Survivor Feedback on a Safety Decision Aid Smartphone Application for College-Age Women in Abusive Relationships

College-age women are at high risk for dating violence and tend to seek services at rates lower than older adults. Young women are more likely to look to their peers or to technology as a forum for accessing safety resources. This study explores a prototype smart phone application (“app”) that is a safety decision aid for female survivors of dating violence. The app is intended to assist young women to assess the danger in their abusive relationship, set priorities for safety, and develop a personalized safety plan. Through focus group sessions and individual interviews, 38 female college students in 4 states (Arizona, Maryland, Missouri, and Oregon) who self-identified as survivors of abusive relationships reviewed and provided feedback on the usefulness, understandability, appropriateness, and comprehensiveness of the app. The focus group sessions and interviews were transcribed and analyzed. Participants were positive about the potential of the app to provide personalized information about abusive dating relationships and appropriate resources in a private, safe, and nonjudgmental manner. Detailed feedback from survivors and recommendations for further development of the app are discussed.     

Intimate partner violence and child abuse: a child‐centred perspective

A substantial body of literature assessing the impact of intimate partner violence on children and associations between intimate partner violence and child abuse now exists. Central to knowledge about these areas of practice and research is a robust, child‐centred consideration of some of the more challenging conceptual issues they give rise to. In this paper, we aim to stimulate debate by presenting a critical, child‐centred perspective on the intersection between intimate partner violence and child abuse. Initially, we provide the context for the review by presenting a brief overview of the literature. We then consider three central issues from a child‐centred perspective. We discuss the language used to describe children forced to live with intimate partner violence, and the importance of hearing children's perspectives on their experiences of such conflict. Finally, we consider similarities and differences between the intimate partner violence and child abuse fields from a child‐centred viewpoint. We conclude that increasing conceptual clarity around these issues will enhance research in the field, and ultimately improve interventions designed to protect children forced to live with intimate partner violence. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is Partner Violence Worse in the Context of Control?

M. P. Johnson’s (1995) proposal that there are two qualitatively distinct types of intimate partner violence—intimate terrorism and situational couple violence—has been an influential explanation for disparate findings on sex symmetry in domestic violence. This study examines whether this typology increases our ability to explain variations in the negative outcomes of partner violence as compared with the use of a continuous measure of violence. This study also considers whether the use of control to differentiate between types of violence helps to explain the negative consequences of partner violence. The results, based on analyses of data on 4,575 married women from National Violence Against Women survey, indicate mixed support for Johnson’s argument for a qualitative distinction between IT and SCV.     

Straighten Up and Act Like a Lady: A Qualitative Study of Lesbian Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Although scholars have been studying domestic violence for decades now, it is only recently that domestic violence occurring in non-heterosexual relationships has received noteworthy attention. Several researchers have called for further study of lesbian intimate partner violence (IPV) and the experiences of lesbian survivors. This exploratory study was designed to uncover the experiences of lesbian survivors in regards to their background of violence, perception of lesbian community attitudes, and experience with seeking help. Using modified grounded theory, I was able to expose several recurring themes in the data, including the following: history of violence; gendered belief of violence; the reality of lesbian intimate partner violence; help seeking and the silence surrounding lesbian intimate partner violence in the lesbian community; and the roles of homophobia and heterosexism in lesbian intimate partner violence. Survivors repeatedly reported feeling silenced, isolated, and helpless due to the lack of acknowledgment of and support for lesbian survivors of intimate partner violence in their communities. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of women who have endured violence at the hands of their same-sex intimate partners.     

An Ecological Approach to Examining Cumulative Violence Exposure Among Urban,African American Adolescents

Using an ecological approach, this study examined experiences with community, family, and partner violence within a sample of 280 urban, African American high school students. The prevalence of each type of violence by gender, associations between severe violence exposure, and the rate of exposure to multiple types of violence were examined. Findings include high rates of exposure to each type of violence, with significant gender differences on several indicators of community violence and intimate partner violence victimization; among the female students, associations between each type of severe violence exposure; and a very high rate of exposure to two or more types of violence. Implications for social work practice are discussed.     

Services and Intimate Partner Violence in the United States: A County‐Level Analysis

Despite the prevalence of intimate partner violence and its social costs, we show that many counties lack services to help victims and that community resources play a significant role in determining the likelihood of service provision. Because resources are often generated at the local level and state and federal funding usually require a grant proposal, services for victims of intimate partner violence are more likely to be available in well‐resourced areas with a major college or university in the county. Analysis of the changes in the provision of services since the Violence Against Women Act was introduced suggests that funding needs to be specifically targeted to underserved areas.     

Explaining Intimate Partner Violence: The Sociological Limitations of Victimization Studies

This paper examines whether differentiating among types of intimate partner violence enhances the explanatory capacity of extant empirical models.The analysis uses national-level Canadian data to evaluate an alternative approach to operationalizing intimate partner violence, drawing upon Black's (1990) and Johnson's (1995) theoretical work. The main argument suggests that current efforts to explain intimate partner violence with victimization studies are inadequate because they typically do not measure key sociological variables. The failure to assess the contexts within which different types of violence occur further hinders explanatory efforts.The paper concludes with recommendations for innovative theoretical and methodological strategies to address these limitations.     

Intervening with Couples Experiencing Domestic Violence: Development of a Systemic Framework

Current gendered interventions for couples experiencing intimate partner violence often do not address the complex systemic issues, nor allow for couple therapy. Experience of working in men's behaviour change group programs (or batterer programs) and with heterosexual couples, indicates this is not enough. Change options for men perpetrating domestic violence and support for partners are generally provided by individual services or gendered groups, located in separate agencies. This article initially poses some of the inadequacies of this gendered, ‘one size fits all’ ideology, which may compromise safety when couples stay together or there is shared parenting. It then explores further questions and possibilities raised by utilising a systemic lens in working with partners and families. It is possible to work systemically with a couple without compromising safety and accountability, where there is flexibility at intake, a both/and approach, ongoing assessment of risk, collaboration between professionals, and good transitions between individual and conjoint work. This article describes a systemic practice framework for working with partners, utilising individual, group, and conjoint sessions in a recursive four phase approach.     

Harsh Physical Discipline in Childhood and Violence in Later Romantic Involvements: The Mediating Role of Problem Behaviors

This study examines the impact that experiencing harsh physical discipline in childhood and engaging in problem behaviors during adolescence and young adulthood have on experiencing and perpetrating intimate violence. Using LISREL 7, we tested a model based on social learning theory, Freudian theory, and theories of deviance. The 608 cases analyzed are from a longitudinal study of adolescents conducted in 1982 and 1992–1993. The results suggest that harsh physical punishment in childhood is directly related to greater perpetration of violence against an intimate partner later in life. The enactment of problem behaviors in adolescence and young adulthood was also found to increase the level of perpetration of violence against an intimate partner. In addition, harsh physical punishment in childhood was found to be indirectly but significantly related to increased perpetration via the intervening variables of adolescent and young adult problem behavior. We hypothesized that perpetration and victimization are significantly related to one another bidirectionally, but the results only support that greater levels of perpetration lead to increased levels of victimization.     

Development of the MyPlan Safety Decision App with Friends of College Women in Abusive Dating Relationships

Dating violence (DV) from an intimate partner/expartner is common on college campuses, but young college women are far more likely to disclose DV to a peer than to seek formal services. Therefore, our team developed a prototype smartphone application (app) aimed at DV survivors’ peers. Through focus groups/interviews, 31 college students who self-identified as friends of DV survivors reviewed and provided feedback on the app's usefulness, understandability, appropriateness, and comprehensiveness. These findings support the acceptability and usefulness of an app to support peers of DV survivors on campus and thereby also strengthen the safety net for DV survivors.     

Utility of Hospital Emergency Department Data for Studying Intimate Partner Violence

The authors examine 12 months of emergency department visit data (N= 2,521) from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program and explore its utility for measuring and studying intimate partner violence. Given the dearth of national data on intimate partner violence–related injury and its potential value for public health surveillance and prevention, the data set appears promising for estimating national rates of emergency department visits. Missing perpetrator‐patient relationship data limit estimation of intimate partner–related hospital visits for injury and pain, which precludes national rate estimation at this time, but the data are still useful for describing documented intimate partner violence cases and may be helpful in designing prevention strategies.     

Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence,Age, and Self-Enhancement Bias

Educational programs in human service professions such as social work, criminal justice, psychology, and public administration stress the importance of recognizing domestic/intimate partner violence as well as elder abuse. Students' abilities to recognize domestic violence in older couples have not been well-investigated. In this study, three vignettes were developed (Pat and Lee at age 75, Pat and Lee at age 30, Imagine yourself with Lee at age 75) in which intimate partner violence was perpetrated by the character Lee. Twenty-five items followed each vignette. When the variables of educational standing (graduate/undergraduate), ethnicity, and academic major were controlled, there were significant differences between the vignettes in 14 of 25 items (General Linear Model, F = 1.552, df = 50, p = .012). More than three out of four respondents for each vignette identified this as domestic violence and believed there was potential for serious harm. However, respondents were less likely to believe that a 75-year-old partner would know when to terminate a relationship in which there was intimate partner violence. Respondents who were asked to imagine themselves with Lee at 75 were likely to perceive Lee as more dangerous than respondents for the other vignettes. Implications are considered for educators.     

Perpetrator or Victim? Relationships Between Intimate Partner Violence and Well‐Being

In national surveys, around half of intimate partner violence perpetrators are also victims of partner assaults. However, data on intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration are rarely examined together. This study examines the relationships between perpetration, victimization, and three psychosocial variables—depression, self‐esteem, and substance abuse—that have been constructed in prior research as both causes and consequences of partner violence. Results indicate that associations between substance abuse and self‐esteem and partner violence perpetration are mediated by controlling for victimization, but depression is associated with both victimization and perpetration. Associations between mutual violence and depression and substance abuse are greater among women than men, supporting the position that gender symmetry in reported violence perpetration does not imply symmetry in outcomes.     

Associations Between Psychological,Physical, and Sexual Intimate Partner Violence and Health Outcomes Among Women Veteran VA Patients

Women veterans experience high rates of lifetime intimate partner violence (IPV) and suffer a variety of trauma-related health conditions. The purpose of this study was to identify health status and health risk behaviors associated with experiences of psychological, physical, or sexual IPV among women veterans receiving care at a Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center. We conducted surveys with 249 women veteran patients and examined health factors associated with each form of violence. Sexual IPV victimization had the most pronounced associations with adverse health. In multivariate analysis, controlling for age, race, and income, women veterans who experienced sexual violence victimization were close to or more than three times as likely as those who experienced no IPV to report poor or fair overall health, a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety, difficulty sleeping, cigarette smoking, and problem drinking. Those who reported psychological violence only (without physical or sexual violence) also reported greater odds of self-rated poor or fair health. These findings are consistent with findings from studies with non-veteran populations and serve to further identify the unique contributions of sexual IPV to health outcomes. The integrated VA health care system offers opportunities for IPV identification and response including a coordinated team-based care model with social work integrated within primary care.     

The Continuation of Intimate Partner Violence From Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Little attention has been paid to whether violence in adolescent romantic relationships is associated with relationship violence later in young adulthood. This study examined the continuation of intimate partner violence (IPV) from adolescence to young adulthood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, results from negative binomial models and propensity score models showed that being victimized by relationship partners in adolescence was significantly associated with both perpetration and victimization in romantic relationships in young adulthood. Women reported higher levels of perpetration and lower levels of victimization than men did. Those who were living together (married or cohabiting) reported higher levels of victimization and perpetration than those who were dating. Further, such associations existed beyond the effects of parent–child violence and general aggression tendencies, suggesting the continuation of relationship‐specific violence. Finally, these patterns persisted after controlling for participants' age, race and ethnicity, parental education, and family structure.     

The Span of Collective Efficacy: Extending Social Disorganization Theory to Partner Violence

This research applies the social disorganization perspective on the neighborhood‐level determinants of crime to partner violence. The analysis brings data from the 1990 Decennial Census together with data from the 1994–1995 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods Community Survey, the 1994–1995 Chicago homicide data, and data from the 1995–1997 Chicago Health and Social Life Survey. The findings of this study indicate that collective efficacy—neighborhood cohesion and informal social control capacity—is negatively associated with both intimate homicide rates and nonlethal partner violence. Collective efficacy exerts a more powerful regulatory effect on nonlethal violence in neighborhoods where tolerance of intimate violence is low. Collective efficacy also increases the likelihood that women will disclose conflict in their relationships to various potential sources of support.     

Consequences of Male Partner Violence for Low‐Income Minority Women

The current study used a random sample of 563 low‐income women to test Johnson's (1995) theory that there are two major forms of male‐partner violence, situational couple violence and intimate terrorism, which are distinguished in terms of their embeddedness in a general pattern of control. The study examined the associations between type of violence experienced and respondents’ physical health, psychological distress, and economic well‐being. Analyses revealed three distinct patterns of partner violence: intimate terrorism, control/no threat, and situational couple violence. Compared to victims of control/no threat and situational couple violence, victims of intimate terrorism reported more injuries from physical violence and more work/activity time lost because of injuries. Compared to women who experienced no violence in the previous year, victims of intimate terrorism reported a greater likelihood of visiting a doctor, poorer health, more psychological distress, and a greater likelihood of receiving government assistance.     

Abused Latina Women's Perceptions of Their Postdivorce Adjustment

This qualitative study explores the postdivorce adjustment of battered Latina immigrants. Three focus groups were conducted. Data were analyzed utilizing a grounded theory approach. Five conceptual themes were unearthed including: (a) intimate partner violence (IPV) as the precipitator for divorce; (b) motivations for leaving; (c) the impact of the Latino culture on marriage, separation, and postdivorce; (d) immigration and other legal and social issues; and (e) postdivorce/post-IPV experiences. Implications for practice are drawn.     

The Impacts of Education,Adverse Childhood Experience,and Nativity on Intimate Partner Violence

This paper tested an implication of household bargaining theory, that women with higher human capital experience less intimate partner violence. Relying on a single source of income imposes a barrier to leaving an abusive relationship. Women with higher human capital are better equipped to leave a relationship, which allows them to tolerate less violence in a relationship. Using a California health survey dataset, we found that more educated women were less likely to experience spousal violence. We used the detailed nature of the data to control for commonly omitted variables such as adverse childhood experiences. In addition, we found that the effect of education on intimate partner violence varied by nativity (US-born vs. foreign-born) and was smaller for foreign-born women. Drawing from the literature on the returns to education by race, we hypothesized that foreign-born women have a lower return on human capital, which in turn moderated the effect of education on household bargaining power.     

Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence

ABSTRACT

This article presents a review of literature describing intimate partner violence (IPV) in same-sex relationships. The authors present definitions and the prevalence of the main forms of violence-physical, sexual, and emotional-that can occur within same-sex intimate partner relationships, an overview of the existing research that examines the dynamics and broader social context of same-sex IPV, and implications for counseling affected individuals.