196. CCA Study Notes: Abusive Relationships, Risk Factors, and People at Highest Risk for Abuse

The Big Picture

Abuse happens in many kinds of relationships. A person who causes harm might be a family member, caregiver, partner, friend, classmate, health care worker, or another person close to the victim.

People of every age face abuse risk. Some people face greater risk because dependence, isolation, disability, communication barriers, or other circumstances leave them more vulnerable.

Abusive relationships are complex. Abuse usually does not have one single cause, and several different factors are linked with a greater likelihood of abusive behaviour.

Look for Nova Scotia CCA Notes throughout this page for current provincial guidance.

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Course Notes: Key Ideas You Need to Know

What Abuse Means

Abuse is deliberate physical or mental harm caused by another person or people.

Abuse appears in many relationships. The person causing the harm might be:

• a parent or child
• a grandparent or step-parent
• another relative
• a friend or family friend
• a caregiver
• a spouse or partner
• a person connected to a parent or adult child

Spousal abuse refers to abuse of one partner by another partner in an intimate relationship, including marriage or a common-law relationship ⓘ.

Abuse Is Not Limited to One Type of Person or Family

Every age group faces abuse risk. Sorrentino’s Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker, 5th Edition describes all age groups as at risk and equally likely to experience abuse, while also identifying some specific groups as facing greater risk.

Anyone could potentially be abused or become an abuser, depending on the circumstances.

Abuse also occurs across families with different income and education levels.

Different relationships where abuse occurs include:

• spouses or partners abusing one another
• classmates or significant others abusing children
• caregivers or adult children abusing older persons
• health care workers abusing clients
• clients abusing health care workers

The main study point is that abuse is not limited to one age, family type, care relationship, or social group.

Why Some People Face Greater Risk

Certain groups face greater risk of abuse even though anyone might experience abuse.

For people who already face greater vulnerability, abuse might:

• damage their sense of self-worth
• damage their dignity
• increase social isolation
• leave them even more vulnerable to further abuse

Some people also lack access to available support systems or do not know that these supports exist.

Marginalized Persons

Marginalized describes people prevented from having control over their lives or health care because of language, life circumstances, or their role in society. This marginalization leads to exclusion from mainstream society ⓘ.

Marginalized persons, especially women, are identified as a group at higher risk.

Circumstances linked with marginalization include people who:

1. lack enough fluency in an official language to report abuse
2. belong to groups identified in Sorrentino as visible-minority groups, including examples such as Indigenous communities and some ethnic groups, as well as members of the LGBTQ2 community
3. live in geographic isolation
4. have a physical or intellectual disability
5. live with a mental health disorder
6. have a current or past substance abuse problem
7. work in the sex trade

People who experience marginalization often feel ignored or powerless. They might struggle to report abuse, or others might fail to understand or believe their reports.

Authorities might give less attention to reports from marginalized people than to reports from other people.

Sexual assault against women is described as especially prevalent in Northern Canada, where Indigenous people make up a higher proportion of the population in the territories than in the provinces.

Children

Child abuse means mistreatment or neglect of a child by a parent, guardian, or caregiver.

Children face higher risk for several reasons:

• They usually depend on the person caring for them.
• Their young age limits their ability to defend or protect themselves.
• Some parents or caregivers use abusive force or words while believing they have a right to discipline a child that way.
• Some caregivers feel overwhelmed by the stress and responsibilities of parenting or guardianship.
• Some caregivers have their own history of childhood abuse.

Abuse of children might involve punishment or sexual abuse.

Socially or Geographically Isolated Older Persons

Older people who rarely leave where they live might have little opportunity to tell another person about abuse.

Isolation also makes physical signs of abuse less visible to others. If the older person has little contact with other people, bruises or other noticeable signs might go unseen.

Some older persons also do not know how to get away from an abuser or lack the physical strength needed to seek safety and shelter.

Older Persons With Reduced Cognitive Capacity

Reduced cognitive capacity ⓘ creates another form of vulnerability.

An older person with reduced cognitive capacity might:

• not know that abuse occurred
• not remember that abuse occurred
• lack control over personal finances
• remain unaware that someone has taken money or belongings

These difficulties make recognizing abuse or financial loss harder for the person experiencing it.

Dependent Older Persons With Disabilities

Dependent older persons with disabilities face greater risk when they have few opportunities to interact with other people.

Limited contact with others allows abuse to remain unnoticed.

In cases of physical abuse, an abuser might explain bruises as the result of:

• the older person’s disability
• the person’s age
• the person’s general health condition

This explanation might hide the true source of the injury.

Older Persons Cared for by People With Substance Abuse Problems

Older persons also face greater risk when the person caring for them has a substance abuse problem.

Substance abuse problems are linked with poor impulse control, meaning difficulty controlling angry outbursts or responding to challenging behaviour without violence.

Financial problems also create risk in these relationships. A caregiver with a substance addiction might steal money or belongings from the older person to support that addiction.

Abusive Relationships Usually Have More Than One Factor

Abusive relationships are complex. There is usually no single cause of abuse.

In caregiver relationships, abuse has often started when the caregiver felt overwhelmed and believed no help was available for caring for a child with physical or mental challenges or a dependent parent.

Across relationships, Sorrentino identifies several factors linked with a greater likelihood of abusive behaviour.

Alcohol or Drug Problems

Problems involving alcohol or drugs are linked with a greater likelihood of abusive behaviour.

Substance abuse also appears in the higher-risk situations involving older persons and their caregivers.

Mental Illness or Severe Personality Problems

Mental illness, including major depression, is one factor linked with a greater likelihood of abusive behaviour.

Severe personality problems might include:

• an explosive temper
• difficulty controlling impulses
• lack of empathy ⓘ for other people

These factors belong to a larger group of possible influences. Sorrentino does not present one of them as the single cause of abuse.

A History of Childhood Abuse

A person who experienced abuse as a child is described as more likely to become abusive.

This factor also appears in the discussion of parents and caregivers who abuse children.

Periods of High Stress

A period of high stress is another factor linked with a greater likelihood of abusive behaviour.

Examples given include:

• divorce
• unemployment
• poverty
• illness

These examples are factors linked with a greater likelihood of abusive behaviour. Abuse usually has no single cause.