Spousal Abuse
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In recent years, more attention has been paid to the problem of spousal abuse. Indeed, many women consider violence their number one health issue. Fortunately, compared to past generations of abused women, today's woman has different options for dealing with an abusive relationship. Still, however, the problem persists. In fact, its growth in our modern world has reached epidemic proportions. There are several reasons for this increase. They include aspects ranging from the individual and cycles of abuse passed from one generation to the next to all of society. Regardless of the cause though, it is the nurses' responsibility to provide effective and appropriate intervention. Perhaps this can best be achieved using the patient advocacy model. According to FBI estimates, in the United States a woman is beaten every 15 to 18 seconds (Worcester, 1992, p. 284). Spousal abuse can be defined as the use of physical force by a male against his female partner. This violence may affect all women regardless of age, race, income, sexual orientation, or environment (Noel & Yam, 1992, p. 874). Numerous studies document that between 22% and 35% of women who use emergency rooms are battered women seeking treatment, either because of the direct effects of abuse or stress induced illness caused by ongoing abuse. Moreover, because these same women often need to return time and time again, almost half the injuries women have when they arrive in emergency rooms may b
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t and often increase in severity.
Eventually, the honeymoon stage becomes less of an incentive for the woman to stay in the relationship. At this point, battered women may be forced to continue on because of social and economic pressures (Worcester, 1992, p. 285).
The basis for domestic abuse is inequality. The abuser is desires control over their victim. The sadistic drive is actually caused by the pleasure of the complete domination of another person. This power is most dramatically demonstrated by the abuser's ability to inflict pain on the abused (Hazelwood et al., 1993, p. 478).
Many of the dynamics used in "brainwashing" or "mind control" are also employed by the wife batterer. The abuser begins by isolating the victim from her other intimate relationships. This isolation is subsequently followed by physical abuse, sleep deprivation, degradation, and humiliation. In cases of sexual abuse, the abuser may gradually introduce new behaviors; invariably, this deviant activity will be accompanied by both positive reinforcement for compliant responses and negative reinforcement for noncompliant ones (Hazelwood et al., 1993, p. 478).
There are a number of characteristic features of abusive relationships. Power and co
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3261
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)
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