NCJ Number
178972
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 1999 Pages: 89-104
Date Published
1999
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article examines the importance of psychological abuse as a component of domestic violence.
Abstract
Failure to understand the importance of psychological abuse as a component of domestic violence can result in little appreciation for the complexity of victims’ experience and thus a failure to provide the most effective intervention. The article examines the role of psychological abuse, physical violence, injury and sexual abuse in predicting court-involved women’s (1) prior attempts to seek help from the justice system and to leave the battering relationship, (2) use of criminal prosecution and civil protection orders, and (3) traumatic stress reactions. At the univariate level, each abuse variable was significantly associated with at least one strategic response and all traumatic responses to violence. Multivariate analyses revealed that strategic responses were largely predicted by injury and physical assault, whereas traumatic responses were mainly predicted by psychological abuse. Tables, references