Help-Seeking Patterns Among Students Experiencing Sexual Harassment: A Latent Class Analysis

Sexual harassment continues to be a pervasive problem in institutes of higher education. Despite this, there are significant gaps in research and our understanding related to students' help-seeking associated with sexual harassment. Understanding students' help-seeking patterns is critical in improving and streamlining campus-wide resources. The following study uses a latent class analysis to examine whether unique patterns of help-seeking exist among students experiencing sexual harassment and whether there are meaningful differences between help-seeking groups with respect to incident characteristics, campus climate, and demographic profiles. Data used in this analysis are from an anonymous, web-based campus climate survey across a university system that included 7,318 undergraduate and 3,484 graduate students. Of these, 704 undergraduates and 229 graduate students reported experiencing sexual harassment. Our results indicated four help-seeking groups: Comprehensive help-seeking group (engaged in multiple types of formal and informal help-seeking), Informal help-seeking group (relied exclusively on friends as sources of support), Low help-seeking group (individuals in this group told virtually no one about their experience, including friends or family), and Unsure group (reached out to friends in large numbers but universally characterized themselves as not knowing what to do). Across classes, findings highlight significant differences related to incident characteristics (offender identity and incident location), student status, and racial identity. Our results point to the heterogeneity of patterns and responses in help-seeking for students experiencing sexual harassment. Variations in help-seeking across different classes highlight that students' perceptions and preferences for formal and informal support depend on their specific type. Our study is a reminder that survivors access support through diverse ways; understanding these distinct patterns in help-seeking behaviors based on specific subgroups will help universities tailor programs that better align with students' contextual needs and realities.

Mental health outcomes of physical, sexual, and psychological intimate partner violence among women in Turkey: A latent class study

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a severe human right violation and a significant public health problem in Turkey. However, its complexity and stratified relationship with mental health problems are still uncovered in this under researched community, as violence is often approached as a uniform health and social problem. In this study, we collected data from 539 female adults in heterosexual relationships in Turkey using convenience and snowball sampling. The aim was to examine violence-related clusters and their association of these clusters with mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, and depression). We assessed whether participants experienced physical, sexual, and psychological violence in their intimate relationships and conducted a latent class analysis. We obtained five violence clusters: (1) no or low violence, (2) high psychological violence, (3) jealous control with physical violence, (4) moderate sexual and psychological violence, and (5) severe physical, sexual, and psychological violence. Analyses of variance showed that women who experienced multiple forms of IPV reported stronger depression, anxiety, and somatization compared with women in the no or low violence class. Additionally, they reported greater depression and anxiety compared with women who experienced only high psychological IPV. However, psychological violence amplified somatization as much as physical and sexual violence.

The Role of Race, Social Support, Empowerment, and Posttraumatic Cognitions in Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Black women experience more frequent and severe intimate partner violence (IPV), but there are mixed findings on their posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. This may be explained by cultural-salient factors which are associated with fewer posttraumatic cognitions. We hypothesized an indirect effect of race on PTSD symptoms via social support, empowerment, and posttraumatic cognitions, serially. Path analysis revealed Black women reported increased social support, which was associated with higher levels of empowerment, which was associated with lower levels of posttraumatic cognitions. Decreased posttraumatic cognitions were associated with less severe PTSD symptoms. Results increase understanding of culturally-salient factors that may impact PTSD symptoms in Black women.

Stay-Leave Decision-Making Among Women Victims of Domestic Violence in Israel: Background, Interactional, and Environmental Factors

The study examined the factors that contribute to stay-leave decision-making of women who are domestic violence victims, focusing on background factors (origin, education, and occupational status); interactional factors (severity of violence, previous separations, and previous stays in a shelter); and social factors (social support and woman's expectations of the shelter). In addition, it examined the contribution of the interaction of woman's expectations of the shelter × psychological violence to the woman's decision to leave/stay with her partner. Six months after returning to the community, 221 women who had stayed in a shelter for at least 3 months were located: 92 were Israeli-born Jews (41.6%), 49 were Israeli-born Arabs (22.2%), 51 were Former Soviet Union immigrants (23.1%), and 29 were Ethiopian immigrants (13.1%). Of them, 56.6% reported returning to their partners, and 43.4% reported leaving their partners. Education, occupational status, psychological violence severity, previous shelter stays, familial support, and expectations of having concrete needs fulfilled by the shelter made a significant contribution to the woman's leaving the abusive relationship. Furthermore, Israeli Arab women were more likely to stay with their partners. Finally, the interaction of the expectation that concrete needs would be met × psychological violence made a significant contribution to leaving the relationship. The study emphasizes the need to expand the resources of domestically abused women and also highlights specific groups requiring special attention upon shelter entry: Arab women, women who previously stayed in shelters, and women characterized by a lack of resources and a high degree of psychological violence.

Can Women Shelters Help Reduce Symptoms of PTSD and C-PTSD? Trajectories of PTSD Symptom Development Following Partner- and Family-Related Violence

BACKGROUND

To protect women from Intimate partner violence (IPV), women's shelters should not only provide emergency safety from IPV exposure, but also prolonged support that empowers women to build a life free from violence. The present study aims to investigate individual symptom development in association with residency at a women's shelter.

METHOD

Data were collected at four different timepoints, that is, enrolment (T1, N = 150), 3-months residency (T2, = 110), 6-months residency (T3, N = 68) and after relocation (T4, N = 63). Women were included from four Danish women's shelters. The International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) was applied to test for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Complex-PTSD (C-PTSD) at all timepoints. A paired sample t-test was used to test the mean symptom development, and a Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) was applied to test for different classes of PTSD-trajectories. Logistic regression was applied to predict class membership from shelter-related variables and symptom severity, that is, length of residency, psychological counselling, revictimization and key symptoms of C-PTSD.

RESULTS

The prevalence of PTSD (31%) and C-PTSD (37.9%) was high at enrolment. Although t-tests suggested a significant decline in symptoms at follow-up, the LCGA revealed different classes of symptom development. The two-class model was found to be the best representation of data with low-symptom- and high-symptom profiles, respectively. Overall, the largest decline in symptoms occurred within the first 3 months of residency. Revictimization was high and was further found to predict class membership. However, when included in a multiple regression only symptom severity predicted the high-symptoms profile class.

DISCUSSION

Psychological treatment focussing on PTSD and C-PTSD is important for the women's future well-being and safety. Reports on revictimization was alarmingly high, which emphasises a continuing need to protect women from psychological violence within the shelters. These findings should be replicated in larger samples before we can draw any conclusion.

Patterns and Usefulness of Safety Behaviors Among Community-Based Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) use a variety of safety strategies to reduce the frequency and severity of violence, including both informal and formal help-seeking. The purpose of this study was to identifying patterns of engagement in safety behaviors by U.S. women from outside of formal service settings, examine which factors are associated with different patterns of use, and examine the perceived usefulness of safety strategies among women who used them. Cross-sectional data from 725 women experiencing IPV were used for these analyses. A cluster analysis revealed three clusters of safety behavior use among the IPV survivors: Exploring Safety Options, Avoiding the Justice System, and Trying Everything. The trying everything cluster had high rates of use across all of the safety behaviors; they also reported the highest levels of physical, sexual, and psychological IPV. The exploring safety options cluster used the fewest safety behaviors and had the lowest level of IPV. Higher violence was related to a higher likelihood of finding safety planning helpful and a lower likelihood of finding leaving home helpful. Women who were currently living with their partner were less likely to find talking with a professional, making a safety plan, or leaving home helpful. Higher decisional conflict-uncertainty about what safety decisions would be best-was almost universally related to greater likelihood of not finding safety behaviors helpful. The study findings reinforce the importance of working with survivors to tailor safety plans with strategies that reflect their situation, and provide insights into for which tailoring of resource recommendations may be made.

Length of Women's Stays in Domestic Violence Shelters: Examining the Contribution of Background Variables, Level of Violence, Reasons for Entering Shelters, and Expectations

Women's shelters are one of the most important services established for women who are victims of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW). Studies indicate that women undergo positive processes in shelters, and the longer the stay in the shelter, the more successful the woman will be in leaving the cycle of violence. However, the literature also reveals a remarkable variance in the length of women's shelter stays, and very little research has been conducted to understand the factors contributing to this variance. The current research focused on the contribution of demographics (ethnic origin, age, education, number of children, and employment situation), history of violence (level of violence, characteristics of violence, and separation attempts from the partner), reasons for entering the shelter, and expectations of the shelter framework to the length of women's shelter stays. Research participants consisted of 506 women living in 12 shelters in Israel. The findings revealed a variance in the length of the women's stays in accordance with their ethnic origins. Women who had immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia or from the former Soviet Union (FSU) stayed in shelters for longer periods of time than did Israeli-born Arab women, who stayed in shelters for significantly shorter periods of time than did Israeli-born Jewish women. There was no contribution of the demographic variables to the variance of length of the woman's shelter stay. In addition, previous separations, emotional abuse, and applying to the shelter following the decision of a child protection worker explained 12% of the variance in the length of the woman's shelter stay. The findings point to a specific profile that seems to predict a woman's longer stay in shelters for women who are victims of intimate partner violence.

Beyond polyphony: Open Dialogue in a Women's Shelter in Australia as a possibility for supporting violence-informed practice

Open Dialogue is a family/social network-centered psychotherapeutic approach to responding to people in crisis and distress. In 2017, Open Dialogue network meetings were implemented in an Australian inner-city shelter for disadvantaged women. The aim of this study was to explore the experience of participating in these meetings from the perspective of service users and Open Dialogue practitioners. Qualitative interviews were completed with thirteen participants (six service users and seven practitioners) and analyzed thematically. The findings suggested that dialogical processes created safety by attending to multiple voices in nonviolent ways that reduced perceived hierarchies. Notions of expertise were renegotiated, which allowed the women to feel heard in significant ways that were different from their previous experiences with other social and healthcare services. Open Dialogue is an approach that can meaningfully attend to some of the power relations within which women live and within which social and health care services are provided.

Experiencing Nature to Satisfy Basic Psychological Needs in Parenting: A Quasi-Experiment in Family Shelters

Finding fulfillment of basic psychological needs may be difficult for parents living in shelters after becoming homeless or after escaping violence. This study tested if experiencing nature was associated with the basic psychological needs of parents in shelters. Need satisfaction and need frustration were measured among parents in shelters (N = 160), with one measurement in the standard indoor context of the shelter and one measurement while experiencing nature. Experiencing nature was associated with enhanced need satisfaction (d = 0.28) and reduced need frustration (d = −0.24). The effect was especially pronounced for parents with young children. Our findings suggest that the physical environment matters for parents’ basic psychological need fulfillment as they interact with their children in the context of sheltering. This finding opens a potential avenue for supporting parental functioning and resilience in the face of risk if these effects were to be replicated across settings using controlled experimental designs. At the very least, the findings may be discussed with practitioners and parents in the context of making shelter life and work more conducive to mental health and family functioning.

Sexual Transgressions in Couples: The Influence of Dependence and Commitment on their Perception and Handling

Transgressions occur frequently in romantic relationships, and how they are perceived is influenced by the type of transgression that occurred. By means of an experimental study of 399 participants (75.9% women and 24.1% men) aged 18 to 64 years old (Mage = 31.20, SD = 10.48), we examined the relationship between the type of sexual transgression (infidelity versus coercion), and perceived severity, strategies individuals would use in response to the transgression, and the probability they would leave the relationship, as well as levels of dependence and commitment. Results revealed higher perceived severity (p < .001, η2p = .24) and probability of leaving the relationship (p < .001, η2p = .39) in the infidelity scenario (versus coercion). Meanwhile, women (compared to men) rated sexual transgressions as more severe (p < .001, η2p = .04) and reported a higher probability of leaving the relationship (p < .001, η2p = .03), as well as a higher use of active conflict resolution strategies (exit, p = .048, η2p = .01, and voice, p < .001, η2p = .06) and lower use of passive strategies (loyalty, p < .001, η2p = .08). Finally, high levels of commitment and dependence predicted lower perceived severity (commitment, p < .001, 95% CI [-.72, -.20]; dependence, p < .001, 95% CI [-1.73, -.85]) and lower probability of leaving the relationship (commitment, p = .048, 95% CI [-.55, -.01]; dependence, p < .001, 95% CI [-1.66, -.73]) in coercion (versus infidelity) transgressions. These results highlight the normalization of sexual coercion in romantic relationships, which is not viewed as negatively as infidelity, and that commitment and dependence contribute to minimizing the negative impressions of it.

An international comparison of factors affecting quality of life among patients with congestive heart failure: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To explore associations among twenty formal and informal, societal and individual-level factors and quality of life (QOL) among people living with congestive heart failure (CHF) in two settings with different healthcare and social care systems and sociocultural contexts.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

We recruited 367 adult patients with CHF from a single heart failure clinic within two countries with different national social to healthcare spending ratios: Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States (US), and Nijmegen, Netherlands (NL).

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey study. We adapted the Social Quality Model (SQM) to organize twenty diverse factors into four categories: Living Conditions (formal-societal: e.g., housing, education), Social Embeddedness (informal-societal: e.g., social support, trust), Societal Embeddedness (formal-individual: e.g., access to care, legal aid), and Self-Regulation (informal-individual: e.g., physical health, resilience). We developed a survey comprising validated instruments to assess each factor. We administered the survey in-person or by mail between March 2017 and August 2018.

OUTCOMES

We used Cantril's Self-Anchoring Scale to assess overall QOL. We used backwards stepwise regression to identify factors within each SQM category that were independently associated with QOL among US and NL participants (p<0.05). We then identified factors independently associated with QOL across all categories (p<0.05).

RESULTS

367 CHF patients from the US (32%) and NL (68%) participated. Among US participants, financial status, receiving legal aid or housing assistance, and resilience were associated with QOL, and together explained 49% of the variance in QOL; among NL participants, financial status, perceived physical health, independence in activities of daily living, and resilience were associated with QOL, and explained 53% of the variance in QOL.

CONCLUSIONS

Four formal and informal factors explained approximately half of the variance in QOL among patients with CHF in the US and NL.

Subgroups of tenants at risk of eviction due to rent arrears in five Dutch cities: A latent class approach

This study identifies subgroups of tenants in a sample of 495 tenants at risk of eviction, due to rent arrears, by 16 housing associations in five Dutch municipalities, and examines the attuning of services to the needs of the tenants in these subgroups. Latent class analysis with eight known risk factors for eviction identified five subgroups of tenants, which can be characterised as young immigrants, native Dutch tenants with little support, highly educated native Dutch tenants with much support, depressed tenants with little support and highly educated mentally stable older single tenants. The young immigrants reported the highest number of unmet care needs; the highly educated native Dutch tenants with much support, on the other hand, mentioned the least unmet care needs. This study demonstrates the diversity of a population of tenants at risk of eviction. Together with the differences in care needs, this indicates the necessity to develop targeted and personalised interventions to prevent evictions.

Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence in Shelters: Correlates of Length of Stay and Subsequent Reentries

The purpose of this study was to examine which variables are associated with the length of stay at a shelter and the likelihood of reentering the shelter after a first stay in a sample of 777 women victims of intimate partner violence. The results showed that the women's health, having been previously abused, and having children with them at the shelter were the best set of correlates for length of shelter stay; lack of social support, having been previously abused, and the abusers' being unemployed increased the risk of repeated use of shelters. The implications for intervention are discussed.

Factors Related To Depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Shelter-Based Abused Women

In this study, linear mixed-effects regression analyses were used to examine whether sociodemographic variables, abuse-related variables, and well-being variables were associated with symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in abused women residing in shelters. Results pointed out that symptoms of depression severity were positively associated with migration background and the experience of physical abuse and negatively associated with self-esteem and social support. PTSD symptoms were positively associated with the experience of sexual abuse and negatively associated with self-esteem. Within women’s shelters, staff could be sensitive to improving the social integration of women, especially those with a non-Dutch background, and strengthening the women’s social networks and their self-esteem.

Victims of Domestic Violence in Shelters: Impacts on Women and Children

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of domestic violence (DV) on women and their children. The records of women who were admitted to one of two types of shelter (an emergency shelter [n = 834] and a medium-long stay shelter [n = 84]) for victims of DV in Bizkaia (Spain) from 2006-2015 were analyzed. The results showed that up to 80% of the women had mental health problems. In about 20% of cases, a problematic mother-child relationship was identified. Inadequate parenting was present in around 35% of cases. Around 80-90% of the children had witnessed the abuse suffered by their mother, and more than half had been direct victims of some type of abuse. The findings point to actions that shelters can take to address the needs of DV victims. They also highlight the need for separate interventions targeting the needs of children, as well as mothers.

Changes in Social Exclusion Indicators and Psychological Distress Among Homeless People Over a 2.5-Year Period

Although homelessness is inherently associated with social exclusion, homeless individuals are rarely included in conventional studies on social exclusion. Use of longitudinal survey data from a cohort study on homeless people in four major Dutch cities (n = 378) allowed to examine: changes in indicators of social exclusion among homeless people over a 2.5-year period after reporting to the social relief system, and associations between changes in indicators of social exclusion and changes in psychological distress. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to investigate the associations between changes in indicators of social exclusion and changes in psychological distress. Improvements were found in various indicators of social exclusion, whereas financial debts showed no significant improvement. Changes in unmet care needs, health insurance, social support from family and relatedness to others were related to changes in psychological distress. This study demonstrated improvements in various indicators of social exclusion among homeless people over a period of 2.5 years, and sheds light on the concept of social exclusion in relation to homelessness.

Self-reported care needs of Dutch homeless people with and without a suspected intellectual disability: a 1.5-year follow-up study

Cognitive impairment is a prevalent problem among the homeless and seems related to more psychosocial problems. However, little is known about the care needs of the subgroup of homeless people with an intellectual disability compared to those without an intellectual disability and how their care needs develop over time. This study explores self-reported care needs within a broad range of life domains among Dutch homeless people with and without a suspected intellectual disability to gain insight into the transition of self-reported care needs from baseline to follow-up in both subgroups. This longitudinal study is part of a cohort study among homeless people who had been accepted for an individual programme plan in four major Dutch cities. The initial cohort consisted of 513 participants who were interviewed in 2011. At 1.5-year follow-up, 336 participants (65.5%) were also interviewed and screened for intellectual disability. Of these participants, 31% (95% CI 26.2-36.1) had a suspected intellectual disability. For both groups, between baseline and follow-up, the number of 'unmet care needs' decreased significantly and the number of 'no care needs' increased significantly, while at follow-up, participants with a suspected intellectual disability reported 'no care needs' on significantly fewer life domains than those without a suspected intellectual disability (mean numbers 16.4 vs. 17.5). Between baseline and follow-up, 'met care needs' decreased significantly on housing for both groups, and increased on finances and dental care for participants with a suspected intellectual disability. At follow-up, participants with a suspected intellectual disability more often preferred housing support available by appointment than those without a suspected intellectual disability. These findings suggest that homeless people who had been accepted for an individual programme plan with a suspected intellectual disability have care needs for a longer period of time than those without a suspected intellectual disability. Providing care to homeless people with a suspected intellectual disability might require ongoing care and support, also after exiting homelessness. Support services should take this into account when considering their care provision and planning of services.

Psychometric properties of the General Self Efficacy-12 Scale in Spanish: general and clinical population samples

The General Self Efficacy Scale (GSES-12) is a short version of the Sherer's Self-Efficacy Scale, and evaluates a general dimension and three aspects of self-efficacy: initiative, persistence and effort. The aim of this study is to explore the factorial structure, reliability, and criterion validity of the Spanish adaptation of the GSES-12 in general and clinical populations. The sample was composed of 714 volunteers (332 from the clinical population). Results of the principal components analysis yielded a 3-factor structure that was later confirmed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Moreover, this study shows good internal consistency and test-retest values, and differences in self-efficacy scores between the clinical and non-clinical groups. The present study demonstrates that the Spanish version of the GSES-12 is a valid and reliable measure, and it adds relevant information to the debate about the dimensional structure of general self-efficacy.

The effectiveness of interventions during and after residence in women's shelters: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Due to intimate partner violence (IPV), a proportion of some women seek safety from their abuser in shelters. Little is known yet about whether the received shelter interventions, offered during and after women's stay, are effective. Therefore, a meta-analysis of studies was performed, testing the effectiveness of interventions administered to female IPV victims during and/or after their residence in shelters, in terms of mental health, re-abuse and social outcomes.

METHODS

From January 1985 through July 2011, five databases were searched for English-language articles. Original research articles evaluating the effects of interventions provided to IPV victims during and after shelter residence were identified. Hedges' g effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated and pooled if three or more studies including one outcome type were available.

RESULTS

Ten original studies, including a total number of 726 female IPV victims, were analysed. We found that shelter interventions were effective in improving mental health outcomes (g = -0.39; 95% CI: 0.24-0.54), in decreasing abuse (g = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.08-0.55) and in improving social outcomes (g = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.54-0.88) in shelter-based abused women.

CONCLUSION

This analysis suggests that interventions provided during and after stay in a shelter are effective in improving mental health, abuse and social outcomes, but further research has to confirm this. Moreover, future studies should compare different type of interventions and should evaluate cost-effectiveness.

Appropriate care for shelter-based abused women: concept mapping with Dutch clients and professionals

We conducted a concept mapping exercise to gain insight into the perspectives held by abused women and professionals with regard to appropriate care in Dutch women's shelters. Three brainstorming sessions generated 92 statements that were then rated by 56 clients and 51 professionals. A total of 11 clusters were identified. The three most important clusters were "help with finding a safe house if necessary," "safety and suitable care for the children," and "a personalized, respectful approach." The most important statement was "take women seriously and treat them with respect." The mapping exercise identified key practice-based elements of intervention that should better accommodate the needs of shelter-based abused women. We have used these elements in developing a new intervention for shelter-based abused women in the Netherlands.