Francesca Is Involved in an Abusive Relationship with Her Husband

question 84

Essay

Francesca is involved in an abusive relationship with her husband of 10 years that is characterized by episodic domestic violence. Knowing that she has three children, no career, and no relatives nearby to help leads her to believe that her situation is hopeless. Moreover, she is beginning to think she really does deserve the abuse she receives because of her stupid and thoughtless behaviour. She has asked her husband to go to marital counselling but he refuses. In his eyes, she is the problem. Francesca feels depressed and has suicidal ideation.
From a psychological perspective, how might learned helplessness theory help explain Francesca's depressed mood and feelings of hopelessness?

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Definitions:

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter involved in reward, motivation, and motor control in the brain.

Schizophrenia

A psychological condition marked by unusual conduct, peculiar speech patterns, and impaired comprehension of reality.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Damage to the brain that results from a blow to the head.

CT Scans

Computerized Tomography (CT) scans are medical imaging techniques that use computer-processed combinations of many X-ray measurements taken from different angles to produce cross-sectional images of specific areas of a scanned object.