Domestic Abuse: Types, Causes, and Impact

Domestic abuse, also called domestic violence or family abuse, is a systematic pattern of behavior intentionally used to maintain control over a family member by employing tactics that hurt, terrorize, manipulate, or gain control over them.

It can be perpetrated by any household member, such as an intimate partner, parent, child, sibling, relative, or staff member. When domestic abuse is perpetrated by an intimate partner, it is referred to as intimate partner violence. Child abuse is when a child is the victim of domestic abuse.

People from marginalized groups are at higher risk of experiencing abuse. However, anyone can be a victim of abuse, regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, class, or faith.

Domestic abuse and intimate partner violence are serious, prevalent public health issues globally. In fact, it is believed that domestic abuse is the most prevalent but least reported crime in the United States.

This article explores the types, causes, signs, and impact of domestic abuse, as well as some ways to support someone who has been abused.

If you or a loved one are a victim of domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential assistance from trained advocates. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database.

Types of Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse can take many forms. Here are some of them:

• Physical abuse: This involves causing pain or physical injuries to another person's body. It can include slapping, beating, hitting, kicking, punching, pinching, biting, choking, pushing, grabbing, shaking, or burning.
• Sexual abuse: This involves any form of touching or sexual contact without a person's explicit consent. It also includes any sexual contact between an adult and a person under 18.
• Emotional or psychological abuse: This involves yelling, cursing, name-calling, bullying, coercing, humiliating, gaslighting, harassing, infantilizing, threatening, frightening, isolating, manipulating, or otherwise controlling or undermining another person. It can be just as harmful as sexual or physical abuse.
• Neglect: This involves failing to provide a child or a dependent adult with necessities like food, water, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision. It can also be emotional, which involves failing to provide love, care, and emotional support to a family member.
• Financial abuse: This involves controlling an individual's finances by manipulating their income, restricting their ability to work, or accumulating debts in their name.
• Cultural identity abuse: This involves using aspects of a person's cultural identity to cause pain. This might involve threatening to out someone as LGBTQ+, using racial or ethnic slurs, or not permitting the person to practice traditions and customs of their faith.
• Technological abuse: This involves using technology as a means of threatening, stalking, harassing, and abusing other people. Examples include monitoring someone's movements or online activities through tracking devices and demanding access to someone's social media or email accounts.
• Immigration abuse: This is the use of a person's immigration status to threaten or restrict aspects of their life. This might include threatening a person's family members, destroying or hiding their immigration papers, and threatening to have them deported.

Signs of Domestic Abuse

It's important to recognize domestic abuse because the victims are our friends, family members, coworkers, and neighbors.

These are some of the signs that someone is experiencing domestic abuse:

• Being upset or agitated
• Being withdrawn or unresponsive
• Exhibiting signs of fear or nervousness around certain people
• Displaying sudden or unusual changes in behavior
• Having injuries such as cuts, bruises, black eyes, or broken bones
• Having bruises, bleeding, torn clothes, or bloodstains around genital areas
• Being dehydrated, malnourished, or unkempt
• Living in unsafe or unsanitary conditions
• Wearing long-sleeved clothing or sunglasses to cover up bruising
• Having unusual eating or sleeping habits
• Being extremely meek and apologetic
• Losing interest in daily activities
• Isolating from friends and family

Causes of Domestic Abuse

Research suggests several contributing factors to domestic violence's prevalence:

• Cultural factors: Some cultures endorse the beating and chastising of women and children, who are viewed as a man's property. A woman's sexuality is often linked to family honor, and behaviors perceived as dishonoring the family are met with judgment and abuse.
• Legal factors: Domestic abuse might be treated as a private family matter by law enforcement agencies who may hesitate to intervene. Acts of domestic abuse can be treated with more leniency than crimes committed by strangers. In many cultures, sexual abuse by intimate partners is not recognized as a crime.
• Economic factors: Domestic abuse is often associated with a lack of economic resources.
• Environmental factors: Individuals who grew up in abusive environments or witnessed or experienced abuse as children may be more likely to perpetrate domestic abuse as adults. This is referred to as the "intergenerational cycle of abuse."
• Social factors: Society tends to blame victims for being abused, making it difficult for them to come forward and report their abusers. Victims are often scrutinized, and any imperfections are held against them.
• Substance use: Excessive alcohol and drug use can contribute to domestic abuse.

Impact of Domestic Abuse

Being abused can cause a person to:

• Think they caused the abuse
• Believe they are unworthy of love or respect
• Feel guilty or ashamed
• Feel helpless and powerless
• Feel used, controlled, or manipulated
• Fear upsetting their abuser
• Change behaviors to avoid upsetting their abuser
• Have difficulty sleeping, concentrating, or enjoying activities
• Develop mental health issues like depression or anxiety
• Develop physical health issues like heart disease, digestive issues, muscle and bone conditions, fertility problems, and nervous system disorders
• Feel responsible for regulating the abuser's emotions and behaviors
• Be hypervigilant and feel like they are constantly walking on eggshells
• Feel inadequate and incapable of making it on their own
• Constantly doubt their perception and decisions

Domestic abuse can cause physical and mental health issues that persist long after the abuse stops.

Supporting Someone Who Has Been Abused

These are some ways to support someone who has been abused:

• Listen and believe them.
• Respect where they are in their process and don't push your personal views.
• Offer assistance and let them know they're not alone.
• Help them note down all the details they can remember.
• Remind them that they're not to blame for anything that has happened to them.
• Encourage them to seek professional support, whether through a confidential hotline or medical or mental healthcare providers.
• Encourage them to speak up about the abuse and report their abuser to the authorities. Keeping it secret only protects the abuser.
• Respect whatever choice they make and let them know you'll be there for them regardless of what they decide.

A Word From Verywell

Domestic abuse can take many different shapes and forms. It can be extremely traumatic to experience, causing physical, emotional, and mental health issues that can linger well after the abuse stops. Recovery takes time, but speaking up about the abuse, leaving an abusive situation, and seeking treatment are important steps that can help.