Link Between Learned Helplessness to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression in Battered Woman
Summary:
Bargai,Ben-Shakhar, and Shalev (2007) designed a study to test the hypothesis that learned helplessness (LH) intervenes the relationship between violence severity and mental disorders in battered women, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression (MDD). They also hypothesis that the severity of LH, PTSD, and MDD is positively correlated with the severity of violence. Lastly, it was hypothesized that here is a significant correlation between LH and the invested background factors such as child abuse, socioeconomic and male-dominated backgrounds. The sample consisted of 102 battered woman from eight
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An independent sample t-test was done to compare battered women with PTSD and those without PTSD. LH scores in PTSD-positive participants were significantly higher than those whom are non-PTSD. This suggest that there is a strong association between high levels of LH and PTSD in battered women. Furthermore, it was discovered that LH is strongly associated with early cultural influence, especially in male-dominated backgrounds. Women who are raised in cultures and educational background that promote female submissiveness and prejudice against women are more likely to develop PTSD and depression as a result of male violence. Depression is especially highly correlated with PTSD. Sexual violence was the strongest predictor of PTSD, whereas physical violence alone wasn’t significantly correlated. History of child abuse increases LH and therefore, increasingthe risk of depression and PTSD. In conclusion, this study suggests that LH in battered women is associated both with prolonged exposure to violence and other risk factors outside of the abusive relationship, and that the LH mediates the contribution of violence exposure to PTSD and MDD in this population.
Critique
Overall this study was well designed to test the main hypothesis on learned helplessness contribution on the severity of violence as well as PTSD and MDD symptoms. To say that is experiment is valid is to say that the researchers measured what were
They also found that childhood sexual abuse was the most common trauma that lead to PTSD symptoms. These findings are in line with previous research on this topic or similar topics to this one. Although childhood sexual assault was the common, the authors noted that being stalked and being threatened produces the most severe symptoms of PTSD in the regression equation. Another finding that was consistent with previous research is that sudden death of a loved one was a traumatic even experienced more frequently by the participants. Even though this was a very diverse group in terms of ethnicity, it still found that men experienced robbery and stranger assault more frequently than women. These findings are also consistent with other research. The authors expressed that because the diagnoses were not based on research-based diagnoses but from clinical charts it may not be as reliable. They also noted that there may be some groups that were not represented in the study, such as those living with SMI in the inner
In my third article by Lenore Walker discusses Battered Women and the impact caused on them from martial abuse that had led to Battered Women to be diagnosed with PTSD from the level of beatings, and constant abuse they took from their partners over the time of the relationship. Walker discusses five major areas that negatively affected with the women’s coping skills they are manipulation, dissociation, anger, intimacy, and compliance. When she was assessing women of the PTSD like symptoms she had come to notice a few things about the women, that lead to diagnose them with PTSD as the symptoms, as well as what triggered the responses are the same across the board for all those diagnosed with PTSD. She noticed that many of the victims would minimize the trauma or even deny it happened from the very start which is a common coping method that she had pointed out in her article. She also noticed that some of the women would almost go into a sort of trance like state in which they would gaze
The Multicultural consideration in a recent sample of inner-city women (approximately two thirds of whom were Black) disclosed almost 25% met criteria for PTSD and that a history of either child abuse or rape in adulthood increased their chances of having PTSD nonetheless of this group, both abuse and rape increased the likelihood of PTSD 17 times (Schumm, Briggs-Phillips, & Hobfoll, 2006). Additional studies of homeless or low-income women were found among African American or
1)F.Scott Christopher and Tiffani S. Kisler(2012)surveyed mental health issues faced by women who experienced intimate partner violence.339 college women were surveyed and analysis showed that verbal aggression and minor and major physical violence overlapped.Experiences of sexual assault and minor physical violence also co-occurred.Women who experienced verbal and physical abuse but not sexual violence showed symptoms of hostility,anxiety,and depression and those who experienced sexual abuse displayed signs of depression.
Women who are chronically battered has been categorized as a subclass of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is composed of the following symptoms: re-living the battering as if it were reoccurring even when it is not, efforts to circumvent the psychological effect of battering by avoiding activities, people, and emotions, hyperarousal or hypervigilance, disrupted interpersonal relationships, body image distortion or other somatic concerns, and sexuality
Domestic violence or partner violence is a serious public health problem in the military veterans with PTSD. For veterans, PTSD is strong factor that largely accounts for the relationship between
Gender-based violence impacts women and girls mental health and plays a role in the types of trauma women are more likely to experience and their responses to those types or traumas.
Given, there is no true way to diagnose battered woman syndrome. It is a name given by a doctor who has encountered several women facing problems due to abuse in their homes. A woman facing chronic abuse would be safer using a PTSD plea. “This is not to say that a woman cannot be assessed for medical signs of physical trauma, however these physical signs are non-definitive of BWS, and could have occurred at any given moment.” (Dixon) There are several arguments that BWS does not exist. Some try to use BWS as a mental illness or an insanity plea. Clinical expertise use specific signs and symptoms to verify situations of abuse. These same signs and symptoms are visible in many given situations and not only those pertaining to BWS. In a study done on learned helplessness there was no sudden rage or aggression from the caged animals. So, why do these women claim that their helplessness caused them to harm another. “Further, and more importantly, there has never been any experiment demonstrating the phenomenon of learned helplessness in human beings. So, the entire argument for learned helplessness in battered women is pure conjecture, without any empirical support.” (Dixon)
Even though suicide is a personal situation, sometimes the reasons for suicide is more personal that what most can see such as domestic violence, this includes physical and verbal abuse. Children and teens who are abused domestically tend to experience emotional, mental, physical and social damage that could affect their entire lives. The psychological effects of domestic violence could be long or short term and many children experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which is similar to what a combat veteran would experience after war. Even if the abuse is not directed to the child, he/she could still be affected by witnessing abuse around them. According to the Child Domestic Violence Association those who grow up in a with domestic
Learned helplessness is where a victim feels as if they have no control over a situation with no escape or way out of it. This applies to Battered Woman Syndrome because the learned stimuli of not being able to control the abuse makes them believe that they can do nothing to stop it so they lose their motivation to try and stop the abuse (Ewing, 1990). There are many factors that keep a woman in an abuse relationship and vary by specific cases. Some things that can hamper their ability
Consider a cycle where a male child witnesses his father physically, verbally, and psychologically abusing his mother. The mother may a PTSD suffer from her abuse, there fore incapable or possibly prevented from providing comfort to her child. The father may abuse the child that would increase the PTSD symptoms. Without treatment for the child's PTSD compounded by what he learned from his parents, it is very likely he will become abusive in his relationships. According to Edleson, "A variety of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive functioning problems among children were found to be associated with exposure to domestic violence." (1999, p. Abstract). Researchers
The prevalence of PTSD is shown that women develop the disorder at a rate twice of that of men, despite other factors (Simmons, 2010). As stated in the National Comorbidity Survey, total lifetime prevalence of
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)" plays an important role in providing information with regard to the disorder and thus makes it possible for readers to gain a more complex understanding of the condition. The article primarily documents the disorder's background, the prevalence with which it happens, and reasons why individuals come to suffer from the condition. By emphasizing that PTSD is practically the body's attempt to raise a person's awareness concerning the gravity of the situation that he or she has been in, the article makes it possible for readers to understand that one of the best way to fight the condition's harmful effects would be for the individual to acknowledge that he or she holds a great deal of power and that it is essential for him or her to make use of that power in order to improve his or her mental health.
There are many different hypotheses that are being tested during this study. The first hypothesis is that people who come from families with a history of domestic violence tend to be involved in an abusive relationship themselves more often than people who came from normal families. The second hypothesis is that people with more social support are less likely to be involved in abusive relationships than people with less social support. The third hypothesis is that people with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to be involved in abusive relationships than people with a higher socioeconomic status. The fourth hypothesis is that people who are involve in an abusive relationship tend to have lower self-esteem than people who are not involved
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