Screening for Domestic Violence: Recommendations Based on a Practice Survey.

Abstract

How do practicing psychologists identify female victims of domestic violence? When asking about harm to self and others, do they also ask if the client is in danger of being harmed by another in an intimate relationship? A national survey of practicing psychologists revealed that 95% agreed that it is their responsibility to assist victimized clients, but fewer than 19% routinely screen for domestic violence. Psychologists report several barriers to screening at intake, which coupled with low screening rates, suggest that psychologists are missing important opportunities to assist clients who are at risk for assault. Several recommendations designed to improve psychologists' screening rates for domestic violence are provided.

How Much Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Is Enough? Should Chiropractic Colleges Focus on Efficacy Training in Screening for Family Violence?

“…19,20,31,[34][35][36][37] Across a variety of different health provider groups, reported rates of routine assessment remain quite low, ranging from an estimated 10-15% for physicians 1,13,27,[38][39][40][41] to < 19% for psychologists, 19 although rates may increase somewhat when physical injury is the presenting concern. 42 Hence, across traditional health care disciplines (chiropractic is discussed later in the article), providers' behaviors have remained seemingly refractory to professional recommendations for universal screening.…”

“…13,[51][52][53] Although increasing family violence coverage has been noted in recent years, providers' perceived competence and screening behaviors do not seem to have been enhanced by didactics alone, at least not in the "dose" or modality to which many providers traditionally have been exposed. 19,49,50,54 …”

“…13,14 For instance, despite the general consensus that family Moreover, estimates on the epidemiology of family violence are complicated by the comorbidity among different subtypes, such as the noted relationship between intimate partner violence and child abuse. 17,18 Nevertheless, prevalence estimates suggest, for example, that 25-30% of women have been physically victimized by an intimate partner, 11,19,20 that nearly 20% of men seeking emergency medical services in urban areas are intimate/family violence victims, 21 that about 1 million child abuse cases are identified annually, 20 and that more than 1.5 million elders are mistreated annually, 22 with a predicted upsurge in rates as "baby boomers" age. [23][24][25] In addition to the associated physical and psychosocial comorbidities, considerable evidence suggests that abuse heightens the risk for health-detrimental behaviors, emergency mental health, general health care overutilization, and subsequent re-victimization.…”

Dating Violence and Domestic Violence

“…Although estimating the extent of domestic violence depends upon factors such as the exact definition of domestic violence and how its incidence and prevalence are measured [5], in many studies women have been found to experience more intimate partner violence than men [6][7][8]. Moreover, women victims of this violence suffered more severe injuries and experienced significantly more distress than men [9,10].…”

“…Moreover, women victims of this violence suffered more severe injuries and experienced significantly more distress than men [9,10]. The physical and psychological consequences of domestic violence are both acute and chronic [7,11]. Research in several countries has shown that male partner violence is associated with physical and mental health problems in women, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and suicidal behavior [12][13][14][15][16].…”