Study Finds Link between Domestic Violence Offenders and Health Issues
Domestic violence in the U.S. is at epidemic proportions. Every year, at least 1,200 women are killed in acts of domestic abuse and another 320,000 arrive at emergency rooms or a doctors offices with injuries caused by an intimate partner. It is estimated that domestic violence cost $8.3 billion annually just on medical and mental health services alone.
In a recent study, one in five men admitted to incidents of domestic violence against their spouse or intimate partner. The study also discovered that there are certain medical issues that may serve as warning signs that a patient may have a propensity towards domestic abuse.
The study was conducted by the University of Michigan and included 530 male participants from the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication of 2001-2003. The average age of the men was 42 years old. Approximately 75 percent of the men were classified as non-Hispanic white. Almost 60 percent of participants had extended their education beyond high school and 84 percent of the men were employed.
For the study, incidents of domestic abuse were classified as pushing, shoving, grabbing, slapping, hitting, biting, kicking, chocking, beating up, scalding or burning, throwing something at, or threatening an intimate partner with a gun or a knife.
Of the men who admitted being violent with their partner, more than 50 percent had gone to the doctor’s for a health visit at least once within the past year. Another 30 percent had at least one emergency room visit during that same time period.
The study found there were similar physical symptoms among those men who had committed domestic violence, including insomnia and irritable bowel syndrome. The research team cited these symptoms as indicators of warning signs of aggression, especially when coupled with other known indicators such as a history of substance abuse and childhood history of witnessing or experienced domestic violence.
If you are a victim of intimate partner violence, it is critical that you seek legal help immediately. Contact an experienced Geneva family law attorney for help in obtaining an order of protection and advice on other legal steps you may be able to take.
