Katie M. Edwards

Disclosure of Intimate Partner Violence to Informal Social Support Network Members: A Review of the Literature

This article presents a review of the published literature to date on rates, experiences, and correlates of victims’ disclosure of or help seeking for intimate partner violence to informal social support network members (e.g., friends, family, classmates, and coworkers). Research indicates that the majority of individuals disclose to at least one informal support and that victims’ disclosure is associated with a number of demographic (e.g., victims’ sex, age, race), intrapersonal (e.g., victims’ feelings of shame/embarrassment, perception of control over abuse), and situational (e.g., violence frequency and severity, if abuse is witnessed) factors. Following disclosure, victims experience a wide range of positive (e.g., believing the victim’s reports, validating the victim’s experiences) and negative (e.g. disbelieving, blaming the victim) social reactions, with positive reactions rated as the most common and most helpful forms of support by victims. Finally, a review of psychological correlates associated with reactions to disclosure indicates that positive social reactions are associated with more psychological health benefits and fewer negative health symptoms, whereas negative social reactions were associated with increased negative psychological health symptoms. Future research methodologies and implications for violence prevention, intervention, and policy are discussed.

Physical Dating Violence, Sexual Violence, and Unwanted Pursuit Victimization A Comparison of Incidence Rates Among Sexual-Minority and Heterosexual College Students

The purpose of this study was to estimate the 6-month incidence rates of sexual assault, physical dating violence (DV), and unwanted pursuit (e.g., stalking) victimization among sexual-minority (i.e., individuals with any same-sex sexual experiences) college students with comparison data from non-sexual-minority (i.e., individuals with only heterosexual sexual experiences) college students. Participants (N = 6,030) were primarily Caucasian (92.7%) and non-sexual-minority (82.3%). Compared with non-sexual-minority students (N-SMS; n = 4,961), sexual-minority students (SMS; n = 1,069) reported significantly higher 6-month incidence rates of physical DV (SMS: 30.3%; N-SMS: 18.5%), sexual assault (SMS: 24.3%; N-SMS: 11.0%), and unwanted pursuit (SMS: 53.1%; N-SMS: 36.0%) victimization. We also explored the moderating role of gender and found that female SMS reported significantly higher rates of physical DV than female N-SMS, whereas male SMS and male N-SMS reported similar rates of physical DV. Gender did not moderate the relationship between sexual-minority status and victimization experiences for either unwanted pursuit or sexual victimization. These findings underscore the alarmingly high rates of interpersonal victimization among SMS and the critical need for research to better understand the explanatory factors that place SMS at increased risk for interpersonal victimization.

Prediction of Women's Utilization of Resistance Strategies in a Sexual Assault Situation A Prospective Study

The present study prospectively explored the predictors of resistance strategies to a sexual assault situation. Participants were assessed at the beginning of an academic quarter on a number of variables, including past history of sexual victimization, perceived risk of sexual victimization, and intentions to use specific types of resistance strategies. Only women who reported being victimized over the interim ( N = 68) were included in the analyses, which suggested that womens Time 1 intentions to utilize assertive resistance strategies (e.g., physically fight, run away) and offender aggression predicted womens use of assertive resistance strategies in response to the assault that occurred over the follow-up. Womens utilization of nonforceful verbal resistance (e.g., reason, plead, quarrel) was predicted by perpetrator aggression and previous sexual victimization. Womens immobility (e.g., turn cold, freeze) during the assault that took place over the interim was predicted by experiences of childhood sexual victimization and previous sexual victimization.

The benefits of dispositional mindfulness in physical health: a longitudinal study of female college students

Abstract Objective: This article examines the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, health behaviors (eg, sleep, eating, and exercise), and physical health. Participants: Participants included 441 college women. Methods: Women completed self-report surveys at the beginning and end of a 10-week academic quarter. The study was conducted over 5 academic quarters from fall 2008 to fall 2010. Results: Findings indicated that higher levels of dispositional mindfulness were related to healthier eating practices, better quality of sleep, and better physical health. Dispositional mindfulness contributed to better physical health even after controlling for traditional health habits. Finally, bidirectional mediational relationships were found between healthy eating and dispositional mindfulness as well as between sleep quality and dispositional mindfulness when physical health was the outcome variable. Conclusions: Findings suggest that incorporating mindfulness training into programming on college campuses may be beneficial, as results indicate that dispositional mindfulness is related to positive physical health among college students.

An Examination of the Factors Related to Dating Violence Perpetration Among Young Men and Women and Associated Theoretical Explanations A Review of the Literature

This article provides a review of the literature on dating violence (DV) perpetration, specifically sex similarities and differences in the correlates and predictors of DV perpetration and the utility of current theories to explain young men’s and women’s DV perpetration. Overall, many of the correlates and predictors of DV perpetration are similar among young men and women (e.g., witnessing interparental violence, experiencing child abuse, alcohol abuse, traditional gender roles, relationship power dynamics). However, young women’s perpetration of DV is more strongly related to internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression), trait anger and hostility, and experiencing DV victimization than young men’s perpetration, whereas young men’s perpetration of DV is more consistently related to lower socioeconomic status and educational attainment, antisocial personality characteristics, and increased relationship length than young women’s perpetration. Each theory offers insights into but does not fully account for the correlates and predictors of DV perpetration. Sociocultural theories may be useful in explaining the use of coercive control in relationships, and learning/intergenerational transmission of violence theories may be useful in explaining bidirectional couple violence. Future research should focus on integrative theories, such as in the social–ecological theory, in order to explain various forms of DV. Our understanding of young men’s and young women’s DV perpetration is limited by cross-sectional research designs, methodological inconsistencies, a lack of sex-specific analytic approaches, and a lack of focus on contextual factors; more multivariate and longitudinal studies are needed. Further, as DV prevention programming is often presented in mixed-sex formats, a critical understanding of sex differences and similarities in DV perpetration could ultimately refine and improve effectiveness of programming efforts aimed at reducing DV.

Women's disclosure of dating violence: A mixed methodological study

The researchers utilized quantitative and qualitative methods to examine college women’s disclosure of dating violence. Quantitative analyses showed that disclosure of dating violence was related to stress associated with abuse, partner blame, and thoughts about ending the relationship. Qualitative content analyses demonstrated that women’s minimization of the abuse was the most commonly given reason for nondisclosure. Women who disclosed dating violence reported that the following responses to their disclosures were most helpful: receiving ‘good advice’, the opportunity to vent/talk about it, receiving comfort and other emotional support, rationalizing the partners’ behavior, and providing a neutral perspective. Conversely, the following responses were reported as least helpful: being told to end the relationship, not understanding, joking about the experiences, and ‘bad advice’. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.

College Women’s Stay/Leave Decisions in Abusive Dating Relationships: A Prospective Analysis of an Expanded Investment Model

The purpose of the current study was to explore college women’s stay/ leave decisions in abusive relationships using a prospective methodology. Participants (N = 323) completed surveys at the beginning and end of a 10-week academic quarter for course credit. A path analysis suggested that the model—which included investment model variables (i.e., relationship commitment, investment, satisfaction, and quality of alternatives), childhood abuse, psychological distress, avoidance coping, and self-esteem—was a good fit to the data and predicted abused women’s leaving behaviors over the interim. The implications of these findings for future research, theory, and clinical work are discussed.

Intimate Partner Violence and the Rural–Urban–Suburban Divide Myth or Reality? A Critical Review of the Literature

The author of this article presents a review of the published empirical and theoretical literature to date on similarities and differences in intimate partner violence (IPV) in rural locales compared to urban and suburban locales. A review of 63 studies indicates that (1) the rates of IPV are generally similar across rural, urban, and suburban locales, although some groups of rural women (e.g., multiracial and separated/divorced) may be at increased risk for IPV compared to similar groups of urban women, and rates of intimate partner homicide may be higher in rural locales than urban and suburban locales; (2) IPV perpetrator and victim characteristics in rural locales are generally similar to IPV perpetrator and victim characteristics in other locales with the exception of some demographic characteristics that can generally be accounted for by broader rural–urban–suburban demographic differences; (3) IPV perpetrators in rural locales, compared with perpetrators in urban locales, may perpetrate more chronic and severe IPV, which could be due to the higher rates of substance abuse and unemployment documented among rural perpetrators; (4) IPV victims in rural locales may have worse psychosocial and physical health outcomes due to the lack of availability, accessibility, and quality of IPV services; and (5) attitudes about IPV vary to some extent across locales, with individuals in rural locales generally supporting less governmental involvement in IPV issues than in urban locales. Limitations of the literature are reviewed and suggestions for research are provided as well as implications for practice and policy efforts, which primarily center on improving availability, accessibility, and quality of IPV services in rural locales.

Informal Social Reactions to College Women’s Disclosure of Intimate Partner Violence Associations With Psychological and Relational Variables

This researchers assessed informal (e.g., friends, family) social reactions to college women’s (N = 139) disclosure of intimate partner violence (IPV) within their current romantic relationships and associated psychological (i.e., posttraumatic stress symptoms [PTSS] and global psychological distress symptoms) and relational (i.e., intentions to leave the abusive relationship) variables. Women completed confidential surveys, which assessed current partner abuse, psychological and relational variables, and three types of social reactions from informal supports to disclosure of IPV: positive (e.g., believing, validating the victim), negative (e.g., disbelieving, blaming the victim), and leaving (i.e., being told to end the relationship) reactions. At the bivariate level, negative social reactions to women’s disclosure were related to increases in global psychological distress, PTSS, and leaving intentions; positive social reactions to disclosure related only to increases in PTSS; and being told to leave the relationship related to increases in PTSS and leaving intentions. In the regression analyses, after controlling for abuse severity, negative social reactions were significantly related to global psychological distress and PTSS, and being told to leave significantly related to leaving intentions and PTSS. Mechanisms for these relationships and implications are discussed.

Disclosure of Sexual Victimization: The Effects of Pennebaker's Emotional Disclosure Paradigm on Physical and Psychological Distress

Research suggests that many sexual assault survivors do not disclose their experience, which may increase associated distress. Pennebakers emotional disclosure paradigm has been shown to ameliorate psychological and physical distress in individuals exposed to stressful events. The current study assessed the effectiveness of this paradigm with sexual assault survivors (N = 74). College women with a history of sexual assault wrote about their most severe victimization or about how they spend their time (control). Then 73 women (98.6%) completed a 1-month follow-up assessment. Results indicated that across writing sessions, the disclosure group reported greater reductions in negative mood immediately post-writing. However, both groups showed significant reductions in physical complaints, psychological distress, and traumatic stress symptoms at the 1-month follow-up, suggesting no added benefit to disclosure of a sexual assault using a brief written paradigm.