Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression in Battered Women Summary Barbai, Ben-Shakhar and Shalev (2007) conducted a research study to investigate the role that learned helplessness (LH) played in the length and severity of violence towards the female population as well as the severity of symptoms and diagnosis of major depression (MDD) and Post Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) on women who had been exposed to domestic violence for a long period of time. The study took place with 101 battered women who reside at different shelters in Israel. Out of the eleven shelters for battered women the researchers visited eight over the course of 18 months. 140 women were asked to participate in the study. Out of the initial approached only 102 agreed to participate, although one of them did not finish the study; leaving the sample at 101. Sixty percent of the women were originally from Israel, twenty three percent were from the Soviet Union, five percent from Arab countries, four percent from Europe, four percent from North America, two percent from South America and finally two percent from Ethiopia. The structured clinical interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical manual for mental disorders was implemented to determine whether the women were suffering from any clinical disorders. Using sound psychometric properties to estimate the how often an how severe were the 17 symptoms of PTSD occurring using the modified PTSD Scale-self report while the Beck Depression Inventory was used in the evaluation of severity of the depression symptoms. This report has a well established reliability and validity. A 20 question self report was created to measure the level of self perceived learned helplessness. The questionnaire measures the diffe... ... middle of paper ... ...y to find a correlation between learned helplessness to posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression in women who had been victims of violence for a prolonged period of time. From eight different shelters in Israel 101 women were asked to participate in this study and they were financially compensated by doing so. Also, 81 women taking self defense classes and another 81 students participated as well. Different types of questionnaires were used to measure the different degrees, exposure, length and history of violence. It was concluded that 80% of the test subjects that had PTSD had co morbid Axis I disorders and higher scores of learned helplessness. Works Cited Bargai, N., Ben-Shakhar, G., & Shalev, A. Y. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Depression In Battered Women: The Mediating Role Of Learned Helplessness. Journal of Family Violence, 22, 267-275.
Battered women constitute one of the most marginalized groupings in the social order. Their relationship incidents occasionally put these individuals into disagreement with the law, particularly when they murder their violent partners. The Battered woman syndrome (BWS) was created by clinical psychologist (1970’s) with an intention of depicting the series of occurrences that physically abused women frequently experience in their relationships.
R. Brewin. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Malady or Myth? N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web.
“Studies show that PTSD occurs in 1%-14% of the population. It can be diagnosed at any age, and can occ...
The investigators sought out potential subjects through referrals from psychiatric hospitals, counseling centers, and psychotherapists. All potential subjects were screened with a scripted interview and if they met all the inclusion criteria they met with an investigator who administered the Clinical-Administered PTSD Scale(CAPS) to provide an accurate diagnosis. In the end the study ended up with 12 subject, 10 females and 2 males with a mean age of 41.4, that met the criteria for PTSD with treatment resistant symptoms, which were shown with a CAPS score of greater than or equal to 50.
An abused woman is always faced with a number of different choices from which she may consider, with regards to seeking help or ending the relationship with a variety of alternatives, the woman knows each decision involves a variety of risks. Time after time, the common question arises, “why doesn’t she just leave?” This question can be answered by analyzing the psychological effects domestic abuse has on women. Many women are unable to cope with the emotional and psychological stress of domestic abuse and resort to violence and extre...
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), originally associated with combat, has always been around in some shape or form but it was not until 1980 that it was named Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and became an accredited diagnosis (Rothschild). The fact is PTSD is one of many names for an old problem; that war has always had a severe psychological impact on people in immediate and lasting ways. PTSD has a history that is as long and significant as the world’s war history - thousands of years. Although, the diagnosis has not been around for that long, different names and symptoms of PTSD always have been. Some physical symptoms include increased blood pressure, excessive heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, diarrhea, problems with vision, speech, walking disorders, convulsive vomiting, cardiac palpitations, twitching or spasms, weakness and severe muscular cramps. The individual may also suffer from psychological symptoms, such as violent nightmares, flashbacks, melancholy, disturbed sleep or insomnia, loss of appetite, and anxieties when certain things remind them such as the anniversary date of the event (Peterson, 2009).
Research done by Paul Ciechanowski in 2015 identified the continuance of PTSD from 6.8 to 12.3 percent in the overall adult population in the U.S. (Ciechanowski, 2015). To be diagnosed with this disorder the individual must meet a certain set of criteria. The criteria for PTSD that we will be using can be found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder Ed.4, or DSM-IV for short. PTSD is categorized by the following symptoms: intrusive thoughts, hypervigilance, sleep disturbance, nightmares and flashbacks of the past traumatic events, and avoidance to triggers of the trauma. The list I just gave you is a simplified version of the criteria that needs to meet for diagnosing PTSD. A more thorough detailing of the criteria can be found in Appendix section of this paper (PTSD Criteria List n.d.). When assessing whether an individual has PTSD or not it is important to specify the onset or duration of the disorder. Specifications in the duration of PTSD are acute, chronic, and delayed onset. Acute is referring to less than three months, chronic is referring to more than three months, and delayed onset is referring to six months passing before symptoms are
The article under review is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the DSM-5: Controversy, Change, and Conceptual Considerations by Anushka Pai, Alina M. Suris, and Carol S. North in Behavioral Sciences. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault (U.S. Department VA, 2007). PTSD can happen to anyone and many factors can increase the possibility of developing PTSD that are not under the person’s own control. Symptoms of PTSD usually will start soon after the traumatic event but may not appear for months or years later. There are four types of symptoms of PTSD but may show in different
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is defined by our book, Abnormal Psychology, as “an extreme response to a severe stressor, including increased anxiety, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and symptoms of increased arousal.” In the diagnosis of PTSD, a person must have experienced an serious trauma; including “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation.” In the DSM-5, symptoms for PTSD are grouped in four categories. First being intrusively reexperiencing the traumatic event. The person may have recurring memories of the event and may be intensely upset by reminders of the event. Secondly, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, either internally or externally. Third, signs of mood and cognitive change after the trauma. This includes blaming the self or others for the event and feeling detached from others. The last category is symptoms of increased arousal and reactivity. The person may experience self-destructive behavior and sleep disturbance. The person must have 1 symptom from the first category, 1 from the second, at least 2 from the third, and at least 2 from the fourth. The symptoms began or worsened after the trauma(s) and continued for at least one
The Battered Woman Syndrome (BWM) is a syndrome whereas women react in a certain manner because of repetitively physical or psychological abused imposed on them by their mates. The Battered Woman Syndrome (BMW) is not limited in one area or location it is a problem that is occurring all over in the world (2009, pg. 148). Like every other issue in the world criticism come into play by psychologists and others when someone claims that they are victims of the Battered Woman Syndrome or the Battered Woman Defense when they are taken to trial for killing their batterers (BMW) (2009, pgs. 162-163).
Weathers, F.W., Litz, B.T., Keane, T.M., Palmieri, P.A., Marx, B.P., & Schnurr, P.P. (2013). The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5)- Standard [Measurement instrument]. Retrieved from
Agnew acknowledges that stress can be caused by negative situations, such as abuse or neglect, family conflict, or stressful life events. These situations can all be found to be extremely prevalent in households where domestic violence occurs. According to this theory, the negative stimuli presented causes, in this case, the woman to feel angry, frustrated, disappointed, depressed, and fearful. These negative feelings, in turn, are outwardly expressed through violence. In this paper, we will look at battered woman syndrome as a theory that stems from Robert Agnew's general strain theory.
Statistical evidence can be used to stress the seriousness of domestic violence and the importance of having women’s shelters dispersed throughout the nation. According to recent surveys, one in every three women will experience domestic violence at some time during her lifetime. Domestic violence is also the leading cause of injury to women, with the abuser usually being a member of her own family. Finally, up to ten million American children witness some type of domestic violence every year (Fantuzzo and Fusco, “Children’s Direct Exposure to Types of Domestic Violence Crime: A Population-based Investigation”). These statistics show that domestic violence is a reality and that the efforts of women’s shelters are not in vain.
Throughout the course of one’s lifetime, there are countless events that shape the personality, actions and mentality of that individual. Some of these events will affect the individual in a positive way allowing great life opportunities, while other events will unfortunately affect the individual in a negative way which can lead to disorders. Among the various events that can affect a person, one of the most common occurrences that some children witness early on in their lives that deeply affect their long-term mental health is being a witness to domestic violence. Research and observations that were studied revealed that there are multiple factors that can contribute to a child witnessing domestic violence. The more categories that the child falls into, the more likely they are to develop mental health issues later on in their life (Meltzer, Doos, Vostanis, Ford, and Goodman, 2009). The research conducted by Meltzer et al. (2009), was used to study the factors that were intertwined with domestic violence, as well as to better understand the needs of children who have witnessed the violence at a young age.
Around the 1950’s and 60’s, the Civil Rights and Anti-war movements began to lay the ground work for the feminist movement. During the 1970’s, spousal abuse became a public issue and the battered women’s movement was brought to the public eye. At this time there were several movements under way such as, women’s liberation, women’s health, and anti-rape movements. As a results of the success of these agencies and the resources and networking that already was in place, many battered women’s shelters were opened across the United States. The first of these, was the Women’s Advocates shelter in St. Paul, Minnesota which opened in 1973. It was not until 1984 that a bill, The Family Violence Prevention Services Act was passed through Congress. This act would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Service to give grants to States that would assist them in creating, expanding, and maintaining programs and projects that aid in the prevention of family violence.