Intimate Partner Violence Screening in Mental Health

What is it about?

What is known on the subject? • Intimate partner violence (IPV) has a significant impact on the onset, duration and recurrence of mental health problems. • Prevalence rates of IPV are significantly higher in mental health services, but the studies are limited. • Accurate assessment of IPV is important for decision making in risk assessment and safety planning within mental health nursing. • Psychometrically tested tools are the most accurate way to identifying all areas of IPV abuse: physical, sexual and psychological. What this paper adds to existing knowledge? • Ten IPV screening tools were identified in healthcare and three tools; Women Abuse Screen Tool (WAST), Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) and Humiliation, Afraid, Rape and Kick (HARK) were identified as having strong psychometric values as they assessed all areas of IPV and were validated against an appropriate reference standard. • None of the three IPV tools identified (WAST, AAS, HARK) were tested on men or in mental health settings impacting the gender sensitivities of the tools and the reliability of the prevalence rates of IPV in mental healthcare. • Over seventy percent of the studies reviewed were conducted in America this impacts the cultural sensitivities of the IPV tools.

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Why is it important?

Implications for mental health services • IPV screening needs to be incorporated as a priority in mental health services in order to reduce the morbidity and mortality issues associated with this abuse. • Psychometric tools to screen for IPV need to be incorporated to assist mental health professionals in decision making in risk assessment and safety planning. • Further research is needed to improve the psychometric properties of IPV tools in mental health settings, to ensure they are culturally and gender sensitive