Abuse, Aggression, and Violence Lecture Notes

Flashcards covering vocabulary related to abuse, aggression, and violence, including types of abuse, risk factors, clinical manifestations, care across the lifespan, and nursing interventions.

Abuse

Systematic strategies used to obtain dominance and control over others, including psychological, physical, emotional, economic, and sexual forms.

Physical Abuse

Perpetrators use force such as kicking, hitting, slapping, pushing, strangling, or biting; potential signs include bruising, lacerations, burn marks, fractured bones, or wounds in various healing stages.

Emotional Abuse

The person responsible uses threats, insults, and intimidation to exert control; signs may include social withdrawal, loss of self-esteem, anxiety, or claims of verbal/mental mistreatment.

Sexual Abuse

Any forced, inappropriate, or unwanted sexual contact, including sexually explicit photographs, indecent exposure, unwanted touching, rape, forced sexual acts, or coerced nudity.

Neglect

Failure to provide education, medical care, or basic needs; signs include unattended health problems, dehydration, malnutrition, poor hygiene, or hazardous/poor living conditions.

Abandonment

Desertion of a vulnerable individual; a client's claim of being abandoned or mistreated.

Financial Abuse

Misuse of another person’s financial resources, with or without permission; signs include unexplained withdrawals, abrupt changes in funds or documents, or reports of exploitation.

Anger

An intense emotion with both positive and negative effects; unrestrained, it can lead to hypertension, headaches, insomnia, digestive issues, or harm to self and others.

Aggression

Actions intended to harm, which can be either physical, psychological, or both.

Violence

The ultimate form of aggression, such as murder, rape, or other forms of physical assault.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Potentially traumatic events a child experiences before age 18 that can affect them later in life, emotionally and physically, such as violence, abuse, neglect, or an unsafe home environment.

Bullying

Uninvited, aggressive behaviors from one youth or group to another, characterized by repetition, a perceived power imbalance, and unwanted aggression.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, or psychological aggression by a current or former partner or spouse, not requiring sexual intimacy.

Phases of Intimate Partner Violence

Described by Walker (1979) as Build-Up (tension, arguments), Acute Battering (rage, intensity, law enforcement involvement), and Honeymoon/Reconciliation (perpetrator becomes affectionate, apologetic, promises change).

Rape

Forced sexual intercourse, including psychological coercion or physical force, involving penetration by the offender(s).

Statutory Rape

An adult having sex with an individual younger than 18 years of age, even if the minor consents to the act.

Sexual Assault

Unwanted sexual contact between survivor and offender, including verbal threats, fondling, or grabbing.

Stalking

Unwanted attention, threats, or harassment, often involving individuals known to the person being stalked, through following, watching, unannounced visits, or nuisance communications.

Implicit Bias

Unconscious discriminatory attitudes that trigger negative reactions or fear, potentially creating disparities in care, especially for ethnic, racial, and minority groups.

De-escalation

A strategy to manage agitation by engaging respectfully, establishing verbal contact, staying simple and concise, identifying wants/feelings, setting clear limits, and offering choices and optimism.

Seclusion

A measure limited to the treatment of self-injurious or violent clients, based on principles of containment, isolation, and reduction of sensory input, not to be used punitively.

Restraints

Physical or chemical measures used to restrict movement, initiated only if less restrictive measures fail to mitigate self-harm or harm to others, requiring a prescription and careful monitoring.

Non-Suicidal Self-Harm (NSSH)

A coping mechanism involving intentional harming of self without suicidal intent, such as cutting, scratching, biting, burning, hair-pulling, or head-banging.

Forensic Nurse

A registered or advanced practice nurse with additional education specific to violence or victimization, working with survivors of various abuses, death investigations, and providing consultation/testimony.

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE)

A registered nurse with advanced education in forensic examination of sexual assault survivors, who conducts genital exams, preserves evidence, administers medications, and may provide expert legal testimony.