Partner Violence & Elder Abuse

Question 1

Indicators for Family Violence

Answer 1

• Recurrent ED visits for injuries attributed to being “accident prone”
• Presenting problems reflecting signs of high anxiety & chronic stress
• Stress-related conditions:
  > insomnia
  > violent nightmares
  > anxiety
  > extreme fatigue
  > eczema
  > loss of hair

Question 2

Intimate Partner Violence

Answer 2

• The #1 cause of ED visitis by women
• Underreproted
• Btwn 22-39% of all US women experience battering: worldwide rate 69%
• Leading cause of homelessness among women
• Prevalence of DV by women against men has incrd
• Occurs in LGBTQ communities

Question 3

IPV in Pregnancy

Answer 3

• IVP is leading cause of injury-related deaths during pregnancy
• Birth defects & infant deaths are frequent outcomes of abuse during pregnancy

Question 4

The Battered Partner

Answer 4

• Lives in terror
• Does not usually initiate violence but when aggressive toward violent partner it is usually in self-defense
• Has feelings of powerlessness & low self-esteem
• Loses sense of self
• Violence & pain remain secret
• Approx 93% of women who kill their partners have been battered by them

Question 5

The Batterer

Answer 5

• Denial & blame
• Emotional abuse
• Control through isolation
• Control through intimidation
• Control through power
• Control through economic abuse

Question 6

The Batterer

pt 2

Answer 6

• Violence is learned behavior & used to control others
• Frequently, violent partners were brought up in an abusive home
• Batterer has a low sense of self, poor impulse control, & a limited tolerance for frustration
• Abusing a vulnerable partner helos violent partner feel more in control & powerful
• The batterers have no guilt; they lack concern over their aggressiveness

Question 7

Violence: Teen Dating

Answer 7

• Btwn 25-33% of adolscents report verbal, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse from dating partner each year
• In teen relationships, partners abuse each other about equally
• Abt 25% of all high school & college women have been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner

Question 8

Cycle of Violence

Answer 8

• Walker’s classic study (1979) of 400 women:
  1. Tension-building
  2. Acute battering
  3. Honeymoon

Question 9

IPV Safety Plan

Answer 9

• Move to a room w/ more than 1 exit
• Know quickest route out of workplace
• Tell neighbors abt abuse, ask them to call police when they hear disturbance
• Have a code word to use w/ kids, family, & friends
• Have a safe place selected in case they must leave
• Pack a bag beforehand
• Include legal documents

Question 10

Characteristics of Elder Abuse

Answer 10

• Seniors are vulnerable to absue & other crimes
• Failty places older adults at a greater risk for sexual abuse
• Most often diagnosed in pts w/ depression, alcohol or drug abuse, dementia, or psychiatric illness
• 80yrs+ are 2-3x more likely to suffer abuse & neglect
• Victims are 3x more likely to die than ilder adults who are not mistreated