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Background: Although prior research has established intimate partner violence (IPV) as a widespread public health problem in the U.S., little is known about IPV prevalence and help seeking behaviors in undocumented Latina immigrants Purpose: This study seeks to contribute new knowledge to the study of IPV by describing IPV prevalence, help seeking behaviors, and health outcomes of undocumented Spanish-speaking immigrant women who have experienced lifetime intimate partner violence. . Methods: Two hundred undocumented Spanish-speaking women were recruited from urban healthcare centers to complete a survey about women's health to assess IPV, major depressive disorder (MDD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and health-related quality (HRQL) of life. Qualitative interviews were completed with community health workers serving this population and immigrant survivors of violence. Results: Sixty-nine (34.5%) of the women in the sample screened positive for lifetime IPV and of these women, 56.6% sought help from either formal or informal sources as a result of the violence. Of the entire sample, 41.5% endorsed major depressive disorder and 16% endorsed post-traumatic stress disorder. In the unadjusted logistic regression models, IPV survivors were more likely to endorse MDD and PTSD and report low mental health HRQL scores (OR: 2.27, 3.45, 2.19, respectively). In fully adjusted models, only the association between IPV and PTSD remained significant (OR: 4.143, CI: 1.21-14.24). Discussion: The findings highlight several help-seeking barriers among undocumented Spanish-speaking immigrant women who are the survivors of IPV. Language barriers and fears of family separation resulting from deportation and loss of child custody are unique help-seeking barriers for undocumented immigrants. There was an overall high prevalence of MDD and PTSD in the sample population, and an increased risk of PTSD in IPV survivors compared with non-survivors. Our findings highlight the need for quality mental health and trauma-informed services tailored to the needs of undocumented Spanish-speaking immigrant women, including increased access to mental health services in primary healthcare settings. Health and social service organizations serving this population should use this information to inform IPV treatment and prevention programs for women. / Public Health

Intimate partner violence is also known as domestic violence or spouse abuse. It affects the physical, psychological, social, and financial well-being of many people around the world. Many researchers from health/medical, social, and psychological fields have studied intimate partner violence in an effort to prevent it or to improve overall health and well-being among victims. Ideally, decisions are best influenced by high quality evidence. However, little attention has focused on the quality of this research. This thesis focuses on the theme of transparency relating to study quality, specifically highlighting non-publication bias, biases related to outcome and study methodologies, and overall reporting quality in previously published IPV research. These lessons learned from this research have informed, in part, an original study on intimate partner violence. Finally, this thesis concludes with insights to improve methodological quality and transparency for researchers in the intimate partner violence field. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Introduction: Sexual misconduct is a pervasive and deleterious issue within military contexts. Commonly cited psychological sequelae of sexual assault include anxiety, depression, suicidality, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as interpersonal relationship functioning issues. The experience of military sexual trauma (MST) is unique in that the environment in which the harm occurs, the culture, plays a significant role in the impact of the harm on survivors. MST is often also related to feelings of institutional betrayal and moral injury. While clinical treatment of interpersonal trauma history is common, there is a lack of research regarding the development and efficacy of clinical interventions used with couples affected by MST. The objective of the thesis is to examine how dimensions and impacts of MST affect intimate partner relationships. Methods: A multi-method qualitative approach was taken in the thesis, including a scoping review and two narrative reviews, contextualized using primary qualitative data in the conclusion chapter. Results: MST affects dimensions of intimate partner relationships including communication, trust and attachment, intimacy, conflict, aggression, as well as sexual function and satisfaction. The present work highlights the unique considerations for those affected by MST, suggesting that the relationship between adverse psychological outcomes, such as PTSD, and relationship distress appears to be greater for military than among civilian populations. While clinical work aims to amplify positive outcomes within couple relationships, and reduce individual symptomatology, there exists a lack of interventions tailored to meet the needs of couples affected by MST specifically. Discussion: The present thesis contributes to the growing understanding of how MST affects intimate partner relationships, as researchers and clinicians continue to seek to improve supports available for military members. The work is an appropriate start to inspire and inform future research, identifying existing gaps in the literature spurring on forthcoming work that aims to improve the wellbeing of military-connected intimate partner relationships. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / The present thesis explores how military sexual trauma may affect intimate partner relationships. The work highlights how the literature discusses and describes the link between sexual assault that occurs in the military, posttraumatic stress disorder, and intimate partner relationships. In addition, the work explores concepts related to the experience of sexual assault in the military, such as betrayal, guilt, shame, as well as military culture. The thesis also identifies and summarizes information about therapeutic interventions being used with couples who are affected by military sexual trauma. The present body of work contributes to the growing understanding of how military sexual trauma affects intimate relationships and survivors, while also informing research, clinical services, and policymakers who are making meaningful change in the health and wellbeing of military members and their partners.

A thesis submitted to the school of graduate studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree doctor of philosophy. / Experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with a wide range of mental and physical health conditions that often have profound and enduring consequences in the lives of people, families and communities who are affected. Evidence suggests that many of these health concerns can be mitigated with timely access to medical care which addresses patient safety and needs for support. This has led to health policymakers framing IPV as a “health issue” which physicians are uniquely situated to address. Previous research suggests, however, that many physicians are ill-equipped to respond to patients who have experienced IPV, giving rise to questions about how physicians learn about IPV in the course of their training and how this training might be enhanced in order to improve medical care for people affected by IPV. This dissertation is comprised of three original studies that lie at the nexus of health policy and health professions education scholarship. The first study combines environmental scanning and critical discourse analysis to examine how physicians’ roles related to IPV are represented in training resources created for a Canadian medical audience. The second study uses qualitative description to identify physicians’ perceptions of their own roles in caring for patients affected by IPV and highlights the sites and sources of insight that are impactful in shaping these perceptions. The third study integrates key informant technique and interpretive description to synthesize recommendations from stakeholders outside of medicine about physicians’ roles in addressing IPV, and opportunities to improve medical education and practice in the future. Together, these studies offer a critical perspective on broader implications of constructing IPV as a “health issue” that informs practice for physicians, medical educators, researchers, policymakers, and organizers working to improve health care for people affected by IPV. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / People who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) are at a higher risk of experiencing a wide range of serious and long-lasting health issues. Politicians and other policymakers framing IPV as a “health issue” have suggested that doctors are well-placed to address these concerns and to support patients who are dealing with IPV, but research suggests that many doctors lack knowledge or skills that are needed to address IPV with appropriate sensitivity. This dissertation examines how doctors learn about IPV in the course of their medical training by 1) analyzing how doctors’ roles related to IPV are presented in educational resources and policy documents, 2) interviewing doctors about their perceptions of IPV and their related training, and 3) talking to people who do work related to IPV outside of medicine about their suggestions for improving medical education in the future. Taken together, the studies that make up this dissertation can help to inform educators, politicians, and other policymakers working to improve health care for people affected by IPV.

Using data from the Chicago Homicide Dataset for years 1988-1992 and the Chicago Community Area Demographics, multiple regression and mediation analysis are used to examine various community level factors’ impact on Intimate Partner Homicide (IPH) rates per Chicago community area. The relationship between the percentage of non-white and IPH rate per Chicago community area is significant and positive, but disappears once economic strain is taken into account, as well as when family disruption is included in the model. There is a weak, but positive relationship between population density and IPH rates, but neither economic strain nor family disruption mediates the relationship between population density and IPH rates. Economic deprivation is positively related to IPH rates, but economic strain and family disruption partially mediate the relationship between economic deprivation and IPH rates. Finally, the relationship between the percentage of males aged 30-59 and IPH rates per community area in Chicago is moderately negative, but this relationship disappears once economic strain is accounted for in the model. However, family disruption does not mediate the relationship between the percentage of males aged 30-59 and IPH rates. These results indicate that some structural covariates impact IPH rates and that some relationships are mediated by economic strain and family disruption. These results also lend support to a modified approach to general strain theory (GST). More research is necessary to validate these results.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an extremely prevalent and concerning social issue, with limited current intervention and prevention strategies. Batterer intervention programs (BIPs) have demonstrated some small effects of programs in reducing offender recidivism, however there is a growing understanding that not all offenders respond similarly to batterer intervention and the problem of IPV persists. Restorative justice programs including impact panels may be an important addition to BIPs, but research is extremely limited on impact panel effectiveness and whether panels are appropriate for IPV or pose additional safety risks to survivors. The current study consists of a naturalistic mixed-methods evaluation of the use of IPV impact panels in the context of batterer intervention. Data collection methods include an ethnographic inquiry of the program setting and participant experiences, archival data analysis of offender responses to the panel (N = 287), and focus groups (k = 4) with survivors, offenders, and BIP providers to investigate the panel's impact on survivors and offenders and generate potential indicators of panel outcomes for survivors and offenders. Findings suggest that panel impacts on survivors include reaching new understandings, healing, and empowerment; panel impacts on offenders include connection with survivor speakers, reaching new understandings, and healing. Implications, limitations, and future aims of this program of research are discussed.

This dissertation identified and developed indicators of a new potential predictor of relationship satisfaction and intimate partner violence (IPV): discrepancies between the ideal and perceived gendered characteristics of romantic partners. Past research has overlooked the implicitly gendered nature of these "partner-ideals." Two pilot studies were conducted to develop measures of gendered partner-ideals and -perceptions based on existing measures of gender ideology. The main study examined survey data collected online from adults (n = 643) living in the U.S. who were in a heterosexual romantic relationship for at least six months. Three main hypotheses were tested regarding the associations among gender ideology, gendered partner-ideals, gendered partner-perceptions, gendered partner-ideal discrepancies, relationship satisfaction, and experiences with IPV. While confirmatory factor analyses supported the reliability of the new measures of masculine-ideals and -perceptions, results did not support the hypothesized factor structure of the feminine measures. Thus, only hypotheses utilizing women's data were tested. This measurement limitation resulted in an unanticipated focus on women's IPV perpetration for Hypothesis Two. However, these data are valuable in their uniqueness. Hypothesis One was supported: women's masculinity ideology positively correlated with the corresponding masculine-ideal for each subscale of the respective measures as well as for the aggregate measures. Tests of Hypothesis Two showed that women's masculine-ideal discrepancies predicted their emotional abuse perpetration, but not their physical assault or injury perpetration, mediated by relationship satisfaction. However, this effect was small. Hypothesis Three had mixed support. Women's aggregate masculine-partner perceptions were positively associated with their reports of emotional abuse victimization. Additionally, women's reports of most types of IPV victimization positively correlated with perceptions of their male partners' conformity to the specific norms of negativity toward sexual minorities and restrictive emotionality. Contributions of this dissertation and implications of the results are discussed. A major contribution is the creation of masculine-ideals and -perceptions measures that can be used in future research on relationships. Study results suggest that gendered partner-ideals and -perceptions, beyond gender-ideology, have relevance to the functioning of romantic relationships--including both relationship satisfaction and some kinds of IPV. Future research should continue to investigate the validity of the created measures and explore the possibility of using discrepancies between gendered partner-ideals and -perceptions to prevent and intervene in abusive romantic relationships.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study explored the consequences of passion killing (PK) on the academic wellbeing of undergraduates in Botswana and Namibia. The study is motivated by the alarming rate of intimate partner femicide popularly referred to as passion killings in both countries; where dozens of young women are being killed by their jilted and angry boyfriends (who most times commit suicide after the murder). The victims and perpetrators are the future generation youths; and noticeably, this monstrous crime had permeated awfully into the universities in some African countries. However, to date, there is paucity of information on the influence of such occurrence on the academic wellbeing of undergraduates. The study employed qualitative research approach, with intrinsic case study design. It was grounded in interpretative paradigm. The participants were purposefully selected given the nature of the study as well as the site; the study used snowball purposive sampling. The samples were of six participants and the data was obtained through semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The data were coded and thematic analysis was used to analyse the content. Member checking procedures were also employed to assess the credibility and trustworthiness of the study as well as the suitability of the subjects in order to ensure that the results of the study were dependable and could be confirmed. The study adhered to the professional research ethical considerations like voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity and avoidance of harm. The study found that incidence of PK is still burgeoning in the locations of study and very rampant among the young people; the victims are largely women. It is established from the data collected during in depth interviews with the students that passion killing has negative influence on the academic wellbeing of students in tertiary institutions in Botswana and Namibia. It causes social shock which leaves students in disconnected and disenchanted relationships; causes psychological trauma leading to feelings of insecurity and instability which affects their learning and concentration.