Effects of an intervention program for female victims of intimate partner violence on psychological symptoms and perceived social support

IntroductionWomen living with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable to intimate partner violence (IPV). Existing research on the topic largely takes place in high-income settings and treats disability as a dichotomous experience—an individual either has a disability or does not. Disability experiences, however, are diverse such that some individuals face minimal impairment, while for others impairment can be severe. With this spectrum in mind, this study sought to examine the associations between severity of disability impairment, past-year IPV, past-year in-law violence and perceived social support among married women in Nepal.MethodsBaseline data (2016) from a randomised controlled trial aiming to reduce IPV among women aged 18–49 (n=1800) were analysed using generalised estimating equations logistic regressions to assess associations.ResultsWomen with severe impairment reported higher levels of physical and/or sexual, emotional, economic and in-law violence than women without a disability (adjusted OR (AOR)=1.68, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.72; AOR=1.65, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.65; AOR=1.75, 95% CI 1.02 to 3.02; AOR=2.80, 95% CI 2.53 to 5.11, respectively). Differences in IPV between women reporting some impairment versus no disability were observed for economic (AOR=1.47, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.94) and in-law violence (AOR=1.50, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.10). Women with severe or some impairment versus no disability were less likely to perceive their in-laws as supportive.ConclusionDisability status was associated with increased vulnerability to IPV. A gradient was observed; the highest levels of IPV were experienced by women with severe impairment, followed by some impairment. Future research should examine the mechanisms driving such observations.

Download Full-text

“I Didn’t Really Have Anybody to Turn To”: Barriers to Social Support and the Experiences of Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260520961869 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626052096186

Author(s):

Natalie Hoskins ◽

Adrianne Kunkel

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Intervention Program ◽

Social Ties ◽

Childhood Adversity ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Communication Styles ◽

Masculine Gender

Social support is crucial for adapting to stress and trauma, processing adverse emotions, developing better mental health, and garnering relationship success. Yet, social support may not always be accessible to those who need it the most. Through participant observation and in-depth interviews, this study examined how men who have perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV) perceived the availability and adequacy of social ties, as well as how they discursively constructed social support during times of childhood adversity. Results indicated a prevalence of trauma in attachment relationships, a lack of perceived social support, and persistent messages that discouraged help seeking and engendered masculine norms (e.g., self-reliance, aggression, rejection of femininity, restrictive emotionality) and communication styles. The current study illustrates how the effects of adverse childhood experiences may be exacerbated by the absence of positive social ties and adherence to masculine gender norms governing communication. Thus, the protective benefit (or the “buffering effect”) of social support appears to be inaccessible for this specific population. Findings suggest so-called “batterer intervention program” groups could provide measures to increase perpetrators’ sense of social support during the intervention process and work to deconstruct additional masculine gender beliefs (i.e., in addition to power and control) to alleviate some of social and psychological effects of early childhood adversity.

Download Full-text

Analysis of Effectiveness of Individual and Group Trauma-Focused Interventions for Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18041952 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 1952

Author(s):

María Crespo ◽

María Arinero ◽

Carmen Soberón

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Posttraumatic Stress ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Intervention Program ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Female Survivors ◽

The Individual

Group psychological programs for intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors would seem particularly useful since they contribute to interrupting women’s isolation and have cost-effectiveness advantage. This study aims to analyze whether the effectiveness of group interventions for female survivors of IPV is equivalent to that of the individual format. A cognitive-behavioral trauma-focused intervention program was applied in eight weekly sessions in Madrid (Spain) to IPV female survivors with significant posttraumatic symptoms that were randomly assigned to the individual (n = 25) or group (n = 28) intervention format. Measures of posttraumatic stress (Severity of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Scale), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory), self-esteem (Rosenberg’s Scale) and social support were analyzed at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-months follow-ups. A total of 28.3% of women dropped out, without significant format differences. Intervention (both formats) had significant improvements with large effect sizes in posttraumatic stress (η2p = 0.56), depression (η2p = 0.45), anxiety (η2p = 0.41) and self-esteem (η2p = 0.26) that maintained in follow-ups (p < 0.001), without significant differences between formats. Both intervention formats had different evolutions for depression and anxiety (p < 0.05), with better effects in the individual format at the first post-test measurements, but the differences tended to disappear over time. Intervention was effective in improving social support, with no significant differences between formats. All in all, both formats showed similar effectiveness. The group format could be an alternative when applying psychological interventions for female IPV survivors, since it would maintain good cost-effectiveness balance, mainly in the long-term.

Download Full-text