Intimate partner psychological abuse: concept, measurement, and recent contributions

This work presents an analysis and review of the studies carried out about psychological abuse in couple relationships. This problem is receiving increasing attention by the scientific community because of its importance, its high prevalence and the harm it causes. After a review of the more relevant contributions and their practical implications, main aspects related to the definition of psychological abuse are analyzed and the main controversies discussed. The importance of using well validated instruments for the assessment of psychological abuse is outlined and scales designed with that purpose are reviewed. Finally, specific conclusions and some gaps in research are discussed and future directions suggested.