusive relationship is crucial to the reduction of domestic violence.

Domestic violence continues to be a serious issue in America. Children who are exposed to domestic violence are more prone to becoming victims of domestic violence in their adult relationships. It is important to work with them one on one to help them develop high self-esteem and to have a safety plan for themselves in the future. It is also important to teach them to recognize early signs of potential domestic violence in their future relationships and how to walk away from it.

Dating partners are more at risk than ever before as the incidence of domestic violence between dating partners continues to grow. Education of young adults and adolescents to recognize the early warning signs is an important step to the reduction of its incidence.

Adults who are victims of domestic violence need to be educated not only on how to retreat from domestic violence relationships but also of the importance of not exposing their children to domestic violence so that the cycle can stop.

Further studies need to be done to identify individual programs that will be helpful in this endeavor. Long-term studies need to be performed to follow children who have received help to determine how successful the intervention was.