The goal of this study was to characterize the family violence history among psychiatric patients in a mental health outpatient clinic. More specifically, identification of the modality of violence experienced by the patients was intended. Twenty three psychiatric patients who attended the clinic took part of the study. The instrument used to collect data was a semi-structured interview, with questions related to patient’s mental health and family violence history, as well as childhood description, among other topics. Only one out of 23 patients reported an absence of family violence history. Twenty participants indicated a history of physical or emotional abuse during childhood. In their adult phase, of the 13 participants who reported having lived with an intimate partner, eight female participants reported aggressive behavior by partners, and two male participants reported perpetrating aggressive episodes to their wives, in the past. In terms of sexual violence, five participants reported having experienced forced intercourse by partners, and one male participant reported having sexually abused his wife. The results call attention to the high frequency and severity of family violence episodes. This phenomenon should be investigated using wider samples, and questions on family violence history should routinely be asked in the clinical practice, as its avoidance during treatment may contribute to poor prognosis.
Family violence; Psychiatric patient; Mental health; Psychiatric hospital
