Search

Purpose: This is the first study to longitudinally examine the mental health and well-being impacts on survivors when their abusive partners and ex-partners use their children as an abuse tactic against them. Methods: The sample included two hundred seventy-seven homeless or unstably housed survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). All were mothers of minor children. Participants were interviewed shortly after seeking services and again at 6-months, 12-months, 18-months, and 24-months. They were asked about abuse they had experienced in the past six months, including the ways children were used as a form of IPV. They were also asked about their current depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms, as well as quality of life. Results: Many of the participants reported their abusive partners and ex-partners had used their children as a form of IPV to control or hurt them. Further, after controlling for other forms of abuse, use of the children significantly predicted increased anxiety, PTSD symptoms, and quality of life (but not depression) over time. Conclusion: It is important to recognize the widespread use of children as a common and injurious form of IPV, and its impact on the mental health and well-being of survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread and devastating phenomenon resulting in a myriad of long-term consequences for survivors and their children. IPV victimization not only has negative health and economic consequences, it has also been linked to homelessness and housing instability. In response, the Domestic Violence Housing First (DVHF) model is being used in some domestic violence (DV) agencies to help survivors attain safe and stable housing. The model includes using individualized advocacy and/or flexible funding to help survivors meet these goals. Using a longitudinal, quasi-experimental design, the current study involved conducting interviews with survivors and examining agency records to investigate the effectiveness of this model. We hypothesized that survivors who received DVHF would experience less re-abuse and greater housing stability over 12 months compared to those who received services as usual (SAU). The sample included 345 IPV survivors who had been homeless or unstably housed when they approached one of five DV programs for help. Interviews were spaced 6 months apart (when survivors first sought services as well as 6 months and 12 months later). Longitudinal analyses showed that survivors who received the DVHF model reported greater improvements in housing stability at both the 6-month and 12-month time points compared to those receiving SAU. At the 12-month time point, survivors who had received DVHF reported decreased physical, psychological, and economic abuse, as well as the use of their children against them as a form of abuse. This study adds to a growing body of evidence supporting this model's effectiveness and adds to our understanding of factors impacting the long-term housing stability and safety for IPV survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing instability is a critical concern in the United States, and domestic violence (DV) survivors are a group at high risk for experiencing housing instability or of becoming unhoused. Prior research has also identified having a criminal record (CR) as being a major barrier to obtaining stable housing, and this is truer for Black and Latinx people compared to their White counterparts. No study has examined whether comparable trends exist among survivors of DV, a group also at elevated risk of having a CR, sometimes related to their experience of abuse. The current exploratory study included 305 unhoused or unstably housed female DV survivors who had sought out DV support services. Multivariate regressions explored if survivor race and CR were separately linked to greater housing instability. CR was then explored as a potential moderator in the relation between race and housing instability. Results revealed that DV survivors with a CR faced greater housing instability than those without a CR, Black and Latina survivors experienced greater housing stability than did White survivors, and CR did not moderate the relation between race and housing instability. The racial differences were unexpected and are discussed in light of methodological limitations. This is the first study to date to explore the role of CR possession on housing instability for DV survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although prior research has established that intimate partner violence (IPV) often leads to increased depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), little is known about how often abusive partners and ex-partners use survivors' children as an abuse tactic, nor whether this form of IPV also is detrimental to survivors' mental health. The current study interviewed 299 unstably housed survivors of intimate partner violence shortly after they sought services from a domestic violence agency. All participants were parents of minor children. In-person interviews asked about abuse experienced in the prior six months, including the ways children were used as a form of IPV. Participants were also asked about their current depression, anxiety, and symptoms of PTSD. As hypothesized, the majority of parents reported their abusive partners and ex-partners had used their children as a form of IPV to control and hurt them. Further, after controlling for other forms of IPV, use of the children significantly predicted both increased anxiety and greater number of PTSD symptoms. Results show the importance of focusing on the use of children as a common and injurious form of abuse used against survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Family Process is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Domestic violence shelters have historically gone beyond providing emergency residential space for survivors by assisting in obtaining future housing, employment, health care, child care, or legal services. Domestic violence shelters are expected to operate within an empowerment philosophy, with an understanding that survivors are self-determining, can identify their needs, and know what it takes to meet those needs. Recent research has indicated that, as many shelters have become more rigid in creating rules that survivors must follow to access and retain free temporary housing, the result has been survivors' feelings of disempowerment, the complete opposite of what was originally intended. This study builds on the small amount of research conducted regarding survivors' experiences of shelter rules by specifically examining how rules were perceived to affect empowerment. Seventy-three survivors from two domestic violence shelters were asked about their experiences around specific shelter rules relating to curfew, parenting, chores, time limits, food, alcohol, drugs, and medications. A transcendental phenomenological approach was used to analyze the qualitative data, seeking explanations of how survivors made meaning of the rules and how those rules influenced their empowerment. Among those survivors who found the rules problematic, three major themes emerged: (a) rules acted as barriers to carrying out their normal, day-to-day activities; (b) the shelter staff's flexibility with rules was based on contingencies; and (c) rules negatively affected their psychological well-being, and required them to engage in protective behaviors. Recommendations are made for the reexamination and restructuring of rules within domestic violence shelters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex interrelationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and housing instability has been well established. Being the victim of IPV is a leading cause of homelessness for women, and once someone is homeless, their lives often spiral downward quickly. While some IPV survivors require extensive and possibly long-term assistance to achieve safe and stable housing (especially if they are contending with multiple complex issues), others could avoid homelessness if provided with immediate, individualized, and flexible assistance. For these survivors, whose housing has been otherwise stable but who face homelessness because of a crisis related to IPV, a brief intervention that includes flexible funding can restore a family's equilibrium and prevent the devastating repercussions associated with homelessness. A longitudinal evaluation of a flexible funding program in Washington, D.C., found that this brief, relatively inexpensive intervention may increase housing stability—94% of clients were housed 6 months after funding was received. Implications for both research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Community Advocacy Project is an evidence-based practice that has been shown to lead to numerous positive changes in the lives of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors. Prior research conducted in the Midwest United States, and with primarily African American and Anglo American survivors, has shown that this short-term, community-based advocacy intervention results in increased safety and quality of life even 2 years after the intervention ends. The current study describes the process of culturally adapting and disseminating this program in Monterrey, Mexico, with a sample of low-income Mexican IPV survivors exposed to a variety of considerable contextual stressors. Interviews were conducted with advocates, advocate supervisors, and survivors to examine the acceptability and utility of the intervention. Twenty-seven IPV survivors, seven advocates, and four advocate supervisors participated in the intervention research. Advocates and their supervisors were highly laudatory, believing the intervention to be culturally relevant and effective. Encouraging changes were found for survivors as well, with positive changes over time being found on safety, quality of life, social support, and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many abusers engage in violent behaviors to systematically remove power from and maintain control over their intimate partners. Domestic violence crisis housing organizations aim to increase safety and help survivors regain their power. Yet, little is known about how these settings accomplish this aim. This study drew on empowerment and empowering settings theories to explore how organizational characteristics contributed to empowering practice, and how this practice subsequently promoted survivor empowerment. Researchers employed an exploratory-sequential (QUAL➔quan) mixed-methods design at a domestic violence housing organization. Twelve staff participated in inductive, qualitative interviews. This was followed by deductive, quantitative structured interviews with thirty-three survivors. Qualitative results from staff revealed that the setting was survivor-centered, mission-driven, and distinctive. Staff held basic assumptions about survivors' right to self-determination. The relational culture emphasized partnerships, and people also had opportunities to hold meaningful roles within the organization. Setting leaders encouraged autonomy and creativity among all staff. Policies and procedures were also flexible. These setting characteristics were expected to support implementation of empowering practice. Quantitative results from the second phase supported a positive association between empowering practice and increased generalized, and safety-related, empowerment. This exploratory study suggests that setting characteristics are important to consider when understanding the complicated pathways that contribute to survivor empowerment and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transitional Housing (TH) programs were developed for domestic violence (DV) survivors in order to provide the time, financial assistance, and supports needed for survivors to achieve long-term safety and housing stability. Previous research indicates TH may be effective for homeless families, but there is a paucity of evidence related to DV survivors' need for or use of TH. TH is an expensive housing intervention that is space limited and requires survivors to relocate at program end. It is therefore imperative to understand who is best suited for, interested in, and helped by DVTH. Thirty current survivors in a DVTH program were interviewed in order to elucidate the benefits and drawbacks of DVTH. The interviews were semi-structured, and both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Survivors in severe danger from their abusive partners and ex-partners, those with greater psychosocial needs, and immigrant survivors identified aspects unique to DVTH (e.g., high-level security, intensive services) as being critical to their safety and well-being. A small number of survivors would have chosen a less intensive and structured housing option, such as Rapid Re-housing (RR), that would have allowed them to remain in their housing after assistance ended, had such an option been available. DVTH appears to be an important option for some DV survivors, but more housing options are needed across communities to meet survivors' myriad needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious and widespread form of gender-based violence that disproportionately affects women. It is well established that IPV victimization contributes to depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and that many partner-abusive men continue to perpetuate abuse even after their relationship with the victim ends. In addition, when men harm their partners, they are more likely to harm their children, and evidence suggests that this harm continues post-separation. However, scant research has been conducted on men’s harm to their children as an extension of IPV perpetration, with even less known about the mental health impact this form of abuse has on mothers. For this longitudinal cohort study, 40 partner-abused mothers who had separated, or were planning to separate, from an abusive partner with whom they shared children were recruited. Women were interviewed 4 times over 1 year. Results confirmed that, in addition to men’s physical abuse perpetration relating to subsequent increases in mothers’ depression and PTSD symptoms over time, their harm to the children predicted both mothers’ depression and PTSD symptoms as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continued abuse of themselves and their children is a concern for many mothers leaving intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrating husbands. This research examines women's responses to abuse committed by ex-husbands with whom they had undergone custody disputes. In-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with 19 mothers who had divorced IPV-perpetrating husbands between 1 and 3 years prior. Participants were located through publicly available family court divorce records and interviews were examined using analytic induction. Women's strategies to protect themselves and their children from abuse involved setting boundaries to govern their interactions with ex-husbands. Mothers often turned to family court for assistance in setting boundaries to keep children safe, but found that family court did not respond in ways they believed protected their children. Conversely, when women turned to the justice system for restraining orders or called the police for help against IPV, they generally found the justice system responsive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to extend our understanding of the mechanisms by which intimate partner violence (IPV) harms women economically. We examined the mediating role of job instability on the IPV–economic well-being relationship among 503 welfare recipients. IPV had significant negative effects on women’s job stability and economic well-being. Job stability was at least partly responsible for the deleterious economic consequences of IPV, and the effects lasted up to three years after the IPV ended. This study demonstrates the need for services and policies that address barriers to employment as a means of improving the economic well-being of low-income women with abusive partners. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study adds to research on family court's response to custody in the context of intimate partner abuse (IPA). Mediation is often used to assist family court with custody negotiation; however, debate exists in the field regarding its use when IPA exists. The following study examines experiences with court mediation among a sample of victimized mothers who divorced abusive husbands. Mixed-method data were collected from 19 women. Findings demonstrate that abuse is rarely considered in custody recommendations, as most court mediators prefer joint custody. Implications for the ongoing debate, as well as future directions for research, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Family Process is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Little is known about intimate partner violence (IPV) and depression among low income, urban African American and Hispanic adolescent females. Interviews with 102 urban African American and Hispanic adolescent females examined physical abuse, emotional/verbal abuse, and threats, and their unique and combined associations with depression. One-quarter of the sample experienced all three types of abuse. Non-physical forms of IPV were significantly associated with depression. Some urban adolescent females from lower income households experience high rates of IPV. Physical and non-physical forms of IPV are important in understanding and responding to depression in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]