Mental Health Disorders and Functioning of Women in Domestic Violence Shelters

Abstract

This study investigates the presence of mental health symptoms and disorders reported by 74 women in a domestic violence shelter and the impact of those symptoms on function in work, school, and social encounters. Findings are compared to estimates of U.S. women generally, based on a national sample of over 65,000 women drawn from the 1995 National Health Interview Survey. The sheltered sample presents significantly higher rates of mental conditions and functional impairments affecting their work, school, and social functioning. These women are also less educated and poorer and use more health services than the U.S. population. Mental health conditions must be identified in shelters to improve functioning and facilitate independence from abusers.

Child Welfare Involvement of Mothers with Mental Health Issues

“…They may also have indirect effects; for example, by contributing to the difficulties these mothers face in knowing where to go for help, and having the financial means to maintain effective treatments. Further, mothers with mental health issues often suffer co-morbidities: domestic violence and substance abuse problems often co-occur in cases where maternal mental illness is evident (Helfrich et al 2008;US Department of Health and Human Services 1999). Under these difficult circumstances, many mothers with mental health issues struggle with the challenging task of parenting.…”

House to House, Shelter to Shelter

“…Depression can impact a woman's chances to gain independence by limiting her ability to perform routine activities of self-care and cope with everyday tasks because of confusion, disorientation, or forgetfulness (Helfrich et al, 2008), which in turn may lead to the inability to pursue goals, including employment, education, and planning for the future (Helfrich et al, 2008). The women in the study told their experiences of how living with abusers with mental illness, in addition to daily stressors of living in poverty, negatively affected their own emotional well-being.…”

Risk Factors of Domestic Violence in Iran

“…In addition, a study in Eastern India presented age, level of education, marital duration and alcoholism as significant predictors for all types of domestic violence (17). Low levels of education and low income were also the characteristics of couples who experienced domestic violence (14,(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). Furthermore, occupational status and economic empowerment of females is a protective factor for violence against females in industrialized countries (14,21,(25)(26)(27)(28)(29).…”

“…Domestic violence was a risk factor for mental disorders such as depression, chronic pain disorders, gastrointestinal and stress-related syndromes such as post-traumatic stress disorder in victims; on the other hand, psychiatric disorders such as personality disorders increase the risk of aggressive behavior towards partner (8,22,(31)(32)(33)(34).…”