Coping and Violence Exposure as Predictors of Psychological Functioning in Domestic Violence Survivors

Problem-Focused Coping Strategies Used by Victims of Gender Violence Across the Stages of Change

This study compares the problem-focused emotion regulation strategies used by 200 female survivors of intimate partner violence (age: M = 40.16, SD  =  11.27, 18 - 66 years) to cope with violence throughout various stages of change (SOC). It examines the relationship between problem-focused coping strategies and positive and negative affect, and the impact of these variables on the different SOC. Results suggest that victims differ and are flexible in the use of strategies throughout the various SOC. During the initial stages, victims tend to use passive/maladaptive behaviors that hamper change, while in the later stages they use more active/adaptive strategies to leave the abusive relationship.

The role of women’s resources in the prediction of intimate partner violence revictimization by the same or different aggressors

The literature studying the characteristics associated with revictimization in Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is heterogeneous and inconclusive. The absence of studies on the role of the emotional variables of the victims and the failure to distinguish revictimization by the same or different aggressors are two of the main limitations in this area of research. The aim of this work was to study the relative contribution of the material, social, and emotional resources available to IPV victims in predicting revictimization by the same or different perpetrators. The sample consisted of 290 women registered in the city of Madrid who had filed at least one police report for intimate partner violence. The material resources of the victims were evaluated through their level of monthly income and employability status, the social resources through perceived social support, and the emotional resources through emotional regulation and coping strategies. Hierarchical multinomial logistic regression models were estimated to predict single-offender victimization (SRV), same-offender revictimization (VSRSA), and multiple-offender revictimization (VSRDA). The results revealed that: (1) differentiating between revictimization by the same and different aggressors improved the fit of the model by 50.8% compared to when only differentiating between victimized and revictimized women; (2) material resources had no significant weight in the prediction of any type of revictimization; (3) SRV women had more social support than VSRDA women (ExpB = 1.027; p < 0.011); (4), those victims who had made several reports to the authorities of violence by different aggressors (VSRDA), had worse emotional regulation than those victims who had made a single report to the authorities (VSRs; ExpB = 2.934; p < 0.026); and (5) VSRDA obtained the worst mental health indexes and they used more coping strategies based on positive reappraisal than the VSR women (ExpB = 0.863; p < 0.009) and those victims with several reports by the same aggressor (VSRSA; ExpB = 0.891; p < 0.028). These results show that being a victim of several episodes of intimate partner violence by different aggressors should be understood as a form of revictimization of great severity associated with worse emotional regulation and less social support.

The Development and Psychometric Assessment of a Coping Inventory for Intimate Partner Violence Among Abused Iranian Women

Helping abused Iranian women better cope with intimate partner violence (IPV) requires measuring their coping strategies. The review of literature on the subject showed that there is no context-based instrument for measuring coping with IPV among abused Iranian women. The present study was thus conducted to develop and perform the psychometric assessment of a coping inventory for intimate partner violence (CIIPV) in abused Iranian women.In this methodological study, two consecutive studies were carried out for the development and psychometric assessment of CIIPV. In the first study, the inventory items were designed based on the results of a previous qualitative study that was conducted to identify the coping strategies used for IPV among abused Iranian women. In the second study, the inventory's validity and reliability were examined. The face validity, content validity, construct validity, and convergent validity of the inventory were also evaluated. Moreover, to assess the reliability of the inventory, its internal consistency was estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.A total of 58 items were designed in the first study and then psychometrically assessed. The final version of the inventory comprised 29 items and 6 factors, including negotiation, instrumental action, help-seeking, positive cognitive restructuring, spiritual support-seeking, and distraction. The content validity index of the entire inventory was 1. The extracted factors explained 75.44% of the variance. The convergent validity of the CIIPV was confirmed with a medium positive relationship between the conceptually similar subscales in the two instruments CIIPV and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. Furthermore, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the entire inventory was 0.86, indicating its suitable reliability. Given the results, the CIIPV is a valid and reliable domain-specific tool to measure the coping strategies used for IPV among abused Iranian women.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Alcohol and Drug Misuse Among IPV-Victimized Women: Exploring the Role of Difficulties Regulating Positive Emotions

Alcohol and drug misuse is prevalent and problematic among women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV). Emotional dysfunction has been identified as a key mechanism in the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of alcohol and drug misuse. However, existing research has not considered the role of race/ethnicity in the relations between emotional dysfunction and alcohol and drug misuse. Furthermore, past research in this area has focused almost exclusively on emotional dysfunction stemming from negative (vs. positive) emotions. The goals of the current study were as follows: (a) to explore whether levels of difficulties regulating positive emotions differ among Latina, African American, and White IPV-victimized women, and (b) to examine the moderating role of race/ethnicity in the relations between difficulties regulating positive emotions and alcohol and drug misuse. Participants were 197 IPV-victimized women recruited through the criminal justice system (M_age = 36.14; 51.8% African American, 31.5% White, and 16.8% Latina). Difficulties regulating positive emotions did not differ as a function of race/ethnicity. However, relations among difficulties regulating positive emotions and alcohol and drug misuse were significant for Latina and White but not African American IPV-victimized women. Moreover, race/ethnicity moderated an association between difficulties regulating positive emotions and drug misuse; this relation was significant and positive for White (compared with African American) IPV-victimized women. While preliminary, these results may inform culturally sensitive interventions for alcohol and drug misuse that are tailored to the unique needs of Latina, African American, and White IPV-victimized women.

Sibling Violence and Psychological Adjustment: The Role of Maladaptive Coping and Maternal Authoritativeness

This study examined the phenomenon of sibling violence in Singapore. The underlying mechanisms through which maternal authoritativeness and maladaptive coping influenced psychological adjustment following sibling violence were also investigated. Questionnaires were administered to 287 female and 128 male Singaporean college students between the ages of 18 to 27. Results showed that lifetime and past-year prevalence estimates of sibling violence in college students in Singapore were 89.9% and 62.0%, respectively. Lifetime psychological sibling violence involvement and past-year sibling violence involvement (both physical and psychological) were significantly related to maladaptive coping and overall psychological adjustment; lifetime sibling violence involvement was significantly related to maternal authoritativeness, anxiety, and depression only. Maladaptive coping was found to be a significant mediator between past-year physical and psychological sibling violence involvement and two measures of psychological adjustment, anxiety and depression. Maternal authoritativeness functioned as a moderator only for the relationship between past-year psychological sibling violence exposure and psychological adjustment. At low but not high levels of maternal authoritativeness, past-year psychological violence involvement was significantly related to higher levels of anxiety and depression, and lower levels of self-esteem. These findings show that sibling violence is a pervasive problem in Asian countries as well, such as in Singapore. There is a need to educate both the public and the relevant authorities so that steps can be taken to protect those who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing such violence. Through elucidating the role of maternal authoritativeness and maladaptive coping, the present study also suggests new avenues for interventions to reduce the adverse effects of sibling violence. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.

Nurturing Hope and Well-Being Among Survivors of Domestic Violence Within the Family Justice Center Model

Family Justice Centers (FJCs) represent a multi-disciplinary coordinated approach co-located to serve survivors of domestic violence. This study examined the change in hope and well-being among 130 survivors receiving domestic violence services through seven FJCs. Using a pretest, posttest design, Analyses of Variance results indicated that survivors exhibited robust increases in hope, emotional well-being, and flourishing. Correlational analyses showed that survivor defined goal success has important relationships with hope and well-being. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses revealed hope contributed unique variance of survivor flourishing over-and-above survivor defined success and emotional well-being. These findings are discussed in the context that hope may be an important coping resource for survivors of domestic violence and offers a common conceptual framework for FJCs.

Non-communicable diseases among women survivors of intimate partner violence: Critical review from a chronic stress framework

A neurobiological framework of chronic stress proposes that the stress-response system can be functionally altered by the repeated presentation of highly stressful situations over time. These functional alterations mainly affect brain processing and include the dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and associated processes. In the present critical review, we translate these results to inform the clinical presentation of women survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). We approach IPV as a scenario of chronic stress where women are repetitively exposed to threat and coping behaviours that progressively shape their neurobiological response to stress. The changes at the central and peripheral levels in turn correlate with the phenotypes of non-communicable diseases. The reviewed studies clarify the extent of the impact of IPV on women's health in large (N > 10,000) population-based designs, and provide observations on experimental neuroendocrine, immune, neurocognitive and neuroimaging research linking alterations of the stress-response system and disease. This evidence supports the prevention of violence against women as a fundamental action to reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases.

The Costs of Silencing the Self and Divided Self in the Context of Physical Abuse, Racial/Ethnic Identity, and Medication Adherence in Women Living with HIV

Racial/ethnic minority status and physical abuse history are risk factors for higher mortality rates and lower adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in women living with HIV (WLWH) in the United States. The current study tested the hypotheses that minority status and physical abuse history might lead women to silence the self (minimize and hide thoughts and feelings in order to avoid relational conflict, loss, and/or abuse) as measured by the Silencing the Self Scale (STSS), and that STSS might mediate and moderate relationships of physical abuse and racial/ethnic minority status with ART adherence. Divided Self (DS; acting in ways inconsistent with inner thoughts and feelings), an STSS subscale, was targeted for study along with the total STSS score. Participants were 513 women from the U.S. Women's Interagency HIV Study (M age = 46; 387, 75%, Black; 66, 13%, Hispanic; 60, 12%, White). Multiple logistic regressions indicated that across all racial/ethnic groups, physical abuse history related to higher DS and lower adherence. DS significantly mediated relationships between abuse and adherence. Compared to White women, Black women demonstrated worse ART adherence, but had lower total STSS. Racial/ethnic minority women and women with a physical abuse history who had higher DS had lower adherence than other groups. Results indicate that being a racial/ethnic minority or having a history of physical abuse may increase vulnerability to the deleterious effects of DS on ART adherence, findings that can help inform interventions to decrease health disparities in WLWH.

Coping strategies of women survivors of domestic violence residing with an abusive partner after registered complaint with the family counseling center at Alwar, India

Coping is one of the most important and widely studied aspects of domestic violence (DV). Women adopt a wide variety of coping strategies to manage abuse, ranging from individual estrangement to institutional entitlements. The condition of women becomes complex when they seek institutional support while living with an abusive husband and his family under the common hearth. The present study aims to analyze the coping strategy of mediation between informal and formal justice while residing with an abusive husband and his family. Further, the study explores the coping strategy as an outcome of the contextual factor and associated psychological distress. It is a prospective intervention study with a 4-month span building awareness, counseling (individual, couple, and family counseling), and case-specific advice (safety plan, choice-making, and problem-solving). A baseline and endline assessment with SRQ-20 and in-depth interviews were carried out on 299 married women who had registered a complaint with a family counseling center (FCC); Mahila Suraksha Evam Salah Kendra (MSSK) in Alwar district, India. To understand the context and the coping strategy adopted by women, in-depth interviews were carried out. The results show that there is a differential impact of DV, psychological distress, and coping strategy based on contextual factor; women having an informal support system have a better result in coping; and intervention at the formal system resulted in improving coping strategy and simultaneously reducing psychological distress. As the mediation period is interminable and traumatic, the institutional support to women survivors of DV is an important policy alternative for improving survivors' well-being, especially in an unsupportive informal context.

Child maltreatment and depression: A meta-analysis of studies using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire

BACKGROUND

Researchers have documented that child maltreatment is associated with adverse long-term consequences for mental health, including increased risk for depression. Attempts to conduct meta-analyses of the association between different forms of child maltreatment and depressive symptomatology in adulthood, however, have been limited by the wide range of definitions of child maltreatment in the literature.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to meta-analyze a single, widely-used dimensional measure of child maltreatment, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, with respect to depression diagnosis and symptom scores.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

192 unique samples consisting of 68,830 individuals.

METHODS

We explored the association between total scores and scores from specific forms of child maltreatment (i.e., emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect) and depression using a random-effects meta-analysis.

RESULTS

We found that higher child maltreatment scores were associated with a diagnosis of depression (g = 1.07; 95 % CI, 0.95-1.19) and with higher depression symptom scores (Z = .35; 95 % CI, .32-.38). Moreover, although each type of child maltreatment was positively associated with depression diagnosis and scores, there was variability in the size of the effects, with emotional abuse and emotional neglect demonstrating the strongest associations.

CONCLUSIONS

These analyses provide important evidence of the link between child maltreatment and depression, and highlight the particularly larger association with emotional maltreatment in childhood.

Post-traumatic stress disorder symptom severity attenuates bi-directional associations between negative affect and avoidant coping: A daily diary study

INTRODUCTION

Avoidant coping plays an important role in the maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, existing investigations have been limited in their assessment of coping as a static process - despite evidence that the coping strategies individuals use to manage stressors vary across time and contexts. Further, research has relied on cross-sectional designs, precluding determination of the directionality of the negative affect-avoidant coping association. The current study addresses these limitations by using a daily diary method to examine the moderating role of PTSD symptom severity on reciprocal relations between negative affect and avoidant coping.

METHODS

Participants were 1,188 trauma-exposed adults (M age = 19.2, 56% female, 79% White) who provided daily diary data for 30 days via online surveys. Multi-level models were tested to evaluate the moderating role of PTSD symptom severity in the daily relations between negative affect and avoidant coping during the 30-day period.

RESULTS

Levels of daytime negative affect were assoicated with use of evening avoidant coping. Use of evening avoidant coping were associated with levels of next-day daytime negative affect. PTSD symptom severity moderated these relations. For individuals with more (vs. less) severe PTSD symptoms, the association of negative affect to avoidant coping was weaker and the association of avoidant coping to negative affect was stronger.

LIMITATIONS

Findings must be interpreted in light of limitations, including self-report measures and assessment of a alcohol using sample of college students.

DISCUSSION

These findings advance our understanding of the negative affect-avoidant coping association among trauma-exposed individuals.

Avoidant Coping as a Moderator of the Association Between Childhood Abuse Types and HIV/Sexual Risk Behaviors

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) report high rates of HIV/sexual risk behaviors. Childhood abuse has been linked to HIV/sexual risk behaviors among IPV-victimized women; however, limited research has examined factors that may influence this association. The current study tested the moderating role of avoidant coping in the relation between childhood abuse types (physical, emotional, and sexual) and HIV/sexual risk behaviors. Participants were 212 community women currently experiencing IPV (mean age = 36.63 years, 67.0% African American). Higher levels of avoidant coping were related to more severe childhood abuse types. Severity of childhood abuse types was associated with greater HIV/sexual risk behaviors. Avoidant coping moderated the relation between childhood sexual abuse severity and HIV/sexual risk behaviors, such that this association was significant for IPV-victimized women with high (but not low) levels of avoidant coping. Findings suggest the utility of targeting avoidant coping in interventions aimed at preventing or reducing HIV/sexual risk behaviors among IPV-victimized women with a history of childhood sexual abuse.

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.

Intimate Partner Violence and HIV-Risk Behaviors: Evaluating Avoidant Coping as a Moderator

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) report higher rates of HIV-risk behaviors. However, few studies have examined factors that may influence the strength of the link between IPV and HIV-risk behaviors. The goal of the current study was to extend extant research by evaluating the potential moderating role of avoidant coping in this relation. Participants were 212 women currently experiencing IPV (M age = 36.63, 70.8 % African American) who were recruited from the community. Significant positive associations were found between physical, psychological, and sexual IPV severity and both avoidant coping and HIV-risk behaviors. Avoidant coping moderated the relations between both physical and psychological IPV severity and HIV-risk behaviors, such that physical and psychological IPV severity were significantly associated with HIV-risk behaviors when avoidant coping was high (but not low). Findings underscore avoidant coping as an important factor in identifying and subsequently treating IPV-victimized women vulnerable to HIV-risk behaviors.

Strategies for coping with individual PTSD symptoms: Experiences of African American victims of intimate partner violence

OBJECTIVE

Understanding how populations at particular risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its deleterious outcomes cope with individual PTSD symptoms is critical to developing interventions that promote resilience, support recovery, and ultimately empower traumatized populations. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify specific strategies women use to cope with individual PTSD symptoms among a population at particular risk for experiencing trauma and its negative sequelae-African American victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) who use substances.

METHOD

This 30-day study included 107 African American women who reported experiencing current IPV and using a substance. During their follow-up interviews, women participated in a structured interview to retrospectively report on the strategies they typically used to cope with various PTSD symptoms during the 30-day period.

RESULTS

Results of content analysis revealed that women used 19 different strategies to cope with symptoms (e.g., social support, substance use, electronic media, religious or spiritual coping), which varied as a function of the PTSD symptom experienced. Aggregating symptoms to the cluster level obscured the variability in strategies used to cope with individual symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings are discussed in the context of the larger literature on coping and PTSD, specifically regarding (a) coping strategies that may be adaptive or maladaptive and (b) directions for future research that attend to experiences of individual PTSD symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record

'You just deal with it. You have to when you've got a child': A narrative analysis of mothers' accounts of how they coped, both during an abusive relationship and after leaving

A narrative analysis explored the accounts of eight mothers, each of whom had left an abusive relationship at least 12 months previously. Existing research investigating the strategies used by women to cope with domestic violence rarely considers women in their capacity as mothers. Furthermore, women's lives after leaving an abusive relationship have received limited research attention. Thus, this study aimed to understand how women described coping with domestic violence and mothering their children, both during an abusive relationship and after leaving. The analysis focused on how the eight participants described their experiences (narrative form) as well as what they talked about (narrative content). Three types of narrative form were identified: (1) 'The story told to help others', (2) 'The story too difficult to tell' and (3) 'Where's my story going?' Each woman spoke about the contextual factors that influenced whether she coped with domestic violence by seeking support from others, changing her thinking or changing her behaviour. Caring for their children was a major source of support for all the women both during their relationship and after leaving. The findings indicate that mothers who have been abused by their intimate partner may come into contact with a wide range of social and emergency support services. Implications for clinical practice, service delivery and service development relate to the different ways of supporting women in talking about abuse and also the need to recognise trauma in parents.

Racial/ethnic differences moderate associations of coping strategies and posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters among women experiencing partner violence: a multigroup path analysis

BACKGROUND

Past research underscores the key role of coping strategies in the development, maintenance, and exacerbation of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The goal of the current study was to extend existing literature by examining whether race/ethnicity moderates the relations among coping strategies (social support, problem-solving, avoidance) and PTSD symptom clusters (intrusion, avoidance, numbing, arousal).

METHODS

Participants were 369 community women (134 African Americans, 131 Latinas, 104 Whites) who reported bidirectional aggression with a current male partner. Multigroup path analysis was utilized to test the moderating role of race/ethnicity in a model linking coping strategies to PTSD symptom clusters.

RESULTS

The strength and direction of relations among coping strategies and PTSD symptom clusters varied as a function of race/ethnicity. Greater social support coping was related to more arousal symptoms for Latinas and Whites. Greater problem-solving coping was related to fewer arousal symptoms for Latinas. Greater avoidance coping was related to more symptoms across many of the PTSD clusters for African Americans, Latinas, and Whites, however, these relations were strongest for African Americans.

CONCLUSION

Results provide support for the moderating role of race/ethnicity in the relations among coping strategies and PTSD symptom clusters, and highlight potential targets for culturally informed PTSD treatments.

The association between intimate partner domestic violence and the food security status of poor families in Brazil

Objective

To assess the association between physical intimate partner violence and household food security within households with schoolchildren.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

Salvador, Bahia, north-eastern Brazil.

Subjects

The study was conducted in 1019 households with students. Violence between couples was evaluated using the Portuguese version of the revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2), previously adapted and validated for use in Brazil. The Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (BFIS) was used to identify food insecurity. We also obtained socio-economic information for each participant. We used multivariate Poisson regression to assess the associations of interest.

Results

According to the results of the BFIS, 62·5 % of the households were found to experience food insecurity, including 19·5 % moderate food insecurity and 6·5 % severe food insecurity. The prevalence of minor physical violence was 9·6 % (95 % CI 7·8, 11·4 %) and of severe physical violence was 4·7 % (95 % CI 3·4, 6·0 %) among the couples. In the final multivariate model, it was found that couples reporting minor (prevalence ratio=1·23; 95 % CI 1·12, 1·35) and severe (prevalence ratio=1·16; 95 % CI 1·00, 1·34) physical violence were more likely to be experiencing household food insecurity, compared with those not reporting physical violence.

Conclusions

Physical intimate partner violence was associated with food insecurity of households. The present study brings new data to the subject of the role of violence in the context of food insecurity.

Professional versus personal resource utilization in survivors of intimate partner violence

Although many women are affected by intimate partner violence (IPV) across the life span, rates of help seeking for IPV-related concerns are low. The current project examined predictors of personal and professional resource use in a sample of female IPV survivors, with the purpose of identifying engagement strategies for IPV services and resources. The study is notable for is concurrent examination of demographic variables, abuse characteristics, beliefs about cause of violence, beliefs about helpfulness of resources, coping style, and PTSD symptoms as predictors of resource use. Interviews and self-report measures were completed by 372 women recruited from community agencies. The average age was 34.41 years (SD = 8.09), and 66% of the sample was African American, followed by 28% Caucasian, 1.4% Latino, and 1.4% Native American. Results indicated that professional help seeking was significantly related to psychological aggression, age, controllability of cause of violence, engaged coping, helpfulness of resource, and PTSD severity (p < .001), and that personal resource use was related to relationship length, stability of cause of violence, disengaged coping, and helpfulness of resource (p < .001). These findings point to the importance of cognitions and coping style in the decision to seek help for IPV. In particular, beliefs about the helpfulness of potential resources as well as beliefs about the controllability and stability of the violence appear to be important targets for increasing engagement of IPV survivors in available services. (PsycINFO Database Record

Intimate partner violence and ways of coping with stress: cross-sectional survey of female patients in Russian general practice

BACKGROUND

Despite World Health Organization guidelines on health service responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) against women general practitioners (GPs) often overlook the problem. Training on IPV addresses GPs' barriers to asking women patients about abuse and responding appropriately. One of the barriers is stereotype of women as passive victims. Little is known about coping behaviour of women patients with a history of IPV.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives are (i) to compare problem- and emotion-focused coping used by patients who have experienced IPV with those who have not; (ii) to examine whether greater coping resources (health, education, employment and income) would be associated with more problem-focused coping.

METHODS

The Russian Ways of Coping Questionnaire was administered to every fifth woman who participated in a cross-sectional survey on IPV prevalence in 24 St Petersburg general practices. Linear regression was used (n = 159) to test associations between life-time IPV, coping resources and ways of coping.

RESULTS

Mean problem-focused coping scores were 0.2-4.7 units higher in those patients who have experienced IPV compared with those who have not [95% confidence interval (CI): -4.2, 11.9; P = 0.16-0.92], while mean emotion-focused coping scores were 2.5-4.2 units higher (95% CI: -3.0, 11.0; P = 0.12-0.57). After adjustment for coping resources there was no evidence for an association between IPV and problem-focused coping.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients who have experienced IPV use as much problem-focused and emotion-focused coping, as those patients who have not experienced IPV. These findings should be incorporated into training on IPV to address GPs' stereotypes towards patients who have experienced IPV.

Understanding how domestic abuse is associated with greater depressive symptoms in a community sample of female primary care patients: does loss of belongingness matter?

This study examined the relationship between domestic abuse, belongingness, and depressive symptoms in a community sample of 71 female primary care patients. As expected, domestic abuse was associated with greater depressive symptoms. Results from conducting mediation analyses, including bootstrapping techniques, provided strong convergent support for a model in which the hypothesized effect of domestic abuse on depressive symptoms in women is mediated by a loss of belongingness. Noteworthy, even after controlling for content overlap between measures of belongingness and depressive symptoms, the mediation model remained significant. Some implications of the present findings are discussed.

Iranian Women's Experiences with Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Violence against women has been identified as a public health problem, which has fundamental consequences on women's physical, mental, and reproductive health. To understand abused women and provide support for them, it is necessary to enter the world in which the victims of intimate partner violence live. This study was designed to investigate experiences of abused Iranian women of intimate partner violence.

METHODS

Content analysis approach was used to design this qualitative study. Participants were 11 married women, selected from two health centers and one park located in the south of Tehran, Iran. Purposive sampling method was applied to recruit the study participants and continued until data saturation was reached. Semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data.

RESULTS

During the data analysis, 650 initial codes were clustered in six subcategories and two categories. "Neglect or covert violence" and "overt violence" were two categories emerged through data analysis, both having physical, sexual, and emotional dimensions. Emotional violence was the most prevalent in both cases and had more significance for the women. Neglect was much more common than overt violence. It was the precursor for overt violence.

CONCLUSION

Although participants had experienced both neglect and overt violence, the major part of experienced violence was neglect. This type of violence usually is not addressed or recognized and is difficult to identify, but it is damaging to women. Knowledge of women‟s experiences of intimate partner violence makes the health staff provide better care for abused women.

Evidence for a curvilinear dose-response relationship between avoidance coping and drug use problems among women who experience intimate partner violence

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) are at heightened risk for drug use problems. While prevailing models of drug use suggest that IPV-exposed women use drugs in an effort to escape or avoid negative affect, a dearth of literature has examined the role of avoidance coping in drug use problems within this population. Given recent suggestions that flexible, situationally appropriate use of avoidance coping may be adaptive, particularly when confronted with highly stressful situations, we hypothesized that avoidance coping and drug use problems would demonstrate a curvilinear, U-shaped dose-response relationship. Participants were 147 community-recruited women experiencing IPV. Consistent with our hypotheses, moderate levels of avoidance coping were associated with lower levels of drug use problems, whereas high and low levels of avoidance coping were associated with higher levels of drug use problems. Findings highlight the complex relationship between avoidance coping and drug use problems and suggest that avoidance coping, when used in moderation, may be an adaptive strategy for coping with relational conflict among women who experience IPV.

An exploration of the role of employment as a coping resource for women experiencing intimate partner abuse

There has been a growing interest amongst researchers and practitioners regarding the various coping strategies adopted by women experiencing intimate partner abuse (IPA). These studies have tended to adopt and adapt the stress-coping model developed by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) and thus make the distinction between emotion and problem-solving coping strategies and the resources available for women to cope. Even though, contemporary coping scholars acknowledge the role of employment and coping, it is still unclear as to how employment facilitates women's coping strategies. Drawing on findings from a qualitative study, this article explores how employment and workplace environments provide survivors of IPA with resources that allow them to cope with the abuse. By incorporating theoretical insights developed in the field of organizational studies, namely boundary work and organizational identities, these findings develop our understanding of the role of employment in survivors' coping strategies. Finally, the findings demonstrate the valuable contribution of interdisciplinarity in furthering our knowledge of coping strategies and the positive aspects of employment for survivors of IPA.

Emotional but not physical maltreatment is independently related to psychopathology in subjects with various degrees of social anxiety: a web-based internet survey

BACKGROUND

Previous studies reported that social phobia is associated with a history of child maltreatment. However, most of these studies focused on physical and sexual maltreatment whilst little is known about the specific impact of emotional abuse and neglect on social anxiety. We examined the association between emotional maltreatment, including parental emotional maltreatment as well as emotional peer victimization, and social anxiety symptoms in subjects with various degrees of social anxiety.

METHODS

The study was conducted as a web-based Internet survey of participants (N = 995) who had social anxiety symptoms falling within the high range, and including many respondents who had scores in the clinical range. The assessment included measures of child maltreatment, emotional peer victimization, social anxiety symptoms and general psychopathology.

RESULTS

Regression and mediation analyses revealed that parental emotional maltreatment and emotional peer victimization were independently related to social anxiety and mediated the impact of physical and sexual maltreatment. Subjects with a history of childhood emotional maltreatment showed higher rates of psychopathology than subjects with a history of physical maltreatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Although our findings are limited by the use of an Internet survey and retrospective self-report measures, data indicated that social anxiety symptoms are mainly predicted by emotional rather than physical or sexual types of victimization.

Differences in depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and lifetime trauma exposure in formerly abused women with mild versus moderate to severe chronic pain

Although associations between intimate partner violence, chronic pain, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and lifetime trauma exposure are well known, previous studies are limited by their recruitment of women from shelters. These relationships were explored with a community-based sample of formerly abused women ( N = 84). Seventy-seven percent of women reported pain of >3 months duration, and 75% had moderate to severe pain. Based on logistic regression analysis, women with moderate to severe chronic pain were significantly less likely to be employed, had more depressive symptoms, and were in the abusive relationship longer than women in mild chronic pain. Both pain severity groups had equally high levels of depressive and PTSD symptoms and multiple trauma exposures. Findings document the persistence of significant symptomatology in formerly abused women.

"He messed me up": Swedish adolescent girls' experiences of gender-related partner violence and its consequences over time

This article illuminates two Swedish adolescent girls' experiences of living in a violent relationship as teenagers and how this has affected their lives and health over time. Interviews were conducted in a youth health center. A combination of qualitative content analysis and narrative analysis describes violation, stress, trauma, coping, and agency during the period of adolescence and transition into adulthood. Despite Swedish progressive public policies on men's violence against women, teenage girls are exposed to male partners' violation, a severe gendered stressor. There is a need for the development of health policy and gender-responsive interventions geared specifically toward adolescent girls.

The relative contribution of abuse severity and PTSD severity on the psychiatric and social morbidity of battered women in shelters

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a severe health problem associated with significant distress and impairment in women. The most common psychiatric difficulty in battered women is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, no research to date has investigated the relative impact of the severity of IPV and IPV-related PTSD symptoms on battered women's psychosocial functioning. In a sample of 177 sheltered battered women, PTSD severity was associated with considerable psychiatric morbidity, social maladjustment, and personal and social resource loss. Moreover, PTSD severity mediated the relationship between IPV severity and psychiatric severity and loss of personal and social resources. Results highlight the need for the assessment and treatment of IPV-related PTSD in battered women's shelters.

Violencia de pareja en mujeres embarazadas en la Ciudad de México

OBJETIVO: Analisar los factores relacionados a la violencia de pareja en mujeres embarazadas. MÉTODOS: Se recolectó la información de 383 mujeres derechohabientes del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social que acudieron a control prenatal en cinco Unidades de Medicina Familiar en la Ciudad de México entre septiembre del 2003 y agosto del 2004. Ellas respondieran a un cuestionario de violencia elaborado específicamente para el estudio. RESULTADOS: De las mujeres, 120 (31.1%) reportaron haber estado expuestas a la violencia psicológica y/o física, y/o sexual por parte de su pareja masculina durante el embarazo actual, el 10% reportaron violencia combinada y 21% violencia aislada. La violencia psicológica fue la más frecuentemente reportada (93% del grupo "había experimentado violencia"). Con relación a la percepción sobre la violencia no había diferencias significativas entre los grupos de mujeres con y sin violencia. Solo alrededor de 20% de las mujeres tenían conocimiento sobre los lugares donde atienden a las victimas de violencia. Los factores asociados significativamente a la violencia de pareja en las mujeres embarazadas fueron ser soltera (RM=3.02, IC 95%:1.17;7.83), vivir en unión libre (RM=2.22, IC 95%: 1.11;4.42), antecedentes de violencia en la infancia (RM=3.08, IC 95%:1.62;5.85), consumo de bebidas alcohólicas en la pareja (RM=1.87, IC 95%:1.02;3.42) y presencia de alteraciones emocionales (RM=4.17, IC 95%: 1.12;15.51). CONCLUSIONES: Los resultados refuerzan los hallazgos de otros estudios de que el problema de violencia en mujeres embarazadas en México sigue siendo un problema frecuente.

Coping variables that mediate the relation between intimate partner violence and mental health outcomes among low-income, African American women

Coping variables that mediate the relation between intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health outcomes among African American women were investigated. The study sample included 143 economically disadvantaged African American women ranging in age from 21 to 64 years old who were receiving services at an urban public health system. Sixty-five had experienced IPV within the past year and 78 had never experienced IPV. Results indicated that (a) the IPV status-depressive symptoms link was mediated by multiple ways of coping, spiritual well-being, and social support; (b) the IPV status-anxiety symptoms link was mediated by multiple ways of coping, social support, and ability to access resources; and (c) the IPV status-parenting stress link was mediated by multiple ways of coping, spiritual well-being, and social support. Implications of these findings for clinical practice with abused women are discussed.