Characteristic of Abusers

Characteristics of Abusers Name Class Date Professor

Characteristic of Abusers

Characteristics of Abusers Abuse can be physical but it can also be emotional and sexual. Domestic abuse is a pattern behavior where the abuser inserts control of their victim. Abusers take pleasure in hurting, intimidating, humiliating, terrorizing, and injuring their victims. Domestic abuse can happen to anyone but a majority of offenders are men and their victims are women. Similar to the victim of domestic abuse the domestic abuser will have many similar characteristics. The abuser will exhibit similar behaviors and traits that have been identified through research. These characteristics include jealousy, controlling, manipulative, and critical. There are many different reasons a person becomes an abusers but many abusers witness this behavior in childhood and then display similar behavior in adulthood. The domestic abuser commits the abuse in order to have power over their victim. One characteristic of the abuser is jealously. The abuser is extremely jealous which stems from a lack of self confidence (Petheridge, 2012). Because the abuser does not believe they are good enough for their victim they are paranoid and they also perceive other men as a threat. The abuse believes if there partner finds another man they can get away from the abuser. Next all abusers are controlling. The abuser controls every step their victim makes and uses the abuse to ensure they display only the behaviors allowed by the abuser. The abuser controls every action of the victim and requires they report there whereabouts and who they talked to. If the victim is late or they talk to someone they are not supposed to the abuser will blow up and the victim will be made to suffer or their mistake. Control is essential for the abusers because any feeling they are losing control will result in increased danger for the victim. The abuser will go to great lengths to control their victim.

Characteristic of Abusers

Another characteristic that is common to the abuser is being manipulative. The abuser will go to great lengths to ensure the victim obeys their orders and forgives them for previous abuse. Many abusers will hurt their victims, emotionally, physically, and sexually and then use manipulation to make them forgive them for the abuse. For example when an abuser beats his wife or girlfriend he will buy flowers or express his love in order to manipulate the victim into forgiving them until the next time they beat their wife. The abuser will also use manipulation to break down the self esteem of their victim by preying on the victims vulnerabilities. Being critical is another characteristic of the abuser. Abusers are critical and no matter what the victim does they will never be able to satisfy the abuser. The abuser is always looking for a way to verbally abuse and degrade the victim no matter how clean they keep the house or how many time they have supper on the table on time. The abuser does not actually think the victim is doing anything wrong but instead takes pleasure in waiting for the victim to make a mistake. They will calm the victim names and tell them no one wants them or they are not good enough or a bad mother. Once characteristic of an abuser is many of them are substance abusers. In some cases the domestic abuse does not occur unless the abuser is intoxicated while in other case substance abuse just heightens the abuse. Substance abuse increases the level of abuse a victim receivies by their abuser. Substance abuse and domestic violence seem to be inextricably linked (). The domestic abuser will only increase the abuse when they are intoxicated and will have far less control of their actions. Substances, such as alcohol only increase the emotional response by the abusers and make the situation more volatile. While substance abuse heightens the abuse many critics find substance

Characteristic of Abusers

abuse cannot be blamed for the emotional, physical, or emotional abuse they perpetrate against their victims. In this case the role of substance abuse would be to increase the negative behavior of the abuser. The second role of substance abuse in abuse is the substance abuse causes the abuser to abuse their victim. In other words if the abuser did not drink alcohol or take drugs they would not commit acts of abuse against their romantic partner. Substances are used to mask pain or to escape a harsh reality. Once the abuser takes or consumes the substance they become a different person and begin to display abusive behaviors. Without the drugs or alcohol the abuser would be less likely to display behavior that would be considered abusive. It would simply require the abuser to stop abusing the drugs or alcohol to stop the abuse. Another role of substance abuse is it makes the violent tendencies of the abuser more violent. Alcohol and other drugs can cause people with violent tendencies to become more violent, and it is often used as excuse to behave violently," said Pam Stigall, a former substance abuse counselor for the Women Empowered Safe and Sober program (Myers, 2001). In other words while substance abuse can make a violent abuser more violent they use alcohol or drug abuse as an excuse to be abusive and in fact they already have the characteristics of an abuser before they consumer any type of substance. A family history of substance abuse plays a role in the abuse displayed by a substance abuse. A family history is a key factor in domestic abuse because many offenders observe the abuse and then become abusers as adults but they also observe the abuser take drugs and alcohol which is another behavior that is observed and then displayed by the abuser. While substance abuse is intrinsically intertwined with domestic abuse an abuser chooses to be abusive to their victim.

Characteristic of Abusers

References Myers, S. (2001). Substance abuse plays role in domestic violence. Retrieved August 13, 2013 from http://juneauempire.com/stories/111401/Nei_colmn.shtml Petherbridge, L. (2012). 12 Traits of an Abuser. Retrieved August 13, 2013 from http://www.cbn.com/family/marriage/petherbridge_abusertraits.aspx