
Curb Domestic Violence/Abuse and Slash the Incidence of Mental Disorders
A new study presented by the World Health Organization points to the international community’s efforts to curb interpersonal violence and its mental and physical consequences. This past week nearly 200 experts on violence prevention assembled in Scotland for “Milestones 2007,” a gathering intended to critically examine advances made since the WHO release of the “World Report on Violence and Health,” in 2002. At the time of its original publication, a portion of this landmark report highlighted the psychological impact of interpersonal violence, supporting emerging research on the long-term, medically-related consequences of violence. This on-going study acts to solidify the link between violent behavior and consequently, mental distress.
One of the significant health problems emphasized during the 2007 gathering is the psychological impact of violent acts. More specifically, issues such as cognitive impairment, depression, anxiety, phobias, and psychosomatic disorders have been documented following instances of child maltreatment and “intimate partner violence.”
A 2004 study also conducted by the WHO, for example, estimated that the lifetime impact of child abuse resulted in 6% of depression cases, 8% of suicide attempts, 10% of panic disorders, and 27% of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). In order to combat these and other health, social, and economic consequences of interpersonal violence, preventative rather than responsive measures were among some of the recommendations made by WHO officials. In response, countries such as Brazil, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mozambique and South Africa have begun to implement “violence-prevention” activities.
While the scope of these measures varies among participating nations, the question of effectiveness remains. The idea that long-term violent behavior affects the mental well-being of its victims remains fairly indisputable. However, “violence” in general remains an intensely sociologically-embedded process that may require further scrutiny beyond WHO-enabled measures.
References
World Health Organization, Governments make progress in interpersonal violence prevention.
World Health Organization, Third Milestones of a Global Campaign for Violence Prevention Report 2007 [PDF].
Popular Posts
- Mind Games - Science's Attempts at Thought Control
- The Science of Stuttering
- Risks of Personalized Medicine
- Intelligence - Are You Holding Back Your Brain?
- Is Grief a Mental Illness?
- The Brain's Buying Power
- The Cost of a Good Night's Sleep
- Inside Your Brain on Holiday
- Risk Factors for Recurrence of Depression
- Salvia Divinorum - DEA Control over Magic in the Mint
Future Posts
Latest Posts
- A Gateway to Weight Loss?
- Intelligence – Do You Need it to be Successful?
- A Trip for Terminal Patients
- Memory Ain’t What It Used to Be – And That’s Good for Psychotherapy
- The Science of Stuttering
- Are Your Friends Making You Fat?
- Beer – The Smarter Drink
- Macroeconomics and Suicide
- From Nymphomania to Hypersexuality
- Commitment – It’s the new Love
Comments
- Mumbai Escorts:
- brucemclaren: Our company employees are well
- brucemclaren: Waar gewerkt wordt, kunnen arb
- Ryan: Great post! I agree with the p
- : I have used heroin for 20 year
- Lino Baine: I am not aware that people wit
- Lulu Jones: Hmm....this is interesting. I
- Robert A. Yourell, MA: Hi Stephanie...OR they tried a
- Stephnie: Based on the facts in the arti
- Sammy: I was a test subject for one o
- Veronica Pamoukaghlian, MA: Thank you for your insightful
- Richard Kensinger, MSW: I agree w/ Howard Gardner's pe









1 Response
[...] Desai over at GNIF Brain Blogger reports on a World Health Organization gathering to progress on recommendations made in the WHO “World [...]