Domestic Violence and Mental Health

There are many victims of domestic violence. Victims of domestic violence are often women (from violence amongst partners) and children (from child abuse or witnessing violence at home). Did you know, victims of domestic violence not only suffer from the actual violence, but also suffer from mental health problems? This is mainly due to lack of support and loneliness. There are two types of loneliness, emotional loneliness and social loneliness. Emotional loneliness is at an individual level of loneliness, in which victims lack sufficient attachment relationships. Social loneliness is a community level of loneliness where the victim may not have a strong support network or peer groups for support. Studies have shown that both types of loneliness have an impact on the mental health of domestic violence victims.¹ The most common mental health issues experienced by these victims are anxiety and depression. Anxiety is an important part of human behavior. We usually have low levels of anxiety as it encourages us to engage with others. However, at high levels, anxiety may affect our functioning in daily life. Depression is related to disruptions in our interpersonal relations, causing sadness and demotivation to engage in everyday activities. A study on physical violence experienced by women in dating relationships showed a correlation between the amount of violence suffered by the victim with the severity of anxiety and depression they experienced. Victims suffer from anxiety and depression as domestic violence affects their self confidence and their ability to function as normal individuals. It takes away their security of feeling protected and results in them feeling helpless, ultimately leading to anxiety and depression.² Women experience greater domestic violence than men, hence are more vulnerable to mental health disorders. This may accumulate over time, ultimately leading to suicide. Women are more vulnerable mainly as male dominance is present in some cultures. Whilst we are unable to change their cultures, it is important to be aware of such issues women are facing worldwide so that we are able to take small steps to ultimately make a difference. On the other hand, children exposed to interparental violence show short-term and long-term mental health issues. Greater severity and duration of violence may lead to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder in both children and adults. This causes victims to re-experience the trauma, persistently avoid stimuli associated with trauma and experience persisting hyper arousal (hence have issues with concentration and sleeping). This may continue in adulthood even after victims are no longer witnessing domestic violence.³ Imagine living a life with high level of vigilance and no sense of calm, would you want to live it? If your answer is no, then help us make a difference.

1. Kunst, M., Bogaerts, S. and Winkel, F. W. (2010) ‘Domestic violence and mental health in a Dutch community sample: The adverse role of loneliness’, Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, vol. 20, pp. 419–425 [Online]. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/doi/10.1002/casp.1040/full (Accessed: 17th March 2014).
2. Yalch, Matthew M ; Lannert, Brittany K ; Hopwood, Christopher J ; Levendosky, Alytia A (2013) ' Interpersonal Style Moderates the Effect of Dating Violence on Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression', Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 28(16), pp. 3171-3185 [Online]. Available at: https://jiv.sagepub.com.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/content/28/16/3171.full.pdf+html (Accessed: 17th March 2014).
3. Mathilde M Overbeek, J Clasien de Schipper, Francien Lamers-Winkelman andCarlo Schuengel (2012) The effectiveness of a trauma-focused psycho-educational secondary prevention program for children exposed to interparental violence: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial’, Trials Journal, vol. 13(12), [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3369208/ (Accessed: 17th March 2014).