Page 165 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

132 n DoMESTiC VioLEnCE

or girlfriend, or a dating partner. Domestic intimate relationships. For more than three
violence may occur in opposite-sex or same- decades, there have been debates about
D sex relationships and can continue after the whether domestic violence is primarily per-
relationship has ended. Domestic violence petrated by men against women (Dobash &
may take a variety of forms, including phys- Dobash, 1993), or whether women are as vio-
ical violence (e.g., shoving, grabbing, hitting, lent as men in intimate relationships (Straus
kicking, choking, beating, threatening with & Gelles, 1990). More recently, Johnson (1995,
or using a gun or knife), psychological abuse 2006) has proposed a typology of domestic
or maltreatment (e.g., shouting, insulting, violence to address the long-standing dis-
ridiculing, isolating, monitoring, or threat- pute. Central to Johnson’s (2006) typological
ening harm), and sexual assault (e.g., forced approach is the assertion that domestic vio-
or coerced sex). lence is not a unitary phenomenon and that
Domestic violence is pervasive and a distinctions among the types can be made
global problem. Worldwide, lifetime prev- on the basis of whether violence is part of
alence rates of physical violence, sexual the tactics to control an intimate partner. of
assault, or both by an intimate partner range the types of domestic violence proposed by
between 15% and 71%, with most estimates Johnson (2008), situational couple violence
falling between 30% and 60% (Garcia- is considered to be the result of escalation of
Moreno, Jansen, Ellsberg, heise, & Watts, specific conflicts and is not part of a general
2006). in the United States, population-based pattern of control over the partner. in inti-
estimates of lifetime physical and sexual mate terrorism, however, violence is used
domestic violence prevalence range from as one of the many tactics to gain control
25% to 50%, with most between 25% and over the partner. Almost always perpetrated
35% (Coker et al., 2002; Tjaden & Thoennes, by men, this type of systematic, controlling
2000). Variations in prevalence estimates abuse is the kind of violence seen in emer-
may be due to the following: (1) how domes- gency departments, domestic violence shel-
tic violence is defined and measured because ters, and the criminal justice system. nurse
some studies may focus on physical and sex- researchers have long recognized the use of
ual violence only (e.g., Garcia-Moreno et al., deliberate and repeated physical aggression
2006) whereas others may also include psy- and/or sexual assault, with minimal provo-
chological abuse (e.g., Bonomi et al., 2009); cation, by a man against his intimate partner
(2) whether lifetime (e.g., Coker et al., 2002) with the intention of exerting coercive control
or past year (e.g., Thompson et al., 2006) is (Campbell, 1989; Campbell & humphreys,
used as the time frame for measurement; 1993). Frye, Manganello, Campbell, Walton-
and (3) which population or setting is used Moss, and Wilt (2006), using a representa-
(e.g., national samples vs. shelter samples, as tive sample of women living in 11 north
in Johnson, 1995). in health care settings, the American cities, also found that a majority of
prevalence rates of violence against women the women who experienced physical assault
by an intimate partner are reported to be by an intimate partner experienced control-
between 10% and 23% (Bonomi et al., 2009; ling behaviors by that partner as well.
Coker et al., 2002; Thompson et al., 2006). This Women’s responses to domestic violence
serves as a reminder to nurses that a substan- are complex. Although learned helplessness
tial number of women in their care could be (Walker, 1984) was used to explain women’s
in violent intimate relationships. passivity and helplessness in the face of vio-
The etiology of domestic violence is com- lence in intimate relationships, contempo-
plex, and there are many theoretical frame- rary theory and research tend to see abused
works explaining the causes of violence in women as resilient and resourceful survivors