Journal of Interpersonal Violence最新文献

Research on subgroups of female college students who share similar experiences of childhood maltreatment (CM) and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is sparse. The primary aims of the current study are: (a) to identify subgroups of victims related to experience of psychological, physical, and sexual CM and IPV and (b) to test the association between subgroups and depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. Survey data was collected from 327 female students at a public university in the Northeast. Three distinct subgroups, that is, victimization classes, were found using Latent Class Analysis: A lifetime victimization class, comprised of females reporting high rates of CM and IPV across types (19.0% of the sample), a childhood victimization class (26.9%); and a low victimization class (54.1%). Depressive symptom severity was positively associated with lifetime and childhood, relative to low, victimization class membership. PTSD symptom severity was associated with the childhood victimization class relative to both lifetime and low victimization class. Subgroups of institutions of higher education (IHE) females who share CM and IPV victimization experiences are discernable. The co-occurrence of IPV and CM in female college students is not uncommon. PTSD symptom severity may be more related to CM than IPV in IHE female students.

Mobilizing bystanders to prevent sexual violence is an increasingly popular prevention strategy. While research has identified characteristics related to opportunity and actions around helping, a more nuanced understanding of how helping behavior and its modifiable levers may differ for youth of various genders is needed. The current study examined bystander-helping behaviors in sexual violence situations in a national, social media-recruited sample of adolescents 14 to 16 years of age. Measures of opportunity and self-reported actions were included in an online survey along with items assessing attitudes related to violence and helping. Given that prevention programs may work differently for cisgender, transgender, and nonbinary young people, between-group differences in amount of opportunity and helping behaviors were examined. Further, we examined correlates of opportunities to help as well as helping behaviors within each group. Overall, few attitude and personal experience characteristics consistently predicted opportunities and behaviors across groups. Group differences that emerged, such as the association between attitudes supportive of rape and lower helping for cisgender but not trans or nonbinary youth, support attending to these group differences in both basic and intervention research to inform tailoring of prevention programs.

Many colleges utilize bystander intervention programs to address gender-based violence. The goal of these programs is to help students overcome barriers to intervention, including evaluation inhibition, which occurs when bystanders expect to be viewed negatively for intervening. We have limited information, though, on how college students evaluate bystanders who intervene. Specifically, we do not know whether evaluations of bystanders who engage in different levels of intervention vary across situations or how men and women who intervene similarly are evaluated. Without this information, it is difficult to design prevention programs that help bystanders overcome evaluation inhibition. To gather this information, we conducted a vignette experiment with college student participants (n = 82). We specifically examined how students evaluated the reasonableness of male and female bystanders who engaged in different behaviors (direct intervention and threatening to tell an authority, direct intervention only, indirect intervention, doing nothing) across four situations (assault at a party, workplace harassment, harassment by a teaching assistant, and intimate partner violence). Analyses of variance found that there was situational variability in how the bystander is evaluated for different intervention tactics, though bystanders who did nothing were always evaluated the most negatively. Bystander's gender, however, did not affect evaluations, suggesting that intervention expectations for men and women are similar. These results indicate that while there is an underlying norm supportive of intervention behavior, situational characteristics influence whether college students think it is reasonable to call authorities, confront the perpetrator, or engage in indirect intervention. The central implication of this study is that bystander intervention training should provide opportunities for students to practice intervention behaviors across a wide variety of situations of gender-based violence in order build up their store of intervention tactics, thus increasing their ability to overcome evaluation inhibition.

Transgender women are disproportionately affected by sexual violence and corresponding mental health sequelae; however, many do not access healthcare due to experiences with transphobia. This analysis evaluated the association between sexual violence and suicidal ideation and the moderating effect of having a healthcare provider (HCP) with whom transgender women were comfortable discussing gender-related issues ("gender-affirming HCP"). We analyzed cross-sectional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National HIV Behavioral Surveillance among Transgender Women (NHBS-Trans). Transgender women were recruited using respondent-driven sampling from seven urban areas from 2019 to 2020 and participated in an HIV biobehavioral survey. This analysis was restricted to transgender women who visited a HCP in the past 12 months ("healthcare-seeking transgender women" [HSTW]) (N = 1,489). Log-linked Poisson regression models provided adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to estimate the association between sexual violence and suicidal ideation in the past 12 months. The interaction between sexual violence and having a gender-affirming HCP was statistically significant (p-value = .034). Among 1,489 HSTW, 225 (15.1%) experienced sexual violence and 261 (17.5%) reported suicidal ideation; 1,203 (80.8%) reported having a gender-affirming HCP. Sexual violence was associated with suicidal ideation (aPR = 2.65, 95% CI [2.08, 3.38]); the association was notably higher among those who did not have a gender-affirming HCP (aPR = 3.61, [2.17, 6.02]) than among those who did (aPR = 1.87, [1.48, 2.37]). Eliminating transphobia and promoting trauma- and violence-informed approaches in healthcare are necessary for sexual violence and suicide prevention among HSTW.

Sexual victimization is a serious public health crisis affecting college students, with high rates reported among both women and men. Sexual consent education is crucial as it defines sexual assault and is linked to reduced risk of victimization. Rape myths and stereotyped beliefs shifting blame to survivors are established risk factors for sexual violence. Comprehensive sexual education can mitigate these attitudes, fostering a supportive environment for survivors. However, most high school students in the United States receive abstinence-based or abstinence-plus education, which uses unstandardized protocols and often lacks information about sexual consent. The following study explores the influence of high school sexual education on past sexual victimization and rape myth acceptance in college students. Six hundred sixty-four undergraduate students participated in an online survey through a university participant pool. Results show that those who received comprehensive sexual education were more likely to understand sexual consent and were less likely to endorse past sexual victimization. In contrast, students without comprehensive sexual education reported lower satisfaction with their sexual education and greater acceptance of rape myths. Despite limitations in the study's sample and reliance on self-reporting, this research highlights the importance of implementing comprehensive sexual education, including consent education, in high schools. Policymakers and educators must recognize the influence of comprehensive sexual education in promoting healthy relationships and combating sexual assault. As a significant public health concern, incorporating standardized sexual consent education into high school curricula can equip students with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their sexual health and relationships. Future research should explore diverse populations and the mediating role of related factors that may further influence these relationships. These efforts will contribute to fostering a safer environment within educational institutions and combating sexual assault.

The high prevalence of suicide-related behaviors (SRB) among adolescents is a concerning issue that calls for the identification of explanatory and mediating factors involved. This study examines, by gender: (1) the percentage of adolescents reporting SRB, cyberbullying, and cybersexual harassment; (2) the association between cyberbullying and cybersexual harassment with SRB; (3) the predictive power of cybervictimization in SRB; and (4) the mediating role of Escaping coping strategy between cybervictimization and SRB. One thousand and twenty-seven adolescents (62.5% girls) aged 13 to 18 years (M = 15.59, SD = 1.28) participated in the study and completed the Youth Self Report (for SRB), Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (for cybervictimization), and Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences, Spanish (for coping). About 16% of respondents (19% of girls and 8.9% of boys) reported SRB, about 18% reported Cyberbullying (20.8% of girls and 13.0% of boys), and near 23% reported Cybersexual harassment (28.7% of girls and 12.5% of boys). There is a significant association between cybervictimization and SRB, with the presence of cybervictimization increasing the likelihood of SRB by three to four times (especially in boys), and significantly predicting SRB. Escaping coping strategy partially mediates the relationship between cybervictimization and SRB only in girls. The findings that cybervictimization predicts SRB and that Escaping coping mediates this relationship provide insights for the implementation of prevention and intervention policies.

Reproductive coercion (RC) is a form of violence involving behavior that interferes with an individual's contraceptive and reproductive decisions. Like other forms of violence perpetrated by intimate partners, victims of RC do not necessarily identify it as such. Similarly, victim-survivors do not readily disclose their experiences or seek support and treatment. This study identifies patterns of acknowledgment and formal and informal disclosure of RC experiences in a community sample of 317 participants. Latent classes are then compared with respect to characteristics of victims/survivors, RC consequences, and associated contexts. Participants completed measures to assess experiences of RC and violence perpetuated by intimate partners as well as social support, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and consequences for psychological and sexual health. Latent class analysis was performed to identify acknowledgment and disclosure patterns. An optimal three-class solution was selected: High unacknowledgment with ambivalence, High disclosure (41%); High acknowledgment, High disclosure (30%); and Hesitant acknowledgment, No disclosure (29%). Classes were identified according to the presence of social support, living with a disability, victimization experiences, and mental and sexual health consequences. Future studies should explore the relationship between RC acknowledgment and disclosure, which can influence victims' search trajectories for support and services.

On March 23, 2020, the United Kingdom went into national lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19. In this paper, we examine whether a policy aimed at minimizing the health consequences of the pandemic had unintended negative consequences for domestic abuse. Using data from the Metropolitan Police in England we estimate the impact of lockdown on domestic abuse in the 32 boroughs that make up the London metropolitan area. Using a before and after approach, and controlling for other factors, we show an increase in the probability of being a victim of domestic abuse during lockdown similar in magnitude to the increase experienced over the Christmas holidays. However, the overall picture masks inequalities across groups: with women, younger and older people, and people of Asian, Arab, and Middle Eastern ethnicity subject to the highest increases, reflecting vulnerabilities and existing inequalities. Of the domestic abuse-related crimes, it is the most violent crimes that saw the greatest increases during lockdown. Once lockdown restrictions are eased, rates decline but remain slightly higher than prior to lockdown up to 3 months later. The results present a clear message for policy makers: a policy adopted to alleviate one problem, even in times of crisis, must factor in the impact this may have in other areas. Failure to do so in this situation, despite existing evidence linking domestic abuse to stress, confinement, and crisis situations prior to lockdown, has resulted in an increase in domestic violence in the U.K.'s capital city, during lockdown and beyond.

A quarter of women and 11% of men report being survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) during their lifetimes in the United States. Despite being victims themselves, people who kill their IPV abuser can still be subject to criminal proceedings. Given this complexity, the law has employed battered spouse syndrome (BSS) as a tool used in some jurisdictions to support a claim that an IPV survivor killed in self-defense. A defendant who is attempting to claim self-defense using BSS may introduce testimony of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, a diagnosis of PTSD can pose problems in admission during litigation as the occurrence of a traumatic event is often what is being decided. The present study examined how college students, living on the U.S.-México border, perceive survivors-turned-defendants in a BSS mock trial. Specifically, we had each participant read a written trial transcript of a mock trial where gender of the defendant and clinical diagnosis of PTSD were manipulated. The current study hypothesized that jurors would be more lenient toward female defendants than male defendants (Hypothesis 1), jurors would be influenced by a PTSD diagnosis of the defendant (Hypothesis 2a-b), and female jurors would be more lenient than male jurors (Hypothesis 3). We also wanted to examine the impact of victim blaming, sexism, stigma of PTSD, and prior exposure to IPV on decision-making (Hypothesis 4a-d). Findings showed jurors were more lenient with female defendants than male defendants, however there was no effect of clinical diagnosis except on difficulty of decision. Implications of the role defendant gender has in decision-making is discussed.

Public perceptions of intimate partner homicide victims are influenced by how the news media frames incidents, often perpetuating gendered stereotypes. In particular, research has found that victim blaming is common in the reporting of intimate partner homicide. However, the way the public engages with news media has changed, as social media platforms allow audiences to engage in news creation by posting comments. Despite this shift, limited research has examined the impact of gender and media frames on victim blaming comments. This study used an experimental vignette design to examine whether victim blaming comments made by Australian survey respondents (n = 537) were influenced by the gender of the offender/victim pair and the framing of a media report, controlling for respondents' media usage, attitudes, and demographics. Survey respondents were randomly assigned to one of four vignettes presenting a news report on an intimate partner homicide, which varied by the gender of the offender/victim and media frame (victim blaming/bad offender). Respondents were asked to leave a comment as if they were on a social media platform. Analyses revealed that respondents more commonly blamed the victim where there were female offender/male victim pairs compared to male offender/female victim pairs. Respondents also more commonly blamed the victim when there was a victim blaming frame compared to a bad offender frame. Finally, the analyses showed an interactive effect of the gender of the offender/victim pair and the media frame on respondents' comments. Respondents were more likely to blame victims when the victim was male (female offender) and there was a victim blaming frame. The insights from this study have significant implications for policy and practice. Specifically, there is a need for enhanced training and resources for media professionals, as well as the creation of safer online communities through effective comment moderation.