Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #108800

Natalie Herndon Howard, MS, Psychology Department, Jackson State University, 1400 Lynch Street, Jackson, MS 39217, (601)757-3382, nataliecxherndon@aol.com and Anthony R. Mawson, MA, DrPH, Department of Public Health, School of Allied Health Sciences, Institute of Epidemiology and Health Services Research, Jackson State University, 350 West Woodrow Wilson Avenue, Suite 2280, Jackson, MS 39213.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem, with 7%-14% of U.S. women currently in abusive relationships. The conventional judicial response is incarceration, but persons imprisoned for IPV usually return home without treatment or continue their violence with subsequent partners. Violence often arises from actual or threatened separation from the victim, and relationships between those involved in IPV tend to be symbiotic. Many involved in IPV have experienced deprivation of affectional relationships in early life. It is suggested that IPV-associated injury reflects the unwitting result of intense stimulation-seeking behavior aimed at reaffirming a threatened relationship. This implies that intense but nonharmful forms of sensory stimulation could be used therapeutically to substitute for that obtained through violence, thereby reducing the risk of IPV while preserving and even improving the quality of the relationship. Active and passive forms of stimulation (e.g., exercise, massage) are known to have a calming effect, reduce feelings of hostility, and improve self-esteem. The objective of this study is to implement and evaluate a cognitive-behavioral program for preventing IPV called Preventing Violence through Stimulation (PVS) that includes aerobic exercise and mutual whole body massage.

Learning Objectives:

The aims are to determine the extent to which the Preventing Violence through Stimulation (PVS) program
• reduces levels of anger, anxiety and depression;
• reduces incidents of intimate violence;
• lessens the risk of partner separation;
• increases feelings of mutual affection; and
• improves quality of life for the couple, compared to a control program consisting of court-ordered therapy.

Keywords: Violence, Partner Involvement

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.