Listed below are some common warning signs that a person is or may turn out to be abusive to his or her intimate partner. Answering “Yes” to a question does not mean a person is abusive. However, if any of the questions below are true about you or your partner, you should be cautious about continuing the relationship.

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Warning Signs	True of Me	True of My Partner
Abused by parent
Grew up in home where parent was abused by the other parent
Gets very serious with boyfriend/girlfriend very quickly in relationship
Comes on very strong, is extremely charming and overly smooth talker
Is extremely jealous
Isolates partner from support systems- won’t let partner see friends, family or have outside activities or makes them feel guilty about it
Blames others for one’s own misbehavior
Abuses drugs or alcohol
Has unrealistic expectations, like expecting partner to meet all of one’s needs
Is overly sensitive-acts ‘hurt’ when not getting one’s way, takes offense when others disagree with an opinion
Has ever been cruel to animals
Has ever abused children
Has ever hit a boyfriend or girlfriend
Has ever threatened violence, even if it wasn’t a ‘serious’ threat
Calls partner names, puts him/her down or curses at him/her
Is extremely moody, and switches quickly from being very nice to exploding in anger
If a male, believes women are inferior to men and should obey them
Is intimidating, for example: threatening body language, punching walls or breaking objects
Holds partner against his/her will to keep them from walking away or leaving the room

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