Abstract
The purpose of this research is to identify important predictors, related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, of intimate partner violence (IPV) and to provide insight into communication ecologies that can address IPV in disaster contexts. This study uses a cross-sectional design, with purposive snowball sampling, for primary survey data collected over 10 weeks starting the first week in April 2020. A total of 374 adults participated in the study. Logistic binary regression was used to identify key predictors among sociodemographic characteristics, stress related to COVID-19, and perceived stress of group membership for those who reported IPV experiences. A t test was used to statistically differentiate between IPV-reporters and non-IPV reporters based on perceived stress measured by the Perceived Stress Scale. Results indicated that respondents who reported renting, lost income due to COVID-19, and increased nutritional stress were all more likely to belong to the IPV-reporters group. These findings provide insight into additional stressors related to the ongoing pandemic, such as stress due to income loss, nutritional stress, and renting, and their likelihood of increasing IPV victimization. Taken together, these results indicate that additional communication resources are needed for those affected by IPV. Additional findings and implications are further discussed.
Highlights
The global outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread to every country across the world, infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands of people (John Hopkins University, 2020), and warranting a pandemic declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO; 2020)
Key public health strategies like social distancing, social isolation, and stay-athome orders have slowed the spread of COVID-19, but have created ideal conditions for intimate partner violence (IPV) to flourish (Holmes et al, 2020)
This study adds to the scant literature on IPV, communication ecologies, and pandemics
Summary
The global outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread to every country across the world, infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands of people (John Hopkins University, 2020), and warranting a pandemic declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO; 2020). COVID-19 has exacerbated mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety (e.g., Mazza et al, 2020; Smith et al, 2020; Wang et al, 2020) It has created a global economic recession, while continuing to threaten public health. Key public health strategies like social distancing, social isolation, and stay-athome orders have slowed the spread of COVID-19, but have created ideal conditions for intimate partner violence (IPV) to flourish (Holmes et al, 2020). These same strategies increase the amount of time that women have to spend home alone with their abusive partners furthering their social isolation (WHO, 2020). Research into technological disasters has suggested that those affected by such disasters are twice as likely to experience both physical and emotional IPV than those not affected by disaster (Lauve-Moon & Ferreira, 2017)
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