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Purpose:Intimate partner violence (IPV) is public health crisis that often goes unrecognized. Victims often report ongoing long-term physical and mental health consequences; however, health-care responses to address IPV have not been maximized. The standard of care of screening and referring to community organizations is not enough to help victims.Method:This mixed-methods pilot study enhanced the screening and referral standard of care by offering a brief motivational intervention (BNI-V) to six patients in an obstetrics and gynecology clinic.Results:Preliminary results indicate improved engagement into care and improvements in quality of life, trauma symptoms, and self-efficacy. Participants expressed high satisfaction with the intervention and improved perception of self.Discussion:This study demonstrates a feasible way to build on the screening and referral practices typically found in the health-care system.

This article presents results from seven focus groups ( n = 27) with families and friends bereaved by homicide or suicide of a loved one, and focuses on spirituality and religion in the aftermath of these traumatic deaths. In exploring how these deaths affected participants’ spirituality and religion, several themes emerged: parental spirituality and intuition, finding comfort, internal challenges with spirituality and religion, and connection with spiritual and religious communities. Experiences and recommendations for responders are discussed. This research draws comparisons between homicides and suicides to elucidate participants’ unique spiritual and religious needs and better inform tailored approaches.

Most of current scales for assessing intimate partner violence (IPV) were developed for Western populations. The Chinese Risk Assessment Tool for Victims (CRAT-V) was a new scale evaluating the risk of IPV, which was developed based on Chinese populations in the context of Chinese culture. To determine whether the CRAT-V could add further value to research involving IPV and violence against women in rural China, we sought to implement the CRAT-V and to explore its factor structure among a rural population in the mainland of China. This study included women from rural Sichuan Province of China, who aged 16 years and older, had been living locally for at least 2 years, and reported that they were married or in a relationship in the preceding year. A total of 670 participants completed the CRAT-V during the field survey. We utilized exploratory factor analysis to validate the fact structure of CRAT-V. The Cronbach’s alpha of the CRAT-V was 0.90, indicating good reliability. The CRAT-V reported that 45.07% (302/670) of participants were in risk of IPV, and the risk was higher in women who were 16 to 29 years old, having 7 years and higher education, and living in stem families. The CRAT-V fit a 5-factor model including healthy relationship, jealous feeling, jealous reaction, stressful living condition, and sexual abuse. Our findings provided support for using the CRAT-V as a culturally sensitive measure to predict the risk of experiencing IPV in China, and lend insights into factors that may contribute to timely IPV prevention and intervention.

While in recent years, intimate partner violence (IPV) has attracted considerable research attention, the experiences of IPV affecting the Deaf community have been understudied. As a linguistic and cultural minority, Deaf victims of IPV encounter significant barriers in accessing information and services designed to address the medical and legal consequences of victimization. The number of Deaf Americans who communicate via American Sign Language (ASL) may well exceed a half-million, yet little is known about Deaf IPV victims’ experiences and the characteristics of persons who perpetrate IPV with ASL users. This study addressed both topics. The current study is based on interviews in ASL with 14 Deaf IPV victims (participants). We explored: the types of abuse participants experienced; characteristics of victims and perpetrators; participants’ help-seeking behaviors; and the availability, use, and helpfulness of various resources. These findings were compared to what is known about IPV in the hearing community. Our findings include that lack of information regarding IPV and lack of access to specialized IPV services were pervasive problems affecting Deaf victims. For some victims, the close-knit nature of the Deaf community was a barrier for discussing IPV and accessing information and support. It was common for Deaf victims to receive services or information about IPV from providers who were not IPV specialists. Communication abuse was prevalent in our study. The nature of communication abuse is unique for Deaf victims compared to hearing victims.

Intimate partner violence (IPV), childhood abuse, and sexual assault in adulthood are profound public health concerns, particularly for women. Exposure to trauma can contribute to long-standing health problems and escalated medical costs. Unfortunately, these experiences are often intertwined. Sexual assault often occurs in intimate relationships in which there is concurrent IPV; likewise, many victims of IPV have experienced childhood abuse. The prevalent intersections of these struggles can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. This article examines the contributions of childhood abuse histories and sexual assault to PTSD symptoms among women experiencing IPV. Findings suggest childhood abuse experiences account for more variance in PTSD symptoms than adult sexual assault. Clinical implications are discussed.

Limited research has focused on the aftermath of the homicide, namely, the families and friends of homicide victims left in the wake of the tragedy. The present study is a multisite study involving focus groups of families and friends of homicide victims and assessing participants’ resulting biopsychosocial consequences, their experiences with service providers, and whether or how their needs were met. This study is important to better understand their needs and to create a holistic systematic response to those most affected by homicide. The findings present recommendations regarding what approaches, resources, and services would be helpful for people who have had a loved one die by homicide, which may prove beneficial for academics, policymakers, practitioners, and medical responders.

Veterans comprise 10% of the population, and suicide among Veterans has garnered national media and policy attention. Existing research suggests that intimate partner violence (IPV) is a risk factor for suicidal behaviors among some high-risk populations. This report offers a new perspective: the intersection between Veterans’ suicidal thoughts and IPV, both victimization and perpetration. The data were obtained from a northeast telephone survey of Veterans ( n = 296) using Veterans Health Administration services and yielded a 27% participation rate. Findings suggest male Veterans who are IPV involved have increased odds of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

A computerized sign language survey was administered to two large samples of deaf adults. Six questions regarding intimate partner violence (IPV) were included, querying lifetime and past-year experiences of emotional abuse, physical abuse, and forced sex. Comparison data were available from a telephone survey of local households. Deaf respondents reported high rates of emotional abuse and much higher rates of forced sex than general population respondents. Physical abuse rates were comparable between groups. More men than women in both deaf samples reported past-year physical and sexual abuse. Past-year IPV was associated with higher utilization of hospital emergency services. Implications for IPV research, education, and intervention in the Deaf community are discussed.

Adolescent girls with older male main partners are at greater risk for adverse sexual health outcomes than other adolescent girls. One explanation for this finding is that low relationship power occurs with partner age difference. Using a cross-sectional, descriptive design, we investigated the effect of partner age difference between an adolescent girl and her male partner on sexual risk behavior through the mediators of sexual relationship power, and physical intimate partner violence (IPV), and psychological IPV severity. We chose Blanc’s framework to guide this study as it depicts the links among demographic, social, economic, relationship, family and community characteristics, and reproductive health outcomes with gender-based relationship power and violence. Urban adolescent girls ( N = 155) completed an anonymous computer-assisted self-interview survey to examine partner and relationship factors’ effect on consistent condom use. Our sample had an average age of 16.1 years with a mean partner age of 17.8 years. Partners were predominantly African American (75%), non-Hispanic (74%), and low-income (81%); 24% of participants reported consistent condom use in the last 3 months. Descriptive, correlation, and multiple mediation analyses were conducted. Partner age difference was negatively associated with consistent condom use (−.4292, p < .01); however, the indirect effects through three proposed mediators (relationship power, physical IPV, or psychological IPV severity) were not statistically significant. Further studies are needed to explore alternative rationale explaining the relationship between partner age differences and sexual risk factors within adolescent sexual relationships. Nonetheless, for clinicians and researchers, these findings underscore the heightened risk associated with partner age differences and impact of relationship dynamics on sexual risk behavior.

This investigation examined the relationship of abuse-specific coping strategies and perceived responses to abuse disclosure to symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress among 131 women seeking a protection order against an intimate partner. Disengagement, denial, and self-blame coping strategies, as well as blaming of the participant by others, were associated with greater depressive and posttraumatic symptoms. None of the strategies of coping or responses to abuse disclosure were negatively related to depressive or posttraumatic stress symptoms. Findings suggest that mental health providers may find it useful to address these negative styles of coping while public education campaigns should target victim blaming.

This study uses National Violence against Women Survey data to investigate the differential impact of concomitant forms of violence (sexual abuse, stalking, and psychological abuse) and ethnicity on help-seeking behaviors of women physically abused by an intimate partner ( n = 1,756). Controlling for severity of the physical abuse, women who experienced concomitant sexual abuse are less likely to seek help, women who experienced concomitant stalking are more likely to seek help, whereas concomitant psychological abuse is not associated with help seeking. Ethnic differences are found in help seeking from friends, mental health professionals, police, and orders of protection. Implications for service outreach are discussed.

Measurements of intimate partner violence (IPV) based on acts of violence have repeatedly found substantial bilateral violence between intimates. However, the context of this violence is not well defined by acts alone. The objective of this research was to compare differences in women and men within each IPV status category (victim, perpetrator, and both) with respect to levels of battering as defined by their scores on the Women's Experience With Battering Scale (WEB), which asks gender-neutral questions about the abuse of power and control and fear in an intimate relationship. In our study, women disclosed higher levels of battering on the WEB, despite IPV status (victimization or both victimization and perpetration). In addition, female IPV victims were 5 times more likely than their male counterparts to disclose high rates of battering on the WEB. Depressive symptoms, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, African American race, and IPV victimization were independently associated with higher WEB scores.