Formal and informal help-seeking associated with women's and men's experiences of intimate partner violence in Canada

Background There is limited information about what influences help-seeking following experience of intimate partner violence (IPV). This study investigated determinants of formal and informal help-seeking by those who had experienced lifetime physical, sexual or psychological IPV. Methods A cross-sectional population-based New Zealand study conducted from 2017 to 2019 recruited 2,887 participants (1,464 women and 1,423 men) aged 16 years and older. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. Of these, 1,373 participants experienced physical, sexual or psychological IPV. Two series of logistic regressions were conducted: 1) comparing those who sought help with those who did not, and 2) comparing those who had not sought help with those who sought informal help only, or with those who also sought formal help. Results Of the 1,373 participants who reported experience of physical, sexual or psychological IPV 835 participants (71.3% of women and 49.0% of men) sought some form of help. In both genders self-reported physical and mental health or work-related IPV impacts were significantly associated with help-seeking. Experiencing only one form of IPV was associated with lower odds of seeking formal help by women (Adjusted odds ratio = 0.38; 95%CI = 0.15, 0.92 for physical/sexual only and AOR = 0.37, 95%CI = 0.22, 0.64 for psychological only) compared to those experiencing concurrent types of IPV. Conclusion and implications Although there were gender differences in help-seeking, for both women and men the experience of greater impacts associated with IPV exposure increased the likelihood of help-seeking. Agencies providing services for people who are experiencing IPV need to be equipped to identify and respond to multiple forms of IPV, and prepared to address the suite of impacts experienced.

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Influence of Intimate Partner Violence Severity on the Help-Seeking Strategies of Female Victims and the Influence of Social Reactions to Violence Disclosure on the Process of Leaving a Violent Relationship

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260516676473 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 34 (21-22) ◽

pp. 4550-4571 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Ines Domenech del Rio ◽

Elena Sirvent Garcia del Valle

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Positive Influence ◽

Social Reactions ◽

Violent Relationship ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Violence Severity ◽

Informal Help

This article uses data from the 2015 Spanish Survey on Violence Against Women, a nationally representative survey of 10,171 women aged 16 or above, to analyze the relationship between the severity of intimate partner violence and formal and informal help-seeking strategies, the link between the severity of abuse and the reasons for not seeking formal help, and the influence of social reactions to violence disclosure on the process of leaving a violent relationship. The results show that in Spain, many abused women disclose violence and seek help. However, the severity of the violence strongly determines their help-seeking strategies, especially the search for formal help. Women who experienced less severe incidents tended to minimize their importance and did not seek formal help. For informal help, the differences were smaller, and a high proportion of women talked about the abuse with someone within their social environment, regardless of the severity of the suffered violence. A supportive reaction to violence disclosure had a strong and positive influence on the process of leaving the abusive relationship. The implications of these findings for the design of public policies, education, and awareness-raising campaigns are discussed.

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Experiences With Help Seeking Among Non–Service-Engaged Survivors of IPV: Survivors’ Recommendations for Service Providers

Violence Against Women ◽

10.1177/1077801220963861 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 107780122096386

Author(s):

Rachel J. Voth Schrag ◽

Kristen Ravi ◽

Sarah Robinson ◽

Elyssa Schroeder ◽

Diana Padilla-Medina

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Service Providers ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Formal Services ◽

Future Risk ◽

Informal Help

Engaging with formal intimate partner violence (IPV) services can buffer the impacts of violence and reduce future risk. Many survivors do not access or engage with such services. However, much of our knowledge related to the experiences and perspectives of IPV survivors comes from samples drawn from those seeking formal services. Qualitative interviews with 23 survivors of violence who are not currently engaged with formal IPV services were conducted, focused on the process and outcomes of choosing to seek help. Themes emerged within the categories of formal help-seeking experiences, informal help seeking, and recommendations for providers.

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Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Survivors’ Help-Seeking

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260517715027 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (21-22) ◽

pp. 4558-4582 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Hyunkag Cho ◽

Dasha Shamrova ◽

Jae-Bum Han ◽

Polina Levchenko

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

Study Results ◽

Intimate Partner Violence Victimization ◽

Dependent Variables ◽

The Relationship ◽

Informal Help

Intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors often do not seek critically needed help. A good understanding of the relationship between the pattern of violence and help-seeking is critical to developing adequate services for the survivors, as well as for reaching out to those who do not seek help. This study used the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey to examine how IPV survivor’s help-seeking varies, depending on the characteristics of the survivors and the pattern of victimization. Logistic regression analyses were conducted, with the survivors’ help-seeking and use of formal or informal help as the dependent variables. The study results show that women are the primary victims of IPV, that the pattern of victimization is associated with both whether survivors seek help or not, and which help sources they utilize, if any. IPV consequences are also associated with survivors’ help-seeking, as are demographic factors such as age, gender, race, and immigration status.

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Intimate Partner Violence and Help-Seeking

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040/a000304 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 263-281 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Solveig Lelaurain ◽

Pierluigi Graziani ◽

Grégory Lo Monaco

Keyword(s):

Social Psychology ◽

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Review Of The Literature ◽

Social Concern ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Inhibiting Factors ◽

Wide Range

Abstract. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global social concern: many women are affected by this phenomenon and by the difficulty of putting an end to it. This review of the literature aims to identify help-seeking facilitating and inhibiting factors in response to IPV. It was carried out on the PsycINFO and Medline databases using the following keywords: “intimate partner violence,” “domestic violence,” “help-seeking,” and “help-seeking barrier.” Ninety out of 771 eligible publications were included on the basis of inclusion criteria. The results highlight that (1) research on this phenomenon is very recent and underdeveloped in Europe, (2) theoretical and conceptual frameworks are poorly developed and extended, (3) there is a significant impact of violence characteristics (e.g., severity, type) on help-seeking, and (4) help-seeking is a complex and multifactorial process influenced by a wide range of factors simultaneously individual and social. To conclude, these findings lead us to propose a psychosocial conceptualization of the help-seeking process by indicating how the levels of explanation approach in social psychology can be applied to this field of research in order to increase our understanding of this phenomenon.

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Male victims of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence, help-seeking, and reporting behaviors: A qualitative study.

Psychology of Men & Masculinity ◽

10.1037/men0000222 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 213-223 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Arlene Walker ◽

Kimina Lyall ◽

Dilkie Silva ◽

Georgia Craigie ◽

Richelle Mayshak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Male Victims ◽

Reporting Behaviors

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Barriers to help-seeking among intimate partner violence survivors with opioid use disorder

International Review of Psychiatry ◽

10.1080/09540261.2021.1898350 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Heather Phillips ◽

Eleanor Lyon ◽

Elizabeth E. Krans ◽

Carole Warshaw ◽

Judy C. Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Opioid Use Disorder ◽

Opioid Use

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Adaptation of the barriers to help-seeking for trauma (BHS-TR) scale: a cross-cultural cognitive interview study with female intimate partner violence survivors in Iceland

Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes ◽

10.1186/s41687-021-00295-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Karen Birna Thorvaldsdottir ◽

Sigridur Halldorsdottir ◽

Rhonda M. Johnson ◽

Sigrun Sigurdardottir ◽

Denise Saint Arnault

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Cognitive Interview ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Interview Study ◽

Trauma Survivors ◽

Expert Committee ◽

Health Related ◽

Trauma Informed

Abstract Background Even though traumatization is linked to substantially reduced health-related quality of life, help-seeking and service utilization among trauma survivors are very low. To date, there has not been available in Iceland a culturally attuned, self-reported measure on help-seeking barriers after trauma. This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the English version of Barriers to Help-Seeking for Trauma (BHS-TR) scale into the Icelandic language and context. Methods The BHS-TR was culturally adapted following well-established and rigorous guidelines, including forward-backward translation, expert committee review, and pretesting through cognitive interviews. Two rounds of interviews with 17 female survivors of intimate partner violence were conducted using a think-aloud technique and verbal probing. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, a combination of deductive and inductive approaches. Results Issues with the BHS-TR that were uncovered in the study were classified into four categories related to general design, translation, cultural aspects, and post-trauma context. The trauma-specific issues emerged as a new category identified in this study and included concepts specific to trauma experiences. Therefore, modifications were of great importance—resulting in the scale becoming more trauma-informed. Revisions made to address identified issues improved the scale, and the process led to an Icelandic version, which appears to be semantically and conceptually equivalent to the original version; additionally, the results provided evidence of content validity. Conclusions As a cognitive interview study, it adds to the growing cognitive interviewing methodology literature. Furthermore, the results provide essential insights into the self-report response process of trauma survivors, highlighting the significance of making health-related research instruments trauma-informed.

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Migrant Women’s Help-Seeking Decisions and Use of Support Resources for Intimate Partner Violence in China

Violence Against Women ◽

10.1177/10778012211000133 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 107780122110001

Author(s):

Ran Hu ◽

Jia Xue ◽

Xiying Wang

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Poisson Model ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Future Research ◽

Related Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Sources Of Support

In China, women who domestically relocate from rural or less developed regions to major cities are at a higher risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) than their non-migrant counterparts. Few studies have focused on Chinese domestic migrant women’s help-seeking for IPV and their use of different sources of support. The present study aimed to identify factors that influence migrant women’s help-seeking decisions. In addition, we also examined factors that contribute to migrant women’s use of diverse sources of support for IPV. A sample of 280 migrant women victimized by IPV in the past year at the time of the survey was drawn from a larger cross-sectional study conducted in four major urban cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Using a multinomial logistic regression model and a zero-inflated Poisson model, we found that factors influencing migrant women’s help-seeking decisions and their use of diverse sources of support included socioeconomic factors, IPV type, relationship-related factors, knowledge of China’s first anti-Domestic Violence Law, and perception of the effectiveness of current policies. We discuss implications for future research and interventions.

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