PSYCHOLOGICAL/EMOTIONAL ABUSE Psychological or emotional abuse involves trauma to the victim caused by acts, threats of acts, or coercive tactics, such as those listed below. This list is not exhaustive. Other behaviors may be considered emotionally abusive if they are perceived as such by the victim. Some of the behaviors on the list may not be perceived as psychologically or emotionally abusive by all victims. Operationalization of data elements related to psychological/emotional abuse will need to incorporate victim perception or a proxy for it. Although any psychological/ emotional abuse can be measured by the IPV surveillance system, the expert panel recommended that it only be considered a type of violence when there has also been prior physical or sexual violence, or the prior threat of physical or sexual violence.* Thus by this criterion, the number of women experiencing acts, threats of acts, or coercive tactics that constitute psychological/emotional abuse may be greater than the number of women experiencing psychological/emotional abuse that can also be considered psychological/emotional violence. Psychological/emotional abuse can include, but is not limited to: Humiliating the victim (e.g., less smart, less attractive) Deliberately doing something that makes the victim feel embarrassed Using money that is the victim’s Taking advantage of the victim Disregarding what the victim wants Isolating the victim from friends or family Prohibiting access to transportation or telephone Getting the victim to engage in illegal activities Using the victim’s children to control victim’s behavior Threatening loss of custody of children Smashing objects or destroying property Denying the victim access to money or other basic resources Disclosing information that would tarnish the victim’s reputation 3.401 Psychological/Emotional Abuse by Any Intimate Partner Ever 3.402 Psychological/Emotional Abuse in the Past 12 Months by Any Intimate Partner *At the March 1996 meeting of the 12-member expert panel, participants discussed the importance of capturing these behaviors as one component of IPV. They also recognized that psychological/emotional abuse encompasses a range of behavior that, while repugnant, might not universally be considered violent. The panel made the decision to classify psychological/emotional abuse as a type of violence only when it occurs in the context of prior physical or sexual violence, or the prior threat of physical or sexual violence. The panel suggested that "prior" be operationalized as "within the past 12 months." 3.401 PSYCHOLOGICAL/EMOTIONAL ABUSE BY ANY INTIMATE PARTNER EVER Description/Definition Occurrence, ever in the victim’s life, of psychological/emotional abuse by any intimate partner. Uses Allows differentiation of psychological/emotional abuse from physical violence, sexual violence, or threat of physical or sexual violence. Discussion This data element cannot provide a count of the total number of discrete violent episodes, nor can it provide information about the co-occurrence of different types of violence within each episode. However, data element 4.101 Type(s) of violence in most recent episode, does allow collection of such information for the most recent violent episode perpetrated by any intimate partner. Data Type (and Field Length) CE — coded element (60). Repetition No. Field Values/Coding Instructions Code Description 0 No known psychological/emotional abuse occurred by any intimate partner ever. 1 Psychological/emotional abuse occurred by any intimate partner ever. 9 Unknown if psychological/emotional abuse occurred by any intimate partner ever. If any episode of psychological/emotional abuse also involved other types of violence (physical violence, sexual violence, or threat of physical or sexual violence), the episode should be recorded for each of those types of violence, as well as being recorded for psychological/emotional abuse. Data Standards or Guidelines None. Other References None.
3.402 PSYCHOLOGICAL/EMOTIONAL ABUSE IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS BY ANY INTIMATE PARTNER Description/Definition Occurrence of psychological/emotional abuse by any intimate partner (current or former) in the 12 months prior to the date the agency providing data to the IPV surveillance system first documented IPV victimization for this person. Uses Indicates the victim’s experience of psychological/emotional abuse over the past 12 months. Discussion Psychological/emotional abuse is frequently pervasive and chronic. Unlike the data elements related to violent episodes involving physical violence, sexual violence, or threat of physical or sexual violence perpetrated by any intimate partner in the past 12 months, this data element specifies if the victim felt psychologically abused, rather than counting the number of episodes that occurred. Data Type (and Field Length) CE — coded element (60). Repetition No. Field Values/Coding Instructions Code Description
If, for data element 3.401 Psychological/emotional abuse by any intimate partner ever, there is a response of "0" (No known psychological/emotional abuse occurred by any intimate partner ever) or "9" (Unknown if psychological/emotional abuse occurred by any intimate partner ever), then this data element should not be used. Data Standards or Guidelines None. Other References None.
3.403 PROPORTION OF TIME VICTIM FELT PSYCHOLOGICALLY/EMOTIONALLY ABUSED IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS BY PERPETRATOR OF MOST RECENT VIOLENT EPISODE Description/Definition Proportion of time the victim felt psychologically/emotionally abused by the perpetrator of the most recent violent episode in the 12 months prior to the date of the most recent violent episode. Uses Provides a measure of the extent to which the victim felt psychologically or emotionally abused by the perpetrator of the most recent violent episode during the past 12 months. Can be used as a proxy for the severity of psychological/emotional abuse. Discussion Because psychological/emotional abuse is often pervasive and chronic, this data element indicates the proportion of time the victim felt psychologically/ emotionally abused over the past 12 months, rather than counting the frequency of psychologically or emotionally abusive acts or episodes. Although the IPV surveillance system cannot provide information about the cooccurrence of different types of violence within episodes, this data element and other data elements related to the perpetrator of the most recent violent episode provide information about the past perpetration of each type of violence by a single violent intimate partner. See also the following data elements: 3.104 Number of episodes involving physical violence in the past 12 months by perpetrator of most recent violent episode; 3.204 Number of episodes involving sexual violence in the past 12 months by perpetrator of most recent violent episode; and 3.304 Number of episodes involving threat of physical or sexual violence in the past 12 months by perpetrator of most recent violent episode. Data Type (and Field Length) CE — coded element (60). Repetition No. Field Values/Coding Instructions Code Description 0 The victim was known not to feel psychologically/emotionally abused by the perpetrator of the most recent violent episode during the 12 months prior to the date of the most recent violent episode. 1 The victim felt psychologically/emotionally abused by the perpetrator of the most recent violent episode some of the time during the 12 months prior to the date of the most recent violent episode. 2 The victim felt psychologically/emotionally abused by the perpetrator of the most recent violent episode most of the time during the 12 months prior to the date of the most recent violent episode. 3 The victim felt psychologically/emotionally abused by the perpetrator of the most recent violent episode all of the time during the 12 months prior to the date of the most recent violent episode. 9 It is unknown what proportion of time the victim felt psychologically/ emotionally abused by the perpetrator of the most recent violent episode during the 12 months prior to the date of the most recent violent episode. If, for the data element 3.401 Psychological/emotional abuse by any intimate partner ever, there is a response of "0" (No known psychological/emotional abuse occurred by any intimate partner ever) or "9" (Unknown if psychological/emotional abuse occurred by any intimate partner ever), then this data element should not be used. The code should only reflect the proportion of time the victim felt psychologically/ emotionally abused by the perpetrator of the most recent violent episode. The perpetrator of the most recent violent episode may have used any type of violence. Thus, it is possible that person did not perpetrate psychological/emotional abuse in the 12 months prior to the date of the most recent violent episode, even though another intimate partner did perpetrate psychological/emotional abuse of the victim in that same 12-month period. Data Standards or Guidelines None. Other References None.
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Page last modified: September 25, 2008