Journal of Interpersonal Violence最新文献

Research suggests that belonging to multiple groups and trust separately mitigate psychological distress in response to adversity. However, their combined influence, particularly over time, in the context of unwanted sexual experiences during mass gatherings has not been fully explored. To advance our understanding, we investigated whether multiple group membership prior to a youth mass gathering was associated with lower psychological distress, and if trust in friends at the mass gathering (i.e., ingroup trust) explained this relationship among young people who either reported or did not report an unwanted sexual experience. Drawing on data from a longitudinal field study of young people attending a mass gathering, Schoolies (N = 97), we assessed participants' multiple group memberships prior to the mass gathering (T1) and measured ingroup trust and psychological distress during the mass gathering (T2). Our findings revealed that 64.9% of participants reported unwanted sexual experiences at the mass gathering. Among those who reported unwanted sexual experiences, moderated mediation analysis indicated that belonging to multiple groups at T1 was associated with greater ingroup trust at T2, which in turn was linked to lower psychological distress at T2. This study provides evidence that multiple group membership may provide important psychological resources necessary for protecting against psychological distress following unwanted sexual experiences. Further, it highlights how group memberships might be thought of as latent psychological resources in the context of adverse experiences.

The consistently high prevalence of unwanted sexual experiences (USEs) on university campuses has led to increasing calls for evidence-based solutions to inform policies, training, and intervention development. However, Research Ethics Committees are often hesitant to approve sexual trauma research due to beliefs that asking participants about traumatic experiences will cause extreme distress. Conversely, previous literature has found that many participants who have experienced sexual trauma report positive reactions following their participation in such research. Studies have found that while immediate negative emotional reactions are common, this distress is short-term (e.g., lasting only minutes or hours after participation). The present study assessed 469 Northern Irish university students' experiences of participating in research addressing USEs. The findings indicated that participating in USE research was a positive experience for participants, regardless of victimization status. Further, participants who reported a victimization experience did not report experiencing a negative emotional reaction to participating in the study. This article considers the ethics of conducting sexual trauma research among university students, with reference to common ethical concerns that can be addressed as part of the research process.

University students are often victims of sexual assault (SA) with a wide range of severity, but they are the least likely to disclose the assault or to take any concrete (legal) steps against the perpetrator. Prior work reported 13 main factors that influence university students' choice of reaction post-assault: (a) Fear of personal consequences, (b) distrust in authorities, (c) downplay of assault severity, (d) psychological factors, (e) situational factors, (f) lack of evidence, (g) emotional factors, (h) fear of interpersonal consequences, (i) social factors, (j) giving a benefit of doubt, (k) seeking justice, (l) needing support, and (m) presence of witnesses. In this experimental study, we included a student sample pre-screened not to have a history of SA (N = 419), and we provided them with a vignette. Vignettes were either neutral (control condition, n = 32) or manipulated to present each of listed factors (13 conditions, 26 < n_s > 33). Students were randomly assigned to 1 of 14 conditions in total and were asked to imagine being a protagonist who was assaulted and to rate the likelihood of 8 different post-SA reactions (tell friends, tell family, confront the person, report, police report, do nothing, try to forget, and [falsely] deny). We investigated to see which of the 13 factors had the most impact on each of the reactions. Overall, our results indicate that, when comparing the manipulation groups to the neutral condition, social factors (e.g., religious family, stigma) have the highest impact on students' decision-making post-assault. Social factors increase the likelihood of all passive reactions (e.g., false denial, contrast = 1.82, p < .001) and decrease the odds of taking pro-active actions (e.g., making the report, contrast = -0.96, p = .002). The implications and the limitations of this study are discussed.

The aim of this study is to measure the effectiveness of an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)-based group intervention program on post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, psychological inflexibility, and self-compassion in intimate partner violence (IPV) survivor university women. The research was conducted at a state university in İstanbul, Türkiye. Participants consisted of 22 IPV survivor university women with 10 in the treatment group and 12 in the waitlist-control group. Participants were assigned to groups based on their preferences. The treatment group participated in a 12-session ACT intervention group, each lasting 120 to 150 min. During this period, no intervention was applied to the waitlist-control group. At the end of the treatment, the intervention group's average PTS symptom scores and psychological inflexibility scores significantly decreased, while their self-compassion scores significantly increased. This effect persisted during the 1-month follow-up period. On the other hand, no changes were observed in the PTS, psychological inflexibility, and self-compassion levels of the control group. When comparing the treatment group with the control group, it was observed that the treatment group had significantly lower levels of PTS and psychological inflexibility and significantly higher levels of self-compassion in both the post-test and follow-up assessments. Consequently, the results revealed the effectiveness of the program on PTS, psychological inflexibility, and self-compassion among a group of IPV survivor university women. Thus, we concluded that ACT may serve as an effective therapy for addressing IPV among university women and that it is culturally applicable to the Turkish context.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is a risk factor for drug use, which has the potential to negatively impact survivor health and well-being. However, few studies have explored the role of emotion regulation in the association between IPV exposure and drug use. Understanding whether difficulties with emotion regulation mediate the association between IPV victimization and drug use may be important to better understand the mechanisms driving drug use and identify potential intervention targets. Thus, the present study aims to test the role of emotion dysregulation in the link between IPV exposure and drug use among violently injured adults. A total of 367 adults who had experienced a violent injury from any source (M_age = 32.7, 73% male, 80% Black/African-American) from an Urban Level 1 Trauma Center were recruited. Participants completed self-report surveys on their IPV victimization experiences, emotion regulation difficulties, and drug use. Results showed that IPV victimization was associated with greater emotion regulation difficulties and higher levels of drug use. In addition, several domains of emotion regulation difficulties (strategies, non-acceptance, goals, and impulse) were associated with more engagement in drug use, and those domains of emotion regulation difficulties partially mediated the associations between IPV victimization and drug use. These findings highlight the importance of exploring mechanisms of IPV victimization outcomes, such as drug use that can guide education (e.g., stigma prevention), prevention (e.g., early and hospital-based screening), and intervention (e.g., treatments to target emotion regulation) efforts.

Youth violence is a critical social issue, often linked to feelings of relative deprivation (RD) and perceptions of social injustice. Understanding how these factors interact can inform strategies to reduce violence among young people. This study examines the impact of RD on youth violence tendencies, with a specific focus on the mediating role of the perception of social justice. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 1,500 young people aged 20 to 30 in a major urban center in China, selected through convenience sampling. Structural equation modeling using SmartPLS assessed the relationships between RD, social justice perception, and youth violence. RD was positively associated with youth violence tendency (β = .45, p < .001). The perception of social justice significantly mediated this relationship, reducing the direct effect of deprivation on violence (β = -.15, p < .001). Both distributive and procedural justice played critical roles in moderating youth responses to perceived deprivation. Results of this evaluation suggested that RD may increase the likelihood of youth violence, and that perceptions of social justice may mitigate this association. Addressing socioeconomic inequalities and enhancing fairness in resource distribution and decision-making processes are crucial strategies to reduce youth violence.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are defined as stressful or traumatic events occurring within a child's family environment during their first 18 years of life. Research examining the associations between exposure to ACEs in childhood and bullying experiences in adolescence is sparse. To address this gap, data from the first 10 sweeps of the Growing Up in Scotland prospective cohort study was used to evaluate the relationship between 6 different ACEs and the risk of being bullied or engaging in bullying others at age 14 among a sample of 2,669 adolescents. Multiple univariable logistic regression models were fitted to explore independent associations between each of the six ACEs measured, 1+ ACE and 3+ ACEs and bullying perpetration and victimization, respectively. Results showed that a high proportion of young people in Scotland experience bullying victimization (31%) and a very high percentage reported exposure to at least one type of adversity (73.6%). Young people whose parents reported drug or alcohol misuse and females whose parents had divorced or separated had higher odds of engaging in bullying others. Having a parent who had mental health problems was the only ACE that predicted higher odds of experiencing bullying. Substance misuse in the family predicted a higher risk of bullying victimization for females. Logistic regression analyses further showed that females with greater exposure to ACEs were more likely to engage in bullying in mid-adolescence. Our findings underscore the importance of understanding bullying perpetration as a maladaptive way to manage life stressors.

Male sexual victimization is more commonly examined in the context of child sexual abuse (CSA) rather than adult sexual assault (ASA). This qualitative study examines the meaning-making of ASA among men who have been sexually assaulted in adulthood (after age 18) by analyzing the ways they experience and narrate adult age and masculinity in this context. To gain a comprehensive understanding of male sexual victimization in adulthood, data were gathered through 40 in-depth interviews with 19 Israeli male ASA survivors and 21 sexual trauma therapists. This study found that survivors perceived the sexual assaults they experienced as adults through the dual lenses of adulthood and masculinity, which resulted in an identity where expectations of being an adult and being male became intertwined. This perspective deepened their sense of loneliness, driven by the belief that adult men should be self-reliant, and distinguished the meaning-making of ASA from that of CSA. In addition, ASA survivors negotiated the narrative of being an adult male survivor of sexual assault using three strategies: detachment from the experience, minimization of the experience, and hypersexuality. Accordingly, we conclude that the perception of the assault by ASA survivors is shaped by both their masculinity and their maturity.

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) report multiple and diverse traumas. Exposure to community violence may be important to consider when examining the development, maintenance, and exacerbation of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the relative and unique associations between PTSD symptom clusters and witnessing and experiencing community violence among women experiencing IPV. Participants were 171 community women experiencing IPV (M_age = 40.56; 40.3% white, 31.5% Black, and 17.5% Hispanic or Latina). Experiencing and witnessing community violence were significantly and positively correlated with overall PTSD symptoms and with each PTSD symptom cluster. The PTSD symptom cluster of arousal and reactivity was uniquely associated with experiencing and witnessing community violence above and beyond other PTSD symptom clusters. Findings indicate the relevance of assessing-and intervening-on arousal and reactivity PTSD symptoms in this population.

Sexual minority youth (e.g., lesbian, queer, bisexual) encounter higher rates of abuse compared to their heterosexual peers. Similarly, Black youth are disproportionately affected by adverse experiences, including abuse. Seeking help after experiencing abuse has been shown to improve both mental and physical health outcomes. There is a lack of research on how the intersection of these identities affects help-seeking behaviors when experiencing different types of abuse. To address this gap, our study analyzed national data from 716 Black cisgender sexual minority women (SMW) aged 18 to 21 (M_age = 19.5) who participated in the Healthy Minds Study and examined the likelihood of seeking formal and informal support based on past year emotional, physical, and sexual abuse experiences. Formal help-seeking was assessed by whether participants received counseling or therapy, and informal help-seeking was defined as seeking support from a non-professional source (e.g., family member, friend, and significant other). We found participants who reported abuse experiences, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, or combined abuse experiences, were significantly more likely to seek informal support, with odds ratios of 2.20, 1.66, 2.77, and 2.38, respectively. However, there was no difference in formal help-seeking compared to participants without abuse experiences. Specific sources of informal support sought were explored descriptively by participants with and without abuse experiences, showing that participants who experienced abuse primarily sought informal support from friends, family members, significant others, and roommates. This trend was consistent among participants who did not report any abuse experiences. Overall, findings suggest that there were no significant differences in the likelihood of seeking formal support regardless of participants' abuse history. However, those who experienced abuse were significantly more likely to seek informal support compared to those who did not. Findings suggest Black adolescent SMW who have endured abuse may face barriers accessing formal support networks; therefore, targeted interventions are needed.