The life course of women who have experienced abuse – a life chart study in general psychiatric care

Abstract

The life chart offers rich information that provides a broader picture of the lives of women who have experienced abuse. Life charts could be useful for nurses identifying women in general psychiatric care who have experienced abuse. Despite experiences of abuse and stressful events during childhood, there were only a few indications of them receiving support in the life charts. Many of the women had as adults been in contact with or received care at numerous healthcare services. Violence against women is a worldwide problem and has an impact on the lives of women and girls. The study aims to investigate the life course of women within psychiatric care who have experienced abuse. The women's resources, stressful events, experience of abuse, perpetrators, mental ill health, and care and support throughout the life course are also highlighted. Eleven women who had all sought general psychiatric care in an urban area in Sweden participated. A computer software program was used for constructing life charts for each participant, and manifest content analysis was used to analyse the data. The women's social status and resources differed, and some of them spoke of only experiencing few stressful events growing up, while others described a stressful childhood. All of the women had been abused sometime during their life course, and most of the perpetrators were known to the women. Even so, the women had seldom disclosed their childhood abuse. As adults, the women were diagnosed with psychiatric diagnoses, and suicidal behaviour increased. The life chart offers rich information and a broader picture of the life history of women who experienced abuse as well as constituting a tool useful for identifying women with experiences of abuse.

Abused women's vulnerability in daily life and in contact with psychiatric care: In the light of a caring science perspective

“…The study also showed that the women who had no experience of abuse during their childhood reported less anxiety and fear growing up (Örmon et al . ). The phenomenon of suffering is also described as a duality between caring and noncaring general psychiatric care.…”

“…A time geographic life chart study by Örmon et al . () shows how 11 women with experiences of abuse and mental ill health reported experiences of abuse throughout their life course and with a variety of perpetrators. Even if the time geographic study also reported ‘good’ periods where the women lived their lives without stressful events or abuse, a majority of the women described their suffering as lifelong.…”

A cross‐sectional descriptive study of the family functioning, health and social support of hospital patients with family violence backgrounds

“…In addition, men and women involved in intimate partner violence as both victims and perpetrators are negatively associated with health‐related quality of life . FV exposure as an adult is associated with a lower physical and mental health status . Women were at increased risk of physical and mental health symptoms, and men were at increased risk primarily for mental health symptoms .…”

Effect of Psychoeducation Group Training Based on Problem-Solving Skills for Women Experiencing Bipolar Spouse Abuse

“…The physical and mental health of victims is negatively affected by abuse and affected women may experience the chronic somatic complaints, reproductive problems, injuries (13), depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, suicidal behavior, substance use, sleep and eating disorders, feelings of guilt, shame and of being worthless (13)(14)(15)(16)(17). The negative effects of spousal abuse are intergenerational in that maternal abuse is associated with risk for poor behavioral functioning in her child (16).…”