@2024 Afarand., IRAN
ISSN: 2383-2150 Journal of Education and Community Health 2015;1(4):51-57
ISSN: 2383-2150 Journal of Education and Community Health 2015;1(4):51-57
The Relationship between Wife Abuse and Mental Health in Women Experiencing Domestic Violence referred to the Forensic Medical Center of Shiraz
ARTICLE INFO
Article Type
Original ResearchAuthors
Shayan A. (1)Masoumi S.Z. (2*)
Kaviani M. (3)
(1) Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
(2*) Department of Midwifery and Mother & Child Care Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, , Hamadan, Iran
(3) Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Correspondence
Article History
Received: March 6, 2015Accepted: May 27, 2015
ePublished: June 22, 2015
ABSTRACT
Aims
Neglecting women's health and the domestic violence prevailing against them can cause a variety of mental and even physical diseases that threaten the health of the family. Disruptions in the life pattern of women and mothers have adverse health effects for both the family and the entire society. The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between wife abuse and mental health in female victims of domestic violence referred to the Forensic Medical Center of Shiraz.
Materials & Methods The present cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical study was conducted over three months in 2013 on 197 women with abusive husbands referred to the Forensic Medical Center of Shiraz. The study data collection tools included a demographic information questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and a standard violence against women questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha was measured to assess the data collection tools' reliability. Data were analyzed in SPSS-18.
Findings The mean age of the study subjects was reported as 30.42±6.72. More than 50 percent of the women had been victim to domestic violence and suffered from disorders in all the aspects of general health (P<0.05). There was a positive relationship between domestic violence and all the aspects of general health. In other words, violence of any kind was a predictor of general health disorders (P<0.05). Domestic violence was found to have the greatest effect on the incidence of depression and anxiety.
Conclusion The present study revealed the psychological consequences of wife abuse and violence against women and confirmed the damaging effect of violence on women's mental health. In addition to imposing heavy costs on the society for providing healthcare and medications, mental health disorders in women are also a burden for the family life and the children's upbringing.
Materials & Methods The present cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical study was conducted over three months in 2013 on 197 women with abusive husbands referred to the Forensic Medical Center of Shiraz. The study data collection tools included a demographic information questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and a standard violence against women questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha was measured to assess the data collection tools' reliability. Data were analyzed in SPSS-18.
Findings The mean age of the study subjects was reported as 30.42±6.72. More than 50 percent of the women had been victim to domestic violence and suffered from disorders in all the aspects of general health (P<0.05). There was a positive relationship between domestic violence and all the aspects of general health. In other words, violence of any kind was a predictor of general health disorders (P<0.05). Domestic violence was found to have the greatest effect on the incidence of depression and anxiety.
Conclusion The present study revealed the psychological consequences of wife abuse and violence against women and confirmed the damaging effect of violence on women's mental health. In addition to imposing heavy costs on the society for providing healthcare and medications, mental health disorders in women are also a burden for the family life and the children's upbringing.
CITATION LINKS
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[12]Jafarnejad F, Moghadam Hoseini V, Soltanifar A, Ebrahimzadeh S. [Study of the relationship between domestic violence intensity during pregnancy and mother-infant attachment]. Journal of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences.2009; 16(1):35-42. (Persian)
[13]Jazaeri R, Sharif M. [Comparison of emotional abuse of spouses and perceived social support in patients with chronic tension headaches and migraines with the healthies]. Quarterly Scientific Journal of Forensic Medicine.2012; 17(2):87-94. (Persian)
[14]Gilroy H. Poverty, Partner Abuse, and Women's Mental Health: New Knowledge for Better Practice. J Soc Serv Res.2014; 2(4):1-13.
[15]Kim J, Park S, Emery CR. The Incidence and Impact of Family Violence on Mental Health among South Korean Women: results of a national survey. J Fam Viol.2009; 24(3):193-202.
[16]Ludermir AB, Schraiber LB, D'Oliveira AF, França-Junior I, Jansen HA. Violence against women by their intimate partner and common mental disorders. Soc Sci Med.2008; 66(4):1008-18.
[2]Thoits PA. Self, identity, stress, and mental health. In: Aneshensel CS, Phelan JC, Bierman A, editors. Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health. 2rd ed. Netherlands: Springer; 2013. pp. 357-77.
[3]Allen CT, Swan SC, Raghavan C. Gender symmetry, sexism, and intimate partner violence. J Interpers Violence.2009; 24(11):1816-34.
[4]Anderson ML, Leigh IW. Internal consistency and factor structure of the revised conflict tactics scales in a sample of deaf female college students. J Fam Violence.2010; 25(5):475-83.
[5]Correiaa I, Alvesa H, Moraisb R, Ramosa M. The legitimation of wife abuse among women: The impact of belief in a just world and gender identification. Pers Individ Dif.2015; 76:7-12.
[6]Maleki A, Nejadsabzi P. [Components of social capital in relation to domestic violence against women in the family Khoramabad]. Journal of Social Issues in Iran.1389; 1(2):31-53. (Persian)
[7]Sullivan TP, Titus JA, Holt LJ, Swan SC, Fisher BS, Snow DL. Does the inclusion criterion of women's aggression as opposed to their victimezation result in samples that differ on key dimensions of intimate partner violence?. Violence Against Women.2010; 16(1):84-98.
[8]Bakouei F, Omodval SH, Nasiri F. [Prevalence of female sexual dysfunction in married women and its related factors (Babol, 2006)]. Journal of Babol University of Medical Sciences.2007; 9(4):59-64. (Persian)
[9]Hosseinipadnjani SM, Berami M, Hasheminusratabad T. [The prediction of women vulnerability (family's women's supervisor) against stress based on the ratio of social support, coping strategies and locus of control]. Quarterly Journal of Psychological Studies.2012; 8(1):117-40. (Persian)
[10]Saadati M. [Domestic violence, mental health threat]. Social Security Studies.2010; 8(24):61-90. (Persian)
[11]Ghazanfari F. [Correlation of family relationship patterns and domestic violence against women in Lorestan province, western part of Iran]. Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health.2010; 2(46):488-5. (Persian)
[12]Jafarnejad F, Moghadam Hoseini V, Soltanifar A, Ebrahimzadeh S. [Study of the relationship between domestic violence intensity during pregnancy and mother-infant attachment]. Journal of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences.2009; 16(1):35-42. (Persian)
[13]Jazaeri R, Sharif M. [Comparison of emotional abuse of spouses and perceived social support in patients with chronic tension headaches and migraines with the healthies]. Quarterly Scientific Journal of Forensic Medicine.2012; 17(2):87-94. (Persian)
[14]Gilroy H. Poverty, Partner Abuse, and Women's Mental Health: New Knowledge for Better Practice. J Soc Serv Res.2014; 2(4):1-13.
[15]Kim J, Park S, Emery CR. The Incidence and Impact of Family Violence on Mental Health among South Korean Women: results of a national survey. J Fam Viol.2009; 24(3):193-202.
[16]Ludermir AB, Schraiber LB, D'Oliveira AF, França-Junior I, Jansen HA. Violence against women by their intimate partner and common mental disorders. Soc Sci Med.2008; 66(4):1008-18.