JdDM Oct 1 1:34pm

There are many signs of potentially lethal violence happening in the Death in the Family Podcast. Scott, the husband in the scenario, openly admits to strangling his wife for “taking his beer away.” Strangulation has been identified as a significant warning sign of potential lethal violence in an intimate partner relationship (Williams et al., 2022). Additionally, the purchase of a gun, Scott’s substance use, Scott having trouble at work, Scott’s extreme jealousy over Andrea’s contact with any other people, and how obviously Andrea is trying to smooth over Scott’s bad behavior, are all clear signs that their relationship is unhealthy at best and downright abusive at worst.

Future Violence Predictors

Stress has been identified as a risk factor for future violence (Wallace et al., 2019). The family is clearly under a lot of stress with Scott losing his job and drinking away what little money they do have. Substance use, such as Soctt’s drinking, while does not cause violence, contributes stress and increases the risk of domestic violence (Wallace et al., 2019). Scott’s denial that his behavior is a problem and the repeated contact the family has had with law enforcement are risk factors for serious violence (Belfrage et al., 2011). Response with references