Perceptions of Dating Violence and Associated Correlates: A Study of College Young Adults

Teen perceptions of adolescent dating violence

INTRODUCTION

Previous research shows that adolescents who experience dating violence most often disclose their victimization to a peer or friend, more so than to other sources of support. However, surprisingly little research has explored how adolescents respond to peer disclosures of dating violence. Addressing this gap, the present study assessed variations in adolescents' perceptions of blame, interpretations of the incident as violence, and intentions to respond across physical, psychological, sexual, cyber-psychological, and cyber-sexual dating violence scenarios.

METHODS

As part of a national research project across Canada, 663 high school adolescents (432 girls, 65.2%) between the ages of 14-17 were randomly assigned to complete a questionnaire which included one of five different hypothetical dating violence scenarios. Next, participants responded to questions about their perceptions of the incident, as well as victim and perpetrator blame and responsibility, and their intentions to respond.

RESULTS

Results indicated that the type of dating violence experienced and the age and gender of participants all played a role in perceptions of blame, understandings of violence, and intentions to respond.

CONCLUSIONS

As one of the first studies to explore how adolescents perceived and responded to dating violence, considering both in-person and cyber forms of dating violence, this study fills an important gap in the literature. Findings underscore the uniqueness of cyber forms of dating violence and how pre/intervention programs must address the specific contexts and issues unique to each type of dating violence.

Intimate Partner Violence Among Hispanic/Latinx and White College Students

Hispanic/Latinx individuals disproportionately experience intimate partner violence (IPV) compared to their non-Hispanic/Latinx counterparts, and little is known about IPV among college-aged Hispanic/Latinx students. This study examines the rates of IPV victimization and perpetration and their correlates among Hispanic/Latinx and non-Hispanic White college students by analyzing cross-sectional survey data of 3,397 Hispanic/Latinx and White college students enrolled in seven universities. Compared to their White counterparts, Hispanic/Latinx students reported higher rates of IPV victimization and perpetration. Age, gender, drug use, and adverse childhood experience were associated with both IPV victimization and perpetration, while ethnicity was only associated with IPV perpetration. This study's findings highlight the urgent need for more culturally sensitive IPV prevention services and responses to support Hispanic/Latinx college students.

Exploring Social Norms and Control Coercive on Intimate Partner Violence in the Young. Implications for Prevention

This empirical work focuses on social norms as a way of transmitting psychological violence in young people, which could be affecting the effectiveness of preventive programs in dating violence. These programs are effective in changing beliefs, but new intervention approaches are in demand due to the former's limitations in achieving behavioral changes. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate that some dimensions of psychological violence are transmitted as a descriptive social norm, without any need of victimization. In a sample of 1,265 people (18-25 years old) and through two different studies, we explored the perception of prescriptive and descriptive social norms in situations of coercive control applied to three contexts (Study 1), isolation and domination (Study 2), under the hypothesis that coercive control is passed on as a descriptive social norm between peers. Characteristics describing diversity are taken into account. The results in frequency and Structural Equation Model analysis confirm the main hypothesis, because both perceptions are not correlated. Social norms no covariate with social characteristics. Same cannot be said of isolation and domination, leading to three conclusions for prevention. (1) Not all psychological violence works the same. Coercive control starts from a primary cognitive process that requires complementary actions, based for example on the cognitive hierarchy among social norms; (2) Preventive programs are often based on "prescribed" behaviors, related to the consequences they have on victims, whereas the descriptive social norm found in this study does not correlate with victimization, unless control is applied to specific contexts. Therefore, an additional effort in prevention could go deeper with more specific behaviors that show both the different types of psychological violence and the contexts of application; (3) Finally, at the policy level, results found call for the need for preventive efforts on psychological violence in the 18 to 25 age group and specific awareness campaigns.

Victim and Perpetrator Acknowledgement of Intimate Partner Violence and Victim Psychopathology

The present study assesses differences between acknowledged and unacknowledged victims in post-victimization psychopathology, abuse disability and coping. Few studies have examined abuse acknowledgment among intimate partner violence (IPV) victims. To our knowledge, this study is the first to use an experimental manipulation to assess changes in acknowledgment among IPV victims. Female undergraduate students currently in dating relationships completed demographic, coping and psychopathology questionnaires, and the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS). They then watched a video of an IPV perpetrator who either acknowledged abuse or did not acknowledge abuse. Following the video, participants completed a psychopathology questionnaire and a post-video acknowledgment assessment. Approximately 38% of the sample reported IPV victimization. Only 7.89% acknowledged victimization. Acknowledged IPV victims had the highest mean victimization score but reported psychopathology similar to nonvictims on all subscales except phobic anxiety. Unacknowledged victims reported greater psychopathology, depression, anxiety, and hostility than nonvictims and were more symptomatic overall. Unacknowledged victims reported more frequent use of avoidant coping strategies than nonvictims. These strategies included substance use, self-blame, and behavioral disengagement. Acknowledged and unacknowledged victims reported greater abuse disability than nonvictims, and acknowledged victims reported greater life restriction than unacknowledged victims. Following the video, the number of acknowledged victims nearly doubled, and acknowledged victims reported increased depression. On the basis of these findings, clinicians and researchers should carefully consider acknowledgment as a potential factor in post-victimization mental health and explore ways to increases victim acknowledgment.

Extending Johnson's Typology: Additional Manifestations of Dating Violence and Coercive Control

In this study, we explored patterns of violence and coercive control in young adult dating relationships by testing and extending Johnson's typology of intimate partner violence. Young adults (N = 398) between 18 and 27 years old completed an online survey about experiences of violence and coercive control in current and past dating relationships. Using cluster analysis, we classified relationships as no/low coercive control and high coercive control. We then categorized relationship types according to Johnson's typology using the coercive control clusters and the absence/presence of violence. In total, 35% of relationships were abusive (i.e., violent and/or high coercive control), with 24% of all reported relationships including violence with and without high coercive control, and 11% including nonviolent coercive control. Among violent relationships, situational couple violence was more common than other types of dating violence, and two additional types of violence were found: (a) violence toward a nonviolent coercive controlling partner and (b) nonviolent coercive control toward an intimate terrorist, both of which are potentially types of resistance distinct from Johnson's concept of violent resistance. Additionally, victims of intimate terrorism and victims of nonviolent coercive control were significantly more fearful of their partners than victims of situational couple violence, and victims of situational couple violence did not differ in their fear of partners compared to respondents in nonabusive relationships. These findings identify additional abusive relationship types and elucidate the importance of extending Johnson's typology to more comprehensively capture the complex dynamics of coercive control and/or violence in young adult dating relationships.

Perceptions of Contexts of Intimate Partner Violence Among Young, Partnered Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States

There has been a growth in research illustrating that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at rates that are comparable to those among heterosexual women. However, the majority of research on IPV among same-sex male couples has focused on adults, and research on the experience of IPV among younger men (those aged under 18), remains at a nascent stage, despite knowledge that IPV is often common among younger men. This article adds to the growing body of literature on IPV among young GBMSM (YGBMSM) through of an analysis of qualitative data from in-depth interviews (IDI) with GBMSM aged 15-19 (n = 30) in romantic relationships partnerships. The study sought to explore issues of relationship development, relationship contexts, and understandings of IPV. More than one-half of the sample reported experiencing some form of IPV in their current or past relationships. Participants described a range of experiences of IPV, including physical IPV, emotional IPV, sexual IPV, and controlling behaviors. Emotional IPV in the form of negative comments and controlling behaviors such as jealousy were the most commonly reported forms of violence behaviors. Although few participants reported experiencing physical or sexual IPV, several discussed concerns about giving, and partners' acknowledging, sexual consent. Antecedents to IPV included wanting or feeling pressured to participate in normative development milestones, short-lived relationships, and societal stigma. Interventions that develop content on IPV and that reflect the lived realities of YGBMSM who are experiencing their first relationships are urgently needed. Study findings also support the need for training teachers, health care providers, and parents to identify signs of IPV and provide them with the knowledge and skills to talk to YGBMSM about relationships and violence to reduce IPV.

Identifying Nonphysical Intimate Partner Violence in Relationships: The Role of Beliefs and Schemas

While substantial research has been conducted on intimate partner violence (IPV), comparatively little research has examined peoples' perceptions of which behaviors comprise this form of abuse. Early identification of IPV is critical to ending abuse, however, forms of IPV that typically occur earlier in a relationship (e.g., nonphysical abuse) may not be core components of peoples' mental frameworks (schemas) of IPV and may therefore be less commonly identified as abusive. To explore this, in Study 1 participants from an Australian University (N = 86) separately described the relationships with IPV and nonphysical IPV. Analyses identified control, power imbalance, stereotypical gender dynamics (male perpetrator, female victim), physical abuse, and having a low socioeconomic status abuser as common components of participants' IPV schema when not prompted with type of abuse. However, participants largely failed to describe nonphysical IPV behaviors, suggesting limited awareness of the specific behaviors that constitute abuse. To explore this in Study 2, participants from an Australian University (N = 305) were asked to categorize a range of specific behaviors (including physically abusive, nonphysically abusive, and nonabusive behaviors) as definitely, maybe, or never abusive. Drawing on the known positive association between gender and romantic beliefs with the experience of abuse, we also assessed the relationship of identification of IPV behaviors to these beliefs. Moderated multilevel modeling showed that nonphysical IPV behaviors were generally perceived as less abusive than physical IPV behaviors. In addition, stronger endorsement of romantic jealousy was associated with evaluating nonphysical IPV as less abusive. However, romantic jealousy beliefs were not significantly associated with the perceived abusiveness of physical IPV behaviors. Findings support the conclusion that individuals' IPV schemas contribute to a failure to identify nonphysical IPV behaviors as abusive, and this is particularly true for people who more strongly endorse romantic jealousy.

Public Attention and Sentiment toward Intimate Partner Violence Based on Weibo in China: A Text Mining Approach

The mobile internet has resulted in intimate partner violence (IPV) events not being viewed as interpersonal and private issues. Such events become public events in the social network environment. IPV has become a public health issue of widespread concern. It is a challenge to obtain systematic and detailed data using questionnaires and interviews in traditional Chinese culture, because of face-saving and the victim’s shame factors. However, online comments about specific IPV events on social media provide rich data in understanding the public’s attitudes and emotions towards IPV. By applying text mining and sentiment analysis to the field of IPV, this study involved construction of a Chinese IPV sentiment dictionary and a complete research framework. We analyzed the trends of the Chinese public’s emotional evolution concerning IPV events from the perspectives of a time series as well as geographic space and social media. The results show that the anonymity of social networks and the guiding role of opinion leaders result in traditional cultural factors such as face-saving and family shame for IPV events being no longer applicable, leading to the spiral of an anti-silence effect. Meanwhile, in the process of public emotional communication, anger often overwhelms reason, and the spiral of silence remains in effect in social media. In addition, there are offensive words used in the IPV event texts that indicate misogyny in emotional, sexual, economic and psychological abuse. Fortunately, mainstream media, as crucial opinion leaders in the social network, can have a positive role in guiding public opinion, improving people’s ability to judge the validity of network information, and formulating people’s rational behaviour.

Predictors of uptake and retention in an intervention to improve social reactions to disclosures of sexual assault and partner abuse

Objective Examine uptake (e.g., initial session participation) and retention (e.g., booster session participation) in an intervention about responding to sexual assault and partner abuse disclosures. Participants: Participants were 836 students (primarily White; upper-middle class) at a medium-sized university. Method: Participants completed baseline surveys, were invited to a two-session intervention, and responded to a follow-up survey. Results: Initial session attendance was 36.2% (n = 303); of those, 83.1% (n = 252) attended the booster. Female, sexual minority students, and students with fewer prior negative reactions, and higher initial session satisfaction were more likely to attend than other students. Participants' reported reasons for not attending included scheduling problems and topic discomfort. Participants reported that remote attendance and higher cash incentives would have made attendance more likely. Conclusion: Findings indicate the draw of cash incentives, a need to reach high-risk students and integrate into existing organizations, and the potential for individualized prevention.

Perceptions of Dating Violence: Assessment and Antecedents

Challenging perceptions of violence is crucial to prevent dating violence (DV), because such perceptions intervene in the organization and interpretation of violent events. However, these perceptions have received limited attention. This likely reflects the lack of a psychometric tool to do so. The current study had two purposes: to develop a measure of perceptions of psychological, sexual, and physical DV, and to explore how vertical collectivism, through hostile sexism and violence myth acceptance, shapes perceptions of DV. A total of 491 college students (55.3% women; M = 20.76 years, SD = 1.77 years) completed measures of the vertical collectivism, hostile sexism, domestic violence myth acceptance, and perceptions of DV. The results of exploratory factor analyses revealed a 15-item single-factor measure of perceptions of DV as initial construct validity, which had satisfactory internal consistency. A gender difference emerged in perceptions of DV; college women perceived psychological, sexual, and physical DV as more serious compared with college men. Moreover, the association between vertical collectivism and perceptions of DV was serially mediated via hostile sexism and violence myth acceptance. The findings are discussed in terms of previous research and the need to address the role of vertical collectivism in sexism, myth acceptance, and perceptions of violence in prevention/intervention efforts to reduce vulnerability to DV perpetration and victimization. Several recommendations are outlined to facilitate future research.

College Students' Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence: The Effects of Type of Abuse and Perpetrator Gender

This study explored how perceptions of intimate partner abuse severity and perpetrator responsibility differed based upon gender of the perpetrator/victim, participants' gender, the type of abuse (physical vs. psychological), and the medium of abuse (in person vs. texting). Participants were undergraduates (N = 593, aged 18-27), including 457 women and 136 men from two colleges in the Northeastern United States, who completed surveys for course credit. Results demonstrated that participants perceived abuse perpetrated by a male as more severe than abuse by a female, and physical abuse as more severe than psychological abuse. Furthermore, an interaction between perpetrator gender and abuse type indicated that abuse by males was viewed as more severe regardless of whether it occurred in person or electronically. In addition, participants attributed more responsibility to males and those who committed physical abuse. These findings are discussed in light of limitations and implications for future research.

Cumulative Violence Exposure and Alcohol Use Among College Students: Adverse Childhood Experiences and Dating Violence

Multiple types of childhood adversities are risk factors for dating violence among college-age youth and in turn, dating violence is associated with alcohol use. This work quantitatively examines associations of childhood adversity and dating violence with alcohol use among college students using a cumulative stress approach. Multi-campus surveys were collected from March to December 2016 in four universities across the United States and Canada (n = 3,710). Latent class analysis identified patterns of childhood adversity and dating violence. Regression analyses investigated the associations of latent class patterns with past year number of drinks, alcohol use frequency, and problematic drinking. Latent class analysis produced seven classes: "low violence exposure" (18.5%), "predominantly peer violence" (28.9%), "peer violence and psychological child abuse" (10.8%), "peer and parental domestic violence" (9.9%), "peer and psychological dating violence" (17%), "peer and dating violence" (6.6%), and "childhood adversity and psychological dating violence" (8.3%). Compared to the "low violence exposure" group, "peer and psychological dating violence" (B = .114, p < .05), "peer and dating violence" (B = .143, p < .05), and "childhood adversity and psychological dating violence" (B = .183, p < .001) groups were significantly associated with problematic drinking. Results highlight how childhood adversity and dating violence contribute to problematic alcohol use, suggesting interventions that address both childhood adversity and dating violence may be most effective at reducing alcohol misuse among college students.

A Bruise Without a Name: Investigating College Student Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence Terminology

When it comes to intimate partner violence, words matter. The abuse terminology used in efforts to target collegiate victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) can impact the effectiveness of prevention messages. The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to identify the relationship between abuse labels (such as domestic violence, dating violence, and IPV), and bystander intervention recommendations. Second, this study aims to understand how situational factors (perpetrator gender, couple marital status, provocation) impact the perceived appropriateness of those terms. Perceptions of severity, victim/perpetrator blame, and bystander intervention recommendations were also measured. In all, 498 college students from a large southern public university participated in a 2 × 2 × 2 experiment where they read a vignette depicting IPV. Participants were then asked a serious of questions about the appropriateness of the abuse terminology, what actions they would recommend for a bystander, the severity of the incident, and the degree to which they blamed victim and perpetrator. Results indicated the bystander intervention actions that are perceived as appropriate are related to what the most appropriate label is for the situation. Contextual factors surrounding the IPV situation, such as perpetrator gender, couple marital status, and provocation, influenced bystander recommendations and what labels were considered appropriate. The results of the study indicate the need to expand collegiate definition of what "counts" as IPV and point to ways in which IPV context can be a barrier to bystander intervention. Implications of the study argue that efforts to increase bystander intervention must include training on how to identify IPV situations with a broad variety of contexts. Limitations of the study and implications for theory and practice are discussed.

College Students' Beliefs About Domestic Violence: A Replication and Extension

In recent decades, significant effort and money have been spent to change social and legal responses to domestic violence and affect public perceptions. A small body of research has examined individuals' opinions about what behaviors are considered domestic violence. Using a sample of college students, the present study examined a modified version of a somewhat popular instrument used to measure beliefs about domestic violence, extending previous work done by Carlson and Worden. Results indicated beliefs about domestic violence are multidimensional, depending on the nature of the behavior and, in part, the gender of the perpetrator. Opinions about the lawfulness of these behaviors fit the same factor structure as beliefs about domestic violence. Demographic characteristics, current relationship status, secondhand experiences with domestic violence, and perceived prevalence of domestic violence in the community are generally not related to beliefs about domestic violence or the lawfulness of these behaviors. However, attributions of blame on the victim are negatively related to domestic violence beliefs and lawfulness. Moreover, lawfulness is a key covariate for domestic violence beliefs. In addition, results also indicate that the gender of the perpetrator is an important variable affecting student's beliefs about sexual assault behaviors. Results from this study support the prevailing ideas behind the Battered Women's Movement that enacting policies and educational programs deeming domestic violence socially, morally, and legally wrong could shift long-standing sociocultural beliefs about men's use of violence against women. Implications of this study for research and policy specific to college students are discussed.

Gender-Specific Patterns of Teen Dating Violence in Heterosexual Relationships and their Associations with Attachment Insecurities and Emotion Dysregulation

Teen dating violence is a complex issue associated with several deleterious consequences. Previous studies emphasize the importance of considering the heterogeneity of teen dating violence experiences to better understand this issue and its correlates. In this perspective, the present study aimed to identify gender-specific patterns of teen dating violence in heterosexual relationships based on directionality (victimization and perpetration) and forms of violence (psychological, physical and sexual). In addition, this study aimed to investigate how these patterns are differentially associated with attachment insecurities and emotion dysregulation. A total of 3100 adolescents who reported being in a heterosexual romantic relationship (mean age = 15.92 years; 60% girls) completed questionnaires on teen dating violence, romantic attachment and emotion dysregulation. Latent class analyses revealed four distinct patterns of teen dating violence. The first three patterns, namely Low dating violence (40% of girls and 54% of boys), Mutual psychological dating violence (34% of girls and 33% of boys) and Mutual psychological and physical dating violence (14% of girls and 5% of boys), were found for both genders. The last pattern differed greatly based on gender and was labeled Mutual psychological dating violence and sexual victimization in girls (12%) and Multiple dating violence victimization in boys (8%). Higher levels of emotion dysregulation and attachment insecurities were found in adolescents experiencing more complex patterns of dating violence. This study contributes to the development of teen dating violence prevention and intervention programs by identifying gender-specific patterns of teen dating violence and documenting their associations with important trauma-informed correlates.

Disclosure Recipients' Social Reactions to Victims' Disclosures of Intimate Partner Violence

Prior research indicates that victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) are most likely to disclose their victimization experiences to an informal support (e.g., friend, family), and that IPV disclosures are often met with both positive (e.g., empathic support) and negative (e.g., victim blame) reactions. However, research on social reactions to disclosure largely has neglected the perspectives of disclosure recipients. Guided by the attribution framework, the current study extends prior research by assessing factors (i.e., situation-specific, individual, relational, attributional, and emotional response) related to positive and negative reactions from the perspective of disclosure recipients (N = 743 college students). Linear regression analyses indicated that positive social reactions were related to the victim being a woman, greater frequency of IPV victimization by the victim, greater frequency of IPV victimization by the disclosure recipient, less accepting attitudes toward IPV, a closer relationship with the victim, a less close relationship with the perpetrator, lower perceptions of victim responsibility, more empathy for the victim, and more emotional distress experienced by the disclosure recipient during the disclosure. Negative social reactions were associated with more accepting attitudes toward IPV, greater frequency of IPV victimization by the disclosure recipient, a less close relationship with the victim, higher perceptions of victim responsibility, and more emotional distress experienced by the disclosure recipient. Results suggest that programs to improve responses to victim disclosure should focus on decreasing IPV-supportive attitudes, increasing empathy, and assisting disclosure recipients in managing difficult emotional responses effectively.

Correlates of Attitudes Toward Dating Violence Among Police Cadets in China

Scholars have highlighted that incidents of dating violence are quite frequent among college students, and subsequent consequence can be devastating. A key factor that has been singled out in most studies on dating violence concerns an individual's attitudes toward dating violence. It is assumed that there is a link between one's attitudes and associated behaviors. The purpose of this study is to investigate correlates of attitudes toward dating violence among police cadets in a 4-year university in China. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that police cadets were the subjects of research on this important topic. Besides several commonly adopted variables in the analysis in the United States, we incorporated three variables that were unique to this study (the assistance-oriented police strategy, internship experience, and knowing anti-domestic violence law). The findings revealed that preference of gender-role, perceptions of the nature of dating, and police strategies have significant effect on cadets' sentiment of dating violence. We also discussed the limitations of this study and highlight several areas that future research needs to focus on.

College Students' Reactions to Participating in Relational Trauma Research: A Mixed Methodological Study

Using a mixed methodology, the present study compared men's and women's perceived benefits and emotional reactions with participating in research that inquired about child maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration. Participants consisted of 703 college students (357 women, 346 men), ages 18 to 25 who reported on their childhood maltreatment, adolescent and adult IPV victimization and perpetration, and their reactions (perceived benefits and emotional effects) to participating. Participants' reactions to participating were assessed using quantitative scales, as well as open-ended written responses that were content coded by researchers. Women reported more personal benefits from research, whereas men and women reported similar levels of emotional reactions to research participation. Furthermore, greater frequencies of child maltreatment and IPV victimization were related to higher levels of emotional reactions. Common self-identified reasons for emotional reactions (e.g., not liking to think about abuse in general, personal victimization experiences) and benefits (e.g., reflection and awareness about oneself, learning about IPV) were also presented and analyzed. These data underscore the importance of future research that examines the behavioral impact of research participation utilizing longitudinal and in-depth qualitative methodologies. Findings also highlight the potential psychoeducational value of research on understanding the reasons underlying participants' benefits and emotional effects.

Victim Gender, Rater Attitudes, and Rater Violence History Influence Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence

Perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV) have been proposed to play a role in the stigmatization and underreporting of violence by individuals who are victimized by intimate partners, especially in cases that are inconsistent with the male-to-female IPV paradigm. We examined the independent and combined influences of victim and perpetrator sex, attitudes toward gender roles, and history of IPV perpetration on perceptions of IPV among 240 college students. We employed a vignette methodology to manipulate perpetrator and victim sex in a fully crossed design. Results indicate that violence perpetrated against males is perceived as less serious and more justified, and male victims are perceived to be more blameworthy than female victims. Traditional gender role attitudes and histories of IPV perpetration are associated with greater blaming of victims and justification of perpetrators across contexts.

Rural Young Adults' Lay Theories of Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Examination

This study qualitatively examined rural emerging adults' ways of thinking (i.e., lay theories) about the causes of intimate partner violence (IPV) and ideas on how to prevent IPV most effectively. Participants were 74 individuals (majority Caucasian, heterosexual, low income) between the ages of 18 and 24 who resided in one of 16 rural communities. Participants' perceptions of the causes of IPV included (a) individual-level pathology, stress, and lack of education; (b) intergenerational transmission of violence and early-life factors; (c) relationship stressors and challenges; and (d) community factors. Furthermore, participants felt that IPV could most effectively be prevented through (a) education and awareness; (b) victim-focused efforts (e.g., teaching self-esteem); and (c) job creation. Overall, participants identified a number of established risk factors for IPV perpetration across the social ecological model, although a number were never or rarely mentioned (e.g., peer group norms, positive bystander action, and collective efficacy). Future research should examine if and how perceptions of the causes of IPV impact IPV prevention engagement and impact. Further, prevention initiatives that take into account understandings of lay theories about IPV may be more impactful in reducing IPV than prevention initiatives that do not.