Analysis of psychological abuse strategies in intimate partner violence

Abstract

It is only in recent decades that abusive behaviours or psychological violence have acquired considerable social significance in Western countries. Nowadays, research focusing on these themes is abundant. Moreover, professionals and practitioners who analyse, evaluate and treat these abusive behaviours and their consequences are also profuse. Nonetheless, when applying psychological violence to couples, a sufficient consensus has not yet been achieved both regarding the definition of
the phenomenon and the evaluation of the abusive strategies. Hence, this study defines such violence as instrumental, seeking domination over the other partner (usually women), in order to get their submission. From this perspective, this paper attempts to contribute to a better assessment of the phenomenon of psychological abuse in the context of couples. After an analysis of the phenomenon, we provide a new categorization of psychological abuse strategies in couples. The first results point out how the experts weighted in a different way different forms of psychological abuse, establishing a hierarchy within them.