Citation

Pan HS, Ehrensaft MK, Heyman RE, O'Leary KD, Schwartz R. Fam. Med. 1997; 29(7): 492-495.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9232411

Abstract

Physicians' assessment of domestic partner abuse is hindered by the lack of a simple, quick, reliable instrument that determines the occurrence and effect of abuse among female patients. The Partner Abuse Interview, a modified version of the Conflict Tactics Scale, has the potential to meet this need. This instrument was tested in 90 consecutive female patients who presented to a suburban family practice clinic at a US university hospital in 1993. The interview took 3 minutes to complete when there was no domestic violence and 10-15 minutes when violence was detected. Inter-rater reliability was above 90% for all three definitions of partner abuse: any physical aggression, severe violence, and partner abuse. 32%, 16%, and 13% of respondents, respectively, fell into these categories. Pushing, grabbing, and shoving were the most frequently reported abusive behaviors. Compared with women in nonabusive relationships, women in relationships characterized by fear/injury had a lower family income, lower marital satisfaction scores, and less education. More widespread use of this interview is recommended by physicians to identify women in need of treatment and counseling.

Language: en