Emotional Abuse Case Study

Title:

Research Question: What are the true opinions and extent of knowledge of young people of the emotional abuse which consists in domestic violence and how are these impacted through the prevention adverts?

Introduction: More recently the nation has become more psychologically minded and thus has a greater awareness of people 's emotional states. The emotional abuse involved in domestic violence as well as the vulnerability of younger people to domestic violence has become more prevalent and recognised amongst society and public bodies. Domestic violence is defined as any incident or pattern of incidents which involve controlling, coercive, threatening, violent or abusive behaviour, amongst individuals aged 16 or over who either are

This adaption to the existing definition was brought about to encourage young people to get the help they needed at earlier stages (Gov.uk, 2015).

Emotional abuse unlike physical abuse has proven to be a lot harder to prove, pinpoint and therefore convict (Mullender,1998). Domestic abuse has serious consequences regardless of form or situation, and can seriously harm those individuals who fall victim to it both physically and psychologically. In order to prevent and put a stop to the domestic abuse, it is important to have a clear understanding of all forms of domestic abuse. Prevention and awareness campaigns despite existing have been sparse in relation to the emotional form of domestic abuse until more recently adverts have been developed which not only focus on emotional abuse and other forms of abuse but they are also being focused at a younger audience.

Literature review:

Literature into domestic violence is very broad, however in relation to young people and domestic violence most research tends to be aimed at young people’s experience of domestic violence between parents rather than their own opinions and knowledge of violence in relationships amongst their age groups. Domestic violence has rapidly increased over recent years and

Additionally, Sears study highlights a suggested increase in emotional abuse and decline in physical abuse amongst young people in relationships (Sears, 2006). Furthermore, it was found that more girls than boys are both physically and emotionally abusive towards their partners (Bergman, 1992). This study influences the research motive that I intend to answer, by identifying a suggestion that emotional abuse is more prominent amongst young people. Furthermore, the study asks if this view is the same amongst adolescents, which my research aims to do by researching a slightly older sample consisting of individuals aged 16-21. The reason for this is that I feel that it would be beneficial to hear opinions of those older who may have experienced more than one intimate relationship and are therefore more likely to have experienced or have knowledge of emotional abuse. The study also found that Girls use more psychological abuse than boys, and their use of physical violence against men was simply shrugged off. These findings will be questioned in my research as they contradict the media 's preconception of the perpetrators of domestic abuse as a