Depressed girls at risk of partner abuse as adults

Reuters reported on March 7, 2006 on a study which appeared in the March, 2006 issue of the journal, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, which found that teen girls who are depressed are much more likely to find themselves in abusive relationships as adults that teens who were not depressed.

There are several reasons that early depression might make young women either more likely to start a relationship with a "high-risk" partner or less likely to leave after the abuse starts, Lehrer told Reuters Health.

For example, depressed teens and adults seem to often gravitate toward others with similar symptoms, including in dating and marriage. And among men, depression has been linked to a greater risk of abusive behavior.

Women with a history of depression may also be less likely to leave an abusive relationship -- being perhaps more dependent, emotionally or financially, on their partners than are other women.

Studies have shown, and it has long been known, that depression leads to other problems such as substance abuse, self-injury, suicide, and now we are aware that an additional consequence of teen depression can be abusive relationships.

Further research, she noted, is needed to establish whether depression directly contributes to a girls' risk of future abuse. If it does, partner violence could be added to the list of possible consequences of teen depression -- which, Lehrer noted, includes substance abuse, self-injury and suicide.

As a pychotherapist working with depressed teens and depressed adults, I often encourage these women to find their voice and become more assertive. I kiddingly say "You can either be sad or be mad, and I think getting mad and saying, 'I'm not going to take this any more, or do this any more' is a step in the right direction in fighting off the depression."

Link: MedlinePlus: Depressed girls at risk of partner abuse as adults.

Comments

[Dave Johnson]

Here is a very interesting research article about a link between depression and later victimization by domestic abuse. While, I don't find this surprising, it's gratifying to see connections that have the potential to influence the focus of psychotherapy.

MedlinePlus

"Young women who had significant depression symptoms as teenagers were 86 percent more likely than their non-depressed peers to report serious partner violence 5 years later. This association still held after a number of potential risk factors, such as race, parents' education and history of childhood abuse from a caregiver, were taken into account."

I have always associated victimization with low self-esteem. Low self-esteem has often seemed to relate to an increased risk of depression. Certainly, victims of abuse often are also depressed. But to find a connection of adolescent depression with double the risk of future victimization is a strong association.

Self-esteem has been one of those difficult to measure constructs, many because one would think that a person would know if they liked themselves or not. In my experience, people are often out of touch with themselves to the extent that what they want to believe is what they believe, rather than what is actually the truth. Self-esteem needs to be defined as set of behaviors in certain circumstances, such as acquiescence vs. assertiveness in intimate relationships.

Now it would make sense that a person who is depressed would been more likely to miss cues of potential danger. People who are depressed typically devalue their own opinions and would seem more likely to dismiss intuitions suggesting they are not safe that might allow them to protect themselves. They also are more likely to see fewer alternatives after the abuse has occurred. They would also be more likely to blame themselves for the abuse or believe that they deserve nothing better. Add low self-esteem to depression and the possibilities grow dramatically for victimization. A very interesting question is what is the relationship between low self-esteem as defined above and DSM IV TR criteria for depression and risk for recurrence.

Here is an example of putting this knowledge immediately into therapeutic practice. David Markham puts it this way:

"As a psychotherapist working with depressed teens and depressed adults, I often encourage these women to find their voice and become more assertive. I kiddingly say "You can either be sad or be mad, and I think getting mad and saying, 'I'm not going to take this any more, or do this any more' is a step in the right direction in fighting off the depression.""

Crossposted from Dare To Dream.