Domestic Violence among Female Psychiatric Patients in Ain Shams University Hospitals. An Egyptian Study

Abstract

Abstract Background: One of the most prevalent types of interpersonal violence worldwide is domestic violence. It is defined as "any incident of threatening behavior, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been an intimate partner or family member, regardless of gender or sexuality. Objective: To assess the rate of domestic violence in a sample of female psychiatric patients. To evaluate the correlation between clinical diagnosis and sociodemographic factors and domestic violence. Patients and Methods: 200 married female patients attending outpatient clinic at Okasha Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University hospitals. We collected the socio-demographic and clinical data for the study participants, SCID I was used to confirm the DSM IV diagnosis, and CAS was used to assess exposure to abuse and frequency over the past year. Results: The study showed an alarmingly high rate of 86.5% of sample patients being exposed to domestic violence. The majority of patients were exposed to emotional abuse (85.5%), then physical abuse (67%), followed by exposure to severe combined abuse (65.5%) and the least exposure was to harassment (45.5%). Schizophrenia and substance use disorder showed the highest correlation with abuse, while OCD had the lowest. Conclusion: The study exposes an alarming prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among psychiatric patients. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to address IPV in vulnerable psychiatric populations.