Interpersonal partner violence and women in the United States: an overview of prevalence rates, psychiatric correlates and consequences and barriers to help seeking.

In 1991, in theUnited States, SurgeonGeneral Koopdeclared violence a public health epidemic, ushering in a surge of funding for primary and secondary prevention, aswell as research to study themany faces of this social problem. For women, violence may take many forms, violence against women being the most common. Defining violence as a public health epidemic recasts problems of violence from a criminal justice framework and allowed an entrée from social science and medical health perspectives. Today, over fifteen years have passed, and we have made substantial advances in our understanding of violence as it affects women. This paper presents an overview of what we know to date on the epidemiology and treatment of intimate partner violence (IPV) in heterosexual relationships. In addition to examining known prevalence rates in the United States of IPV, we will report on gender and ethnic differences in these rates, as well as the correlates and psychiatric consequences of IPV exposure. A discussion of treatments and social and psychological barriers to seekingand receivinghelpwill beoffered in the hopes that those in a position to consider public policymay be informed about the current state of science in this field.