Family Studies ch 14: Family Abuse, Violence, and Other Health Issues Flashcards
Intimate Partner Abuseand Violence
Intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs between two people in a close relationship. Includes three types of behavior Physical Sexual Emotional
The Prevalenceand Severity of IPV
Women are five times more likely to be abused by a partner than a man is. Almost 75% of all attacks by intimate partners are against women.
Each year, IPV results in an estimated 1200 deaths and 2 million injuries among women and 330 deaths and nearly 600,000 injuries against men.
Women are more likely to report serious psychological impacts as a result of IPV after an attack.
IPV is a leading cause of death for women ages 15-44 in the U.S
Characteristics of Abusive Households
Characteristics
unemployment
drug abuse.
Women are much more likely to experience IPV then men. Men are more likely to use a deadly weapon in an attack on their significant other.
Age- younger rather than older people are more likely to be the victims and perpetrators of IPV
Race and ethnicity occurs across all groups
IPV is common across all class statuses, but it is most commonly reported in lower socioeconomic classes.
Marital Rape
Marital rape -Marital rape has been a crime in all states since 1993;estimated 25% of women nationwide have been raped by their spouses, yet they don’t often report it.
Women who have killed their abusers have been pardoned based on the battered-woman syndrome defense.
Why do women stay?
Walker theorized the cycle of violence results in
learned helplessness.
Some women stay out of hope that the abuser will change.
The women may have low self-esteem and feel incapable of helping herself and even her children.
Some women find the courage to leave when the violence spills over into the lives of their children.
Economic hardship and homelessness
Need for child support
Shame or guilt
Blaming themselves
Fear
Women who abuse men
In situational couple violence both the woman and the man are
Women aren’t always the only victims of IPV—it has negative effects for men, women, and children.
Child Maltreatment
Child maltreatment includes a broad range of behaviors that place a child at serious risk of physical harm.
Physical abuse sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect can all play a role in child abuse.
Prevalence and Characteristics of Child Maltreatment
Child maltreatment rates have dropped in the last decade, but there were still 794,000 confirmed cases in 2007.
Victims—although a child is often the victim of more than one kind of abuse, the most common form is neglect. Girls are slightly more likely than boys to be neglected.
Perpetrators
About 80% of people who abuse children are parents and more than half of them are mothers. An additional 8% are relatives of the parents. Most states don’t have data on the relatives of the victims, so some data is incomplete.
Fatalities—homicide is the leading cause of death among infants, and the rates have doubled since 1970. Of the 1,760 children who died of abuse in 2007, 42% were younger than 1 year old and 76% were younger than 4 years old.
About 70% of child deaths are caused by one or both of the parents.
Sexual abuse and insect
90% are family members, friends of the family, and other people children know.
Children are too frightened to tell anyone, especially if the person who is abusing them is a family member.
Why do adults abuse children?
There are many reasons for child maltreatment—some are: substance abuse stress poverty partner abuse divorce a combination of factors
How abuse affects children
Children often suffer a variety of physiological, social, and emotional problems stemming from abuse of any kind, whether it be physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological.
Sibling Abuse:Hidden Victims
Physical and emotional abuse—a national study found that almost 30 percent of children ages 2 to 17 had been physically assaulted by a sister or brother at least once during the proceeding year.
In 24% of all cases, the assault was serious enough to call the police.
Some Common Formsof Sibling Abuse
name calling and ridicule degradation intimidation torturing or killing a pet destroying personal possessions Parents rarely take abuse between siblings seriously.name calling and ridicule degradation intimidation torturing or killing a pet destroying personal possessions Parents rarely take abuse between siblings seriously.
Sexual Abuse by a Sibling
Perhaps the most insidious form of incest is the sexual abuse of a sibling. It is rarely an isolated event, it often goes on for years without being reported to any authority.
Often the sibling being abused is afraid of not being believed by parents or of being blamed.
Adolescent Abuse
Victimization of teens is the root of many problems later in life.
Prevalence—many parents are physically and verbally abusive toward their children throughout their teen years.
Of all child victims, an astounding 27% are between the ages of 12-17.
Consequences Some teens strike back physically and verbally, rebel or run away, withdraw, use drugs, or become involved in juvenile prostitution.
Elder abuse
Elder abuse is another form of family violence that is rarely talked about. It can include physical abuse negligence financial exploitation psychological abuse deprivation of basic necessities isolation from family and friends not administering needed medical care
The victims
Researchers estimate that 1 to 2 million Americans age 65 or older have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by a family member or caretaker.
About 66% are women and 43% of both sexes are over age 80. Older women are more likely than older men to be abused because they live longer than men and may not be able to care for themselves.
The abusers
Adult children make up 53% of abusers, 19% of abusers are the victim’s spouse. 90% of abusers are family members.
Reasons:
Shared living arrangements can be stressful.
Social Isolation of the elderly is common.
Alcohol abuse—the abusers tend to abuse alcohol as well.
Impairment of the caregiver or the care recipient—they are often unable to care for themselves as well.
Dependence of the elderly person.
Medical costs and financial stress.
Personality.
Violence amongSame-Sex Couples
There has been considerably less research on domestic violence between same-sex couples, still the presence of battering in gay and lesbian couples is about the same as for heterosexual couples.
Racial and Ethnic Groups
Domestic violence cuts across all races, sexes, and ethnicities.
Immigrant women generally experience more domestic violence than American-born women. They may not report marital violence because of their poor language skills.
Explaining Family Abuseand Violence
Patriarchy or Male Dominance Theory— men’s authority creates and condones violence against women and children.
Social Learning Theory—we learn by observing the actions of others, so if people have experienced abuse between their parents growing up they are more likely to be in abusive relationships when they are adults.
Resource Theory— The presence of abuse is based on the power in the relationship.
Exchange Theory—both assailants and victims tolerate or engage in violent behavior because they believe that the benefits outweigh the costs.Ecological Systems Theory—explains domestic violence by analyzing the relationships between individuals and larger systems such as the economy, education, state agencies, and the community.
Using Several Theories—researchers rarely rely on one theory, but use all theories to explain violence in relationships.
Other family health issues
Substance abuse—The use and abuse of illegal drugs, alcohol, or pharmaceuticals can result in health risks or death.
Depression and suicide—depression is a mental disorder characterized by pervasive sadness and other negative emotions. Depression may lead to suicide.
Suicide
Is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S.
More than 33,000 Americans kill themselves each year.
Males take their lives at nearly 4 times the rate of females.
Suicide rates are highest among males 75 and older.
Eating Disorders
Overweight and obesity—refer to ranges of weight that are greater than what is generally considered normal and are measured by body mass index scales.
Among children ages 6 to 17, the percentage of overweight increased from only 6% in 1976 to 15% in 2006.
Obesity is a concern because it has negative health risks including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and early death.binge eating—consuming an unusually large amount of food and feeling that the eating is out of control. Binge eating is one of the most common eating disorders in the U.S.
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia—these are very dangerous eating disorders and are common among teens in the U.S., perhaps due
Combating Family Abuseand Violence
Raising awareness about family violence and
Victim-advocate programs are inadequate to handle the shear amount of victims that make contact.
Family Crisis: Death of a Child
Mothers and fathers sometimes respond to the death of their child in different ways.
The respective partners may interpret these differences in negative ways, leading to relationship conflict and unhappiness.
