September Research Spotlight on an new piece of research that highlights the increased prevalence of domestic and sexual violence among people with a severe mental illness

1. presents….
Domestic and sexual violence
against patients with severe mental
illness
H. Khalifeh, P.Moran, R. Borschmann, K. Dean, C. Hart,
J. Hogg, D. Osborn, S. Johnson and L.M. Howard
Published in: Psychological Medicine, August 2014

2. The introduction
presents….
• Domestic and sexual violence are significant public
health problems but the extent to which women and
men with a severe mental illness (SMI) are at risk of
abuse in comparison to the general public is
unknown.
• This article aimed to compare the prevalence and
impact of violence against people with a severe
mental illness and the general public.

3. The methodology
presents….
• 303 patients that had had contact with a community services
at Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust or South
London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in the last year
were randomly chosen to participate in the research.
• The participants were diagnosed with a range of mental
health problems, mainly affective and non-affective psychosis,
but also severe non-psychotic illnesses.
• All participants were interviewed using the Crime Survey for
England and Wales (CSEW), which includes an optional self-completion
module on domestic and sexual violence. The
data collected was compared with that collected from 22,606
private individuals using the CSEW as part of the British
Crime Survey which took place at the same time.

4. The key findings
presents….

5. Women’s lifetime experiences of domestic
violence
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
69.2
63.2
59.4
27.8
62.1
42.1
32.6
26.8
23.1
7.2
29.7
10.3
%
Women with SMI
General female
population
presents….

6. Men’s lifetime experiences of domestic
violence
50
45
40
35
30
% Men with SMI
25
20
15
10
5
0
48.8
42.9
31.8
4.1
38.3
31.8
17.1
12.6
1.6 0.6
14.1
7
General population
presents….

7. Women’s and men’s past year experience of
domestic violence
6.5
9.4
16.9
15.8
2.7
1.7
3.8
7.3
0 5 10 15 20
Women - from partner
Women - from family
member
Men - from partner
Men - from family member
%
General population
People with SMI
presents….

8. Women’s and men’s experiences of sexual
violence
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
%
General male
population
Men with SMI
General female
population
Women with SMI
presents….

9. Impact of serious sexual assaults on women*
53.1
91.8
49
95.9
3.4
64.2
40.4
78.4
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Any adverse impact
Physical injury/disease
Psychological/social
Suicide attempt
%
Women with SMI
General female
population
presents….
*These outcomes were estimated for women only as the total number of male victims was too low for stable
estimates.

10. Points of disclosure for female survivors of
serious sexual assault* presents….
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
58.2
75.5
46.8
51
15.4
42.9
15.6
36.7
19.8
22.4
%
General female
population
*These outcomes were estimated for women only as the total number of male victims was too low for stable
estimates.

11. A summary
presents….
• Women and men who have a severe mental illness are likely than someone in the
general population to experience:
– domestic violence (69.2% v 32.6% for women; 48.8% v 17.1% for men)
– sexual violence (61.2% v 21.1% for women; 22.9% v 3.1% for men)
• Women who have a severe mental illness are more likely than someone in the the
general population to:
– experience an adverse effect of serious sexual assault (95.9% v 78.4%)
– attempt suicide (53.1% v 3.4%)
• Women who have a severe mental illness are more likely than someone in the the
general population to:
– disclose serious sexual assault to someone else (75.5% v 58.2%)
– disclose serious sexual assault to a health professional (42.9% v 15.4%), although this may
be attributed to people with an SMI having more regular contact with health professionals
– report serious sexual assault to the police (36.7% v 15.6%)