Comparing Levels of Domestic Abuse and Emotional Regulation of Normal Women and Women Exposed to Violence

Background: In recent decades, violent behavior towards women has been considered as the most serious social problem beyond cultural, social, and regional boundaries. This type of violence includes any violent sexual action which causes physical, sexual, or mental damage in women, leading to obligatory deprivation from individual or social freedom. Objectives: The present study was aimed to examine levels of domestic abuse and emotional regulation in normal women and women exposed to violence. Methods: This study is causal-comparative and of an after-event type. The statistical population of the present study consisted of two groups of women: exposed-to-violence women with background in conflict intervention and social emergency centers; and normal women in the second half of 2015. Statistical sample included 200 individuals (100 exposed-to-violence women and 100 normal women), who were selected using Convenience Sampling method; and they were examined and compared using questionnaires of domestic abuse and emotional regulation. All analytical actions were done using SPSS-ver20. Results: Data analysis showed that there is a significant difference between exposed-to-violence women and normal women in terms of domestic abuse dimensions (emotional adjustment components) (P > 0.0001). The results of the multivariate analysis of variance showed that there is a significant difference between the two groups of women in terms of the three subscales of domestic abuse questionnaire (emotional, physical, and sexual misbehavior); and comparison of mean values showed that the degree of these dimensions in exposed-to-violence women is high. Conclusions: Results showed that exposed-to-violence women experience more physical, sexual, and emotional domestic abuse. This can also be related to their differences in terms of emotional adjustment, which must be cared about by experts in order to give better service to these women and prevent social damage.