Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Laws against domestic abuse are essential in the effort to protect battered
men and women from their abusers. Federal law, like the Violence Against Women
Act (VAWA) that was passed in 1994 and renewed in 2000, as well as federal
anti-stalking and anti-cyber-stalking legislation, provide significant prison
terms and fines of up to more than $200,000 to discourage abusive behaviors. The Federal Gun Control Act and federal firearm offenses now include provisions for domestic violence- related crimes.
Limitations of this protection include the enforcement of legal protections for
all victims, as well as the omission of legal protection for gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) victims of intimate partner violence. Although all 50
states and the District of Columbia have laws against
stalking, less than one-third have laws that address cyber-stalking. Also,
stalking can be difficult to define, since it can take the form of virtually any
pattern of harassing behaviors. Furthermore, most stalking laws require that a
credible threat of harm be made toward the victim or the victim's immediate
family.
Mandatory reporting, now the legal requirement in 23 states, requires that health professionals report suspected instances of domestic violence to the police;
it is a somewhat controversial legal intervention for domestic violence. While mandatory reporting may result in some partner violence victims
and perpetrators receiving the treatment they need, it is thought by some to
place the victim at risk for experiencing a worsening of the abuse as a result
of angering the abuser. Another criticism of mandatory reporting includes the
violation of doctor-patient confidentiality that is important for effective
treatment to occur.
What is the prognosis for domestic violence?
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) victims of battering face a
number of obstacles to getting help. Misperceptions that GLBT people who are
battered participate in mutually abusing each other and that abuse is part of a
perceived dysfunctional relationship can result in health-care providers and law
enforcement failing to respond appropriately to GLBT abuse sufferers. The mere
inexperience that professionals have in managing intimate partner violence in
GLBT relationships can also interfere with victims and perpetrators receiving
appropriate and timely help.
Alcoholism is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law.
Drug addiction is a chronic disease that causes drug-seeking behavior and drug use despite negative consequences to the user and those around him. Though the initial decision to use drugs is voluntary, changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person's self-control and ability to make the right decisions and increase the urge to take drugs. Drug abuse and addiction are preventable.
Child abuse falls into four categories: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. There are certain risk factors that predispose a child to being abused and an adult to abusing a child. Risk factors for children are age, children with learning disabilities, adopted and foster children, children with congenital abnormalities, and a past history of abuse. Parental risk factors include young or single parents, those who suffered abuse themselves, adults with substance-abuse problems or psychiatric disease, and those who didn't graduate from high school.
Cocaine is an addictive stimulant that is smoked, snorted, and injected. Crack is cocaine that comes in a rock crystal that is heated to form vapors, which are then smoked. Cocaine has various effects on the body, including dilating pupils, constricting blood vessels, increasing body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure.
Compulsive gambling is a disorder that affects millions in the U.S. Symptoms and signs include a preoccupation with gambling, lying to family or loved ones to hide gambling, committing crimes to finance gambling, and risking importance relationships and employment due to gambling. Treatment may incorporate participation in Gamblers' Anonymous, psychotherapy, and medications like carbamazepine, topiramate, lithium, naltrexone, antidepressants, clomipramine, and fluvoxamine.
There are many forms of sexual assault, including rape, attempted rape, child molestation, sexual intercourse that you say no to, inappropriate touching, and vaginal, anal, or oral penetration. Sexual assault can also be anything that forces someone to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention, such as voyeurism, exhibitionism, incest, and sexual harassment.
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