Traumatic brain injury: an effect and cause of domestic violence and child abuse

Battered and Brain Injured: Traumatic Brain Injury Among Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence-A Scoping Review

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this scoping review is to examine the extent, range, and nature of literature targeting health-care professionals on the prevalence and outcome of intimate partner violence (IPV)-related traumatic brain injury (TBI). The purpose is to gain an understanding of prevalence, investigate screening tool use, generate IPV/TBI-specific support recommendations, and identify suggestions for future research.

METHOD

The review was guided by Arksey and O'Malley's five stages for conducting a scoping review. A comprehensive search of nine databases revealed 1,739 articles. In total, 42 published research papers that focused specifically on TBI secondary to IPV were included in the study.

SYNTHESIS

The literature reports inconsistencies in prevalence rates from IPV-related TBI. There are no current standardized screening practices in use, though the literature calls for a specialized tool. Frontline professionals would benefit from education on signs and symptoms of IPV-related TBI. Empirical studies are needed to generate reliable data on prevalence, experience, and needs of brain-injured survivors of TBI.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study demonstrate the need for the development of an IPV-sensitive screening tool, more accurate data on prevalence, an interprofessional approach to care, and raised awareness and education on the diffuse symptoms of IPV-related TBI.

Strengthening the Connection Between Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and Family Violence: The Importance of Ongoing Monitoring, Research and Inclusive Terminology

Family violence (FV) harms communities worldwide so FV prevention strategies and effective responses are urgently needed. This article reports on FV apparent in a study which explored the experiences of people with both ABI and justice system encounters in Victoria, Australia. One hundred interviews and one focus group consulted people with ABI, their families and carers, and various stakeholder groups in the Victorian justice system in Australia. Qualitative content analysis determined dominant themes and sub-themes and the less common themes. Inductive interpretive content analysis identified themes commonly found in previous published research and themes that appeared unique to, or unanticipated in, our data, such as the FV theme upon which this article focuses. Our findings reveal that FV has adversely affected many people with ABI who came into contact with Victoria's justice system. Further, as ABI and FV often co-occur with substance abuse, mental health problems, socio-economic and many other significant disadvantages, for some FV perpetrators with an ABI, their ABI symptoms and characteristic co-morbidities may be a mitigating factor in their offending. The connection between ABI and family violence emerged as a troubling research theme. Indeed, the impact of FV on too many of our participants with an ABI compels us to call for further related research and secondary prevention programs targeted at FV victims, and offenders, living with ABI. An intersectional understanding of family violence and TBI/ABI in social ecological contexts is required to better understand brain injury at both individual and population levels.