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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Helen E Straus, MD, MS1, Louise-Anne McNutt, PhD2, Elizabeth H. Guonjian, MD, MDiv3, Robert Rydman, PhD4, Linda M Kampe, RHIA1, and Rebecca R Roberts, MD1. (1) Department of Emergency Medicine, Cook County Hospital/Rush University, 1900 W. Polk St 10th flr, Chicago, IL 60612, 312-633-5451, hstraus@ccbh.org, (2) Department of Epidemiology, University at Albany, School of Public Health, One University Place, Rensselaer, NY 12144, (3) University of Chicago, 5801 S. Ellis, Chicago, IL 60637, (4) Department of Emergency Medicine, Cook County Hospital, 928 N. Grove Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302
Purpose: To compare perceived severity of a variety of emotional, physical and sexual abuse acts in abused and non-abused women.
Methods: Subjects rated a variety of abuse acts on a 100-point scale. Means were calculated and then analyzed using either a t-test or chi-square to compare between group responses, depending on each scale's distribution.
Results: Abused women (n=32) assigned a higher mean severity score (x=64) to emotional abuse items such as put downs, name calling, extreme jealousy and limitations on social contact than non-abused women (n=33; x=54; p<0.04). Physical abuse items including slapping, choking, hitting, loss of consciousness, broken bones and knife or gun wound yielded the opposite result, with a mean severity score of 88 for abused women vs. 92 for non-abused women p<0.024). This tendency is even more pronounced when the single item "being killed" is assessed, revealing a score of 91 vs. 100 for abused vs. non-abused women (p<0.001). Other items such as threats, stalking, being held captive and forced sex were not significantly different between groups.
Conclusions: Abused and non-abused women regard a variety of abuse acts in strikingly different ways. Abuse events that do not typically reflect severity to clinicians, such as demeaning comments by a partner, are in fact perceived quite severely by abused women. On the other hand, the submaximal score by recently abused women for "being killed" suggests how disruptive and injurious domestic violence conditions can be. Such experiences impact the health of ED patients and are worthy of improved professional understanding.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Domestic Violence, Women's Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.