21 Warning Signs
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.
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 |