FAMILY VIOLENCE.   Term Paper ID:28071 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Domestic abuse in U.S. Physical & psychological effects. Battered women's syndrome. Children of abuse.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Domestic abuse in U.S. Physical & psychological effects. Battered women's syndrome. Children of abuse. Paper Introduction: FAMILY VIOLENCE: WOUNDS WITHOUT, WOUNDS WITHIN Family violence presents an ongoing dilemma in American society. No longer a “private” issue, abuse in the home has attracted a degree of public concern in recent years, precipitating a need for a more intense examination of the problem. The aim, according to U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone(D-Minn), is simple: to make domestic violence a bona fide health-care issue(p. 20). And there is certainly compelling evidence to support this objective; the effects of family violence are numerous, bordering on infinite in scope. Virtually every form of physical assault- from spankings to murders- has played a significant role in the history of family violence. Beneath the surface, the mental strains that develop in both victims and witnesses of domestic violence also present a lasting legacy to consider. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The long term mental effects of family violence are also quitenumerous. In Intimate Violence, Richard J. If this is the case, our emergency rooms willalways be busy bandaging the wounds sustained by the victims of this hiddenbattle. In children of abuse, the mental effects are no less damaging. 2 ). Most women report that consistent abuse renders them paralyzed withanxiety before, during and after attacks. The average Americancitizen is more likely to be physically assaulted in his own home at thehands of a loved one than at any other place, or by anyone else in oursociety (Gelles 18). About 26% of all women who make suicide attempts are victimsof domestic abuse. Theeffects of these assaults are typically obvious. V264 n8 p94 (3).Snow, Captain Robert L. In this fashion the cycle of family violence continues. In the United States, it would seem that family members regularlyinflict serious physical abuse on one another. Senator PaulWellstone(D-Minn), is simple: to make domestic violence a bona fide health-care issue(p. Coupled with this isa desire to keep the abuse within the family; women will go to greatlengths to take responsibility for a partner's violence. More chronic physical repercussionscan involve chronic headaches, abdominal pains, recurring vaginalinfections, reproductive damage, joint pains, muscle aches, and sleepdisorders (Randall 941). Once hospitalized, the parent willthen do things to make the child appear gravely ill. Life, December, 1992. Gelles makes an interesting pointwhen he states: "We believe that human beings are less fearful of violenceand injury than the violation of social order" (19). Again, virtually every mental disorder imaginable haserupted under the heavy hand of domestic abuse. Beneath the surface, the mental strains that develop inboth victims and witnesses of domestic violence also present a lastinglegacy to consider. FAMILY VIOLENCE: WOUNDS WITHOUT, WOUNDS WITHIN Family violence presents an ongoing dilemma in American society. National estimates regarding the physical abusebetween spouses number in the millions- four million cases in 1994 alone(Snow 19). The physical implications of abuse, both incidental and sustained, areclear. When involvingpregnant women, the physical effects of domestic abuse extend to the fetusas well, yielding birth defects and miscarriages (Wellstone 21; Randall941). As anexample: Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Nolonger a "private" issue, abuse in the home has attracted a degree ofpublic concern in recent years, precipitating a need for a more intenseexamination of the problem. Clearly, there is no limit to the range of physical abuse. Consistent patterns among battered women reveal thatmost of these women have a poor self-concept. Most troubling of all, perhaps, is data that suggests that growing upin a violent home compromises the intellectual development of abusedchildren. In Munchausen syndrome by proxycases, a parent brings his or her child into a hospital for treatment of anillness that apparently has no cause. What are not as clear are the secondary effects of family violence:the psychological effects. At least halfof all women will experience some form of violence from their husbandsduring the course of their marriage (Snow 2 ). Battered wives often feel as though they deserve theirbeatings because they somehow provoke their partners. The United States Advisory Board on ChildAbuse and Neglect, after a two-and-a-half year national survey taken in themid 199 s, revealed that abuse and neglect in the home are leading causesof death for young children. The types of injuries listed here often requireyears of abuse to develop; that they are not uncommon ailments among theabused is perhaps an indication of the larger dilemma- that domestic abuseis too often sustained over long periods of time. It is a multi-faceted problem. V15 n14 p26(1).Gelles, Richard J., Straus, Murray A. Abuse and neglect claims more lives thanaccidental falls, choking on food, suffocation, drowning or fires (Snow2 ). Premature aging among battered women is a nearly universal occurrence,a result of years of emotional turmoil. This involves lower scores on intelligence tests and a higherproportion of learning problems (Gelles 124). And 1 % of battered women abuse or over utilize drugs(Wellstone 21). The result? Feelings of dread, depression, and self-loathing do, over time,proliferate. But these are the acute injuries. Shame and self-blame are two of the most commonfeelings expressed by battered wives" (131). New York: Plenum Press, 1997.Wellstone, Senator Paul. Virtually every form of physical assault- fromspankings to murders- has played a significant role in the history offamily violence. Often victimsare left to contend with psychological scars that may endure for alifetime. Because as it stands today, the toll offamily violence is staggering, and all to common. Battered women, for example, experience a barrage of psychic damage asbeatings persist. Death, in extreme cases,does occur. For children, the statistics regarding the prevalence of familyviolence are no more comforting. U.S.: Simon and Schuster, 1988.Randall, Teri. Chronic fatigue, eating disorders,chronic headaches and gastrointestinal problems also arise in time, classicrepercussions of acute anxiety (Gelles 132-33). Richard J. And tragically, the more severe the maltreatment of a child in thehome, the more likely that child is to re-create that maltreatment when heor she becomes a parent (Gelles 123). This phase in the abusecycle, the tension-building phase, creates a climate of fear and anxiety inwhich the victim is compelled to find ways to defuse the pent-up rage thathas built up inside their attacker (Gelles 132-33). Thus, the problem of domestic abuse is elevated to a new planeof maliciousness and tragedy. The strain of anticipating abuseoften leaves women feeling as though they must "walk on eggshells," neverknowing if a beating is lurking around the corner. Perhaps then our taskas a society is to create a social environment in which family violence isso completely and openly condemned that the social order will seem violatedif domestic abuse is not reported. More difficult to treat are the psychological wounds-- and surelythese leave the scars that are ultimately the most disfiguring. AsGelles reveals: "Across the board, children from violent homes are morelikely to have personal troubles--temper tantrums, trouble making friends,school problems--failing grades, discipline problems, and aggressive andviolent flare-ups with family members and people outside the home" (129).Poor self-concept is also exhibited in these children, who often have atendency to withdraw, be hyperactive, wet their beds, and be generallyunhappy. Recent studies show that boys in homes with spousaland/or child violence will likely become batterers themselves, while girlswho grow up in these families are likely become abuse victims as adults(Snow 84). "Domestic Violence as a Health-Care Issue". V9 n5 p19(3). Intimate Violence: The Definitive Study of the Causes and Consequences of Abuse in the American Family. Heexplains that "Battering leaves [women] feeling worthless, powerless,helpless, and humiliated. As with physical injuries, the mental damagesincurred by victims of abuse are unbounded in scope. Tikkun, September/October, 1994. The aim, according to U.S. Shame and self-blame are secondary effects very often associated withphysical violence. Family Abuse: Tough Solutions to Stop the Violence. The physical injuries that result from these abuses are as varied asthe human brain is creative; Police Captain Robert L. Clearly a self-perpetuating trend, family violence, if left unchecked,will continue to surface. This phenomenonis so common it has found its way into modern lexicon, termed the "batteredwomen's syndrome" ("Family Matters" 26). Complex psychological problems can develop in women who areabused for extended periods of time; the risk of mental illness is highamong battered women, and statistics indicate that 16% of them becomealcoholics. Gelles lists someof the psychological effects of abuse in his book Intimate Violence. In other instances, the patterns of violence generally caninvolve contusions or minor lacerations to the face, head, neck, breast orabdomen; bruises and broken bones are also quite common. "Domestic Violence Begets Other Problems Which Physicians Must Be Aware to be Effective." JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association, August 22, 199 . And there is certainly compelling evidence to supportthis objective; the effects of family violence are numerous, bordering oninfinite in scope. "Family Matters". Or and adult can continue to beabused by a parent. This may includeattempting to dissuade police officers from taking action, or hiding theevidence of their abuse from friends, neighbors and family, thinkingthemselves somehow responsible for their wounds (Gelles 19, 132-35). Snow recorded in hisbook Family Abuse: Tough Solutions to Stop the Violence that he has, in hiscareer as an officer, dealt with family members who ...have been shot, stabbed, slugged, slapped, had bones broken, had scalding liquids thrown on them, been run over by cars, run over by lawn mowers, hit with baseball bats, hit with shovels and rakes, beaten with an electrical cord, assaulted with chain saws, and thrown from moving cars.(65)Other forms of physical abuse include incidents in which babies are shaken,rendering them dead or brain damaged, as well as even more deviant methodsof physical violence which can only be classified as torture. Works Cited--. Fear is another implication of violence; often this fear is so strongthat it compels the abused woman to stay with her abuser. Not to mention the fact that abused children are three to fourtimes more likely than non-abused children to engage in illegal acts(Gelles 125). In his sobering article, "Domestic Violence as a Health CareIssue," Senator Wellstone writes that "Evidence indicates that domesticviolence is the leading cause of injury to women, more common than autoaccidents, muggings, and rapes by strangers combined" (2 ). Parents in thesedisturbing cases have injected fecal matter into the child's feeding tubeor smothered the child with a pillow- only to then have the childresuscitated by hospital personnel (Snow 79). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.