Unaiza Niaz, Sehar Hassan, Qudsia Tariq.
Psychological Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Forms of Domestic Abuse in Both Genders.
Pak J Med Sci Jan ;18(3):205-14.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of intimate partner violence, forms of domestic abuses faced by both genders and associated psychological consequences of domestic abuse particularly incidence of depression and anxiety in the victims. Methods: Specifically designed and validated instrument by the name of Karachi Domestic Violence Screening Scale (KDVSS), was used to screen out the victims of domestic violence in the sample. Data was collected from the outpatient departments of Psychiatry, Liaquat National Hospital PNS Shifa and Sobraj Hospital in Karachi. The sample included equal representation of male and female participants. It consisted of 140 individuals with middle-age range. Most of them were married, few were separated or divorced. Standardized self-rating, depression and anxiety rating scales were used to check the incidence of depression and anxiety in victims and non-victims. Findings: 63% of the participants were identified as victims of domestic violence on Karachi Domestic Violence Screening Scale. 36% of the victims were males and 64% of the victims were females. 35% of the victims reported facing physical abuse, 52% of the victims reported psychological abuse and 30% of the victims reported sexual abuse from their partner. 60% of the victims had depression and 67% of the victims had anxiety. Moderate and severe degrees of depression and anxiety were more common in female victims, whereas mild forms of depression and anxiety were prevalent in male victims. Conclusions: Females are the common victims of domestic violence though males can also be the victims of domestic abuse. Clinically both depression and anxiety ratings were high among the victims of domestic abuse in both genders but the frequency of severe forms of depression and anxiety was common in female victims. Hence, the clinicians must screen the patients of domestic violence in order to identify and treat psychological consequences such as depression and anxiety in the victims.

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