| Wednesday, July 11, 2007: 3:30 PM-5:00 PM | |||
| Abuse in the Family: Proximal and Distal Effect | |||
| Learning Objective #1: address variables that explain the impact of abuse on vulnerable populations. | |||
| Learning Objective #2: explain how abuse contributes to psychiatric problems throughout the life cycle. | |||
| People who experience various forms of abuse are at increased risk for developing intense emotional distress or more severe psychiatric disorders during their lives. Abuse occurring during any part of the life cycle has a profound emotional impact on people, predisposing them to addiction, serious mental health issues, and further exposure to personal violence. Vulnerable populations, especially children who endure maternal and paternal physical abuse, and women with disabilities who experience verbal abuse, were found to require treatment and educational interventions tailored to their unique and complex situations. In this symposium the researchers address particular types of abuse in specific at-risk groups, the experience of the abuse, and its potential sequela. Both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used to examine the experience of abuse and the variables that contributed to the complexity of the person’s situation. Each research investigation recognizes the need to develop and focus interventions on the treatment and prevention of the violence. One study addresses the impact of non-severe physical abuse and verbal abuse by parents on their children’s seeking of mental health services and the identification of addiction problems during later adulthood. The second research project examines the relationship between severe physical child abuse and the development of psychopathology in adulthood. The third research study, a qualitative one, describes the experience of verbal abuse in women with disabilities and presents a model for explaining the phenomenon of verbal abuse. Overall, this symposium represents a continuing effort to describe and facilitate understanding of the complex health issue of domestic violence. The symposium is consistent with a national objective of Healthy People 2010, which calls for the identification of abuse, the implementation of strategies to eliminate abuse, and the overall reduction of family violence across the life cycle. | |||
| Organizer: | Linda Carman Copel, PhD, APRN, BC, DAPA | ||
| Verbal Abuse: A Red Flag for Violence in Women With Disabilities Linda Carman Copel, PhD, APRN, BC, DAPA | |||
| The role of parental verbal and non-severe physical child abuse in adult psychopathology Thomas Hardie, EdD, APRN-BC | |||
| The role of severe parental physical abuse in the mental health of a community sample of adults Bethany Sterling | |||