الگوهای و عوامل پیش بینی کننده بهداشت روانی خشونت خانگی در ایالات متحده: نمایش نتایج:سازمان ملی همبودی

Over 10 million Americans are estimated to experience domestic violence each year Schafer et al., 1998 and Sorenson et al., 1996, making it a major public health problem. More than one-third of all women seen in emergency rooms in the U.S. are victims of domestic violence (Stark & Flitcraft, 1988). Over half of women and one-third of men murdered in the U.S. are killed by their domestic partners (Browne & Williams, 1993). Not surprisingly, in light of these statistics, domestic violence is also associated with high rates of mental disorders, including depression, substance abuse, and suicidality in both clinical samples Gleason, 1992, Miller, 1990 and West et al., 1990 and general population samples Bland & Orne, 1986, Danielson et al., 1998 and Stets & Straus, 1990. The literature has largely assumed that the high rates of mental disorder found among victims of domestic violence are consequences of the violence to which they are exposed. This is consistent with evidence documenting adverse mental health effects of many different types of traumatic life experiences Breslau et al., 1998 and Kessler et al., 1995. However, it is also important to consider a possibility suggested elsewhere Barnett & Fagan, 1993 and Dinwiddie, 1992 that some preexisting mental disorders might be risk factors for the subsequent onset of domestic violence. Documentation of such risk in a large representative sample would have important treatment implications (Danielson et al., 1998).