Domestic violence: the psychosocial impact and perceived health problems

Abstract

Self‐reported health (and the extent to which this was associated with partner abuse or psychosocial variables) was investigated in 132 women recruited from a domestic violence service. The survey instrument included abuse disability, life event and daily stress exposure, social support, anger expression style, and perceived health status. The prevalence estimates for this sample were significantly higher than standard estimates across a range of health problems. Regression models demonstrated that whilst the extent of partner abuse predicted the prevalence of three conditions, psychosocial factors were more substantial predictors of health and well‐being in domestic violence victims. Of these, life event frequency and anger expression were the most significant. These findings provide important information about the health of domestic violence victims as they seek support from domestic violence agencies, with relevance for practitioners working with victims who have terminated a violent relationship and for those supporting victims who remain with a violent partner.

Citation

Brewer, G., Roy, M. and Smith, Y. (2010), "Domestic violence: the psychosocial impact and perceived health problems", Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 4-15. https://doi.org/10.5042/jacpr.2010.0137