Partnervåld innefattar våld i nära relationer i en partnerrelation. Tidigare forskning kring partnervåld fokuserar främst på våldet gentemot kvinnor, med manliga förövare. Manliga offer utsatta för partnervåld diskuteras sällan, och forskningen om ämnet är begränsat. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka skillnader i attityder och bedömningar gjorda av socialarbetare som i sitt arbete kommer i kontakt med partnervåld, och om dessa påverkas beroende på om den våldsutsatta personen är en man eller en kvinna. För att undersöka skillnader användes en kvantitativ vinjettmetod med tillhörande enkätfrågor. Två separata respondentgrupper har besvarat enkätfrågorna utifrån vinjetter som är uppdelade i två delar. I vinjetterna introduceras varje respondent för ett heterosexuellt par med en problematik av partnervåld. Vinjetterna är identiska med undantaget att karaktärernas kön är utbytta. Resultatet visar att i den våldsutsatta mannens situation bedöms våldet vara mindre allvarligt, att det finns mindre risk för fortsatt våld i relationen samt att den våldsutsatta mannen i lägre utsträckning är i behov av individuella insatser. Respondenterna ansåg även oftare att den våldsutövande kvinnan är i behov av individuella insatser jämfört med den manliga våldsutövaren. Teorier använda för att tolka resultatet innefattar socialkonstruktivism och genusteori. Studien kan tillföra perspektiv för ämnet om våldsutsatta män, och belyser att bedömningar om våldsutsatta kan skilja sig åt beroende på genus. / Domestic partner violence is violence in a partner relationship. Earlier research on domestic partner violence mainly focus on the violence against women, with male perpetrators. Male victims exposed to partner violence are rarely discussed, and research of the subject is limited. The purpose of this study is to investigate attitudes and assessments made by social workers who in their work encounter domestic partner violence, and if the social workers are affected depending on whether the person exposed to partner violence is a man or a woman. A quantitative vignette method with accompanying survey questions were used to investigate differences. Two separate groups of respondents answered survey questions based on vignettes divided into two parts. The respondents are each introduced in the vignettes to a heterosexual couple with a problem of partner violence. These vignettes are identical except for the characters’ genders which have been swapped. The result reveals that violence towards the victimized man is considered less serious, that there is less risk of continued violence in the relationship and that the victimized man is in less need of individual interventions. Respondents also considered to a lesser extent that the female perpetrator needed individual interventions compared to the male perpetrator. Social constructivism and gender theory are the theories used to interpret these results. The study can add perspectives about the subject of male victims and highlight that assessments of people exposed to partner violence may differ depending on the victim’s gender.

Bakgrund: Kvinnor som utsätts för våld i nära relation söker oftare vård, men alla får inte den hjälp som behövs. Vårdpersonal kan sakna beredskap och kunskap för att identifiera våldsutsatta kvinnor. Oupptäckt våld i nära relation medför negativa konsekvenser för kvinnan och samhället. Syfte: Undersöka hur kvinnliga patienter upplever att få frågan om våld i nära relation, hur de vill bli tillfrågade och hur de upplever det att inte bli tillfrågad. Metod: En integrativ litteraturöversikt baserad på 10 kvalitativa artiklar från databaserna PubMed och CINAHL. Resultat: Kategorier som framkom ur resultatet var upplevelser av att bli tillfrågad, upplevelser av olika tillvägagångssätt och upplevelser av att inte bli tillfrågad. Från dessa kategorier bildades underkategorier som samlade patienters tankar och känslor. De flesta kvinnor uppskattade att bli tillfrågade om våld i nära relation, för andra uppstod det en rädsla inför frågan. Kvinnor som inte blev tillfrågade kände att de inte var prioriterade Vårdpersonalen behöver definiera våld, eftersom våldet kan ha normaliserats och deras bemötande vid tillfrågandet samt miljön har betydelse om kvinnan väljer att erkänna sin våldsutsatthet. Frågan bör ställas vid olika tillfällen. Slutsats: Frågan om våld i nära relation är uppskattad, kvinnor kan dock uppleva rädsla av att svara på frågan. Det är viktigt att sjuksköterskan vågar fråga om våldsutsatthet vid olika tillfällen och ger ett bra bemötande i en trygg miljö. Kvinnor kan känna sig mindre prioriterade om inte frågan ställs. / Background: Women that are victims of intimate partner violence seek care more often, but not all of them receive the care that they need. Caregivers can lack knowledge and preparedness to identify abused women. Undetected intimate partner violence can result in negative consequences for both the woman and society. Aim: To describe women’s experiences of being asked about violence in intimate partnership, how they want to be questioned and how they felt when they did not get the question. Method: An integrative literature review based on 10 qualitative articles from the databases PubMed and CINAHL. Results: The categories that emerged was; experiences of being questioned, experiences of different approaches, and experiences of not being asked. From these categories, subcategories were built that gathered patients’ thoughts and feelings. Most of the women appreciated being asked about intimate partner violence, but some felt scared when they got the question. Women who were not asked felt that they were not prioritized. Caregivers should define abuse, because the abuse could have been normalized. The caregivers’approach when questioning and the environment are significant if the women choose to admit they are exposed to violence. The question should be asked at different occasions. Conclusion: The question about intimate partner violence is appreciated, but it can also lead to a feeling of fear when answering the question. It is important that nurses dare to ask about violence exposure at different occasions and that the women are well treated in a safe environment. Women can experience that they are not prioritized if no one asks the question.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1.5 million women are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) each year, and 324,000 of these women are pregnant (2013). Research on the predictability of certain factors and their relationship to current and historical IPV is limited. In order to better understand IPV as it related to a sample of 1,016 Appalachian pregnant women selected for the Tennessee Interventions for Pregnant Smokers (TIPS), it was important to evaluate various influences that may predict the prevalence of IPV in this population when compared to the State of Tennessee and the U.S. (Aim 1). An evaluation of psychological, sociocultural, and socioeconomic variables as they relate to both current and historical IPV in pregnant women presenting for prenatal care was conducted (Aim 2), and the results from this evaluation were used to model significant IPV influences to determine pregnancy predictors in the study sample when historical and current IPV is present (Aim 3). Percent prevalence of self-reported IPV was higher in the TIPS sample for Carter, Greene, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Washington, and Unicoi counties, when compared to criminal reports for State of Tennessee IPV victimization rates, and the rate per 1,000 IPV victimization rate was also higher in the TIPS sample when compared to the criminal report for the U.S. Self-esteem, social, support, stress, substance abuse, and alcohol were positive as independent effects for predicting IPV via ordinal regression; however, when evaluated via multinomial logical regression with controls for age, race, income, education, marital status, whether or not a pregnancy was planned, and parity, this effect was no longer noted. Unplanned pregnancies and lower education were significant control variables in these evaluations. The lack of support for predictive ability of those selected psychological and sociocultural variables for IPV only underscores the importance of taking into consideration the uniqueness of various populations and across various regions such as Appalachia. The influences of unplanned pregnancy and lower education may be significant predictors if IPV in pregnant women in Appalachia and warrant further research.

Intimate partner violence [IPV] is a preventable and costly societal issue that has reached epidemic proportions. Women are often the victims of IPV, and millions of children are exposed to it annually. The purpose of this study was to explore experiences of Puerto Rican mothers and their perceptions of how IPV exposure may have impacted their children using resilience theory. Data were collected via audiotaped individual interviews with 9 Puerto Rican mothers who endured an array of escalating IPV, often exacerbated by the perpetrators use of alcohol or drugs, and had IPV-exposed children aged 6 -11 years. Data analysis integrated content and thematic procedures. Interview data was transcribed, read, audited and coded based on compelling statements, quotes, and sentences made by the participants. The coded clusters were further evaluated, reduced to significant statements, then grouped into themes that captured the essence of the participants lived experiences and of the group. The mothers separated because they feared for their lives and the effect of IPV on the children. Once separated the mothers felt isolated, lived in shelters which were unconducive to childrearing, and had challenges navigating the system. They perceived their IPV-exposed children exhibited a multitude of behaviors including PTSD but that most were showing signs of resilience. Their IPV was perpetrated by males who were mostly the biological fathers of their children who used controlling behaviors towards the kids. The potential positive social change impact of this study is to empower Puerto Rican mothers to disclose IPV and to better inform health care providers regarding the impact of IPV on children aged 6 -11 years in an effort to increase the health, well-being, and resiliency of this vulnerable population.

Under item response theory, three types of limited information goodness-of-fit test statistics – M2, Mord, and C2 – have been proposed to assess model-data fit when data are sparse. However, the evaluation of the performance of these GOF statistics under multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) models with polytomous data is limited. The current study showed that M2 and C2 were well-calibrated under true model conditions and were powerful under misspecified model conditions. Mord were not well-calibrated when the number of response categories was more than three. RMSEA2 and RMSEAC2 are good tools to evaluate approximate fit. The second study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Religious Commitment Inventory-10 (RCI-10; Worthington et al., 2003) within the IRT framework and estimate C2 and its RMSEA to assess global model-fit. Results showed that the RCI-10 was best represented by a bifactor model. The scores from the RCI-10 could be scored as unidimensional notwithstanding the presence of multidimensionality. Two-factor correlational solution should not be used. Study two also showed that religious commitment is a risk factor of intimate partner violence, whereas spirituality was a protecting factor from the violence. More alcohol was related with more abusive behaviors. Implications of the two studies were discussed.

This three-paper dissertation quantitatively identifies and examines three different substantive areas using data from the American College Health Association’s Fall of 2016 National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA). Specific areas of inquiry include, marginalized populations and college campus sexual assault, intersectional analyses of risk factors for college campus sexual assault, and drinking protective behavioral strategies as prevention tools for college campus sexual assault. Paper one, titled, “College Campus Sexual Assault and Students with Disabilities,” explores a particular marginalized group of students that have been largely left out of college campus sexual assault studies: female college students with disabilities. The logistic regression analyses find that having any disability increases risk for any type of college campus sexual assault more than other commonly cited risk factors such as binge drinking, or Greek affiliation. Moreover, the study indicates that odds for female students with disabilities are varied depending on the type of assault, completed, attempted, or relationship, as well as the specific type of disability. Results are discussed, and policy implications, limitations, and opportunities for future research are delineated. Paper two, titled, “College Campus Sexual Assault: Moving Toward a More Intersectional Quantitative Analysis,” is guided by an intersectional theoretical framework. The study employs classification and regression tree analyses (CART) to identify more specific groups of students that are at disproportionate risk for sexual assault beyond singular variables or even interaction effects. Unlike traditional regression techniques, CART does not assume a linear relationship, and can simultaneously account for independent variables relationship to one another while determining which variables have the most explanatory power for the dependent variable and for which unique groups of students. The study discusses results of analyses in relationship to intersectional research both theoretically and methodologically, as well as future research, and policy implications. Alcohol consumption, particularly binge drinking, has been consistently linked to greater risk for college campus sexual assault victimization. However, there is a lack of college campus violence prevention and intervention programming that addresses alcohol consumption in relation to campus sexual assault. As such, paper three, titled, “Drinking Protective Behavioral Strategies and College Campus Sexual Assault,” uses logistic regression to explore whether or not the use of drinking protective behavioral strategies (PBS) lowers risk for sexual assault in female college students that drink alcohol. The study examines both the main effects of drinking PBS on sexual assault risk, as well as whether or not the use of drinking PBS moderates the risk of frequent alcohol consumption, and binge drinking on college campus sexual assault. The paper discusses findings, limitations, policy implications, and avenues for future research.

The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing the decision of lesbian victims of domestic violence to call or not to call the police.

Sexual assault is a growing concern across college campuses in the United States. According to the Sexual Victimization of College Women study, the victimization rate is 27.7 rapes per 1,000 ­­­­women students (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000). In response to the high prevalence of sexual assault, college campuses are now mandated to implement various forms of sexual assault prevention programming. Sexual assault prevention programming is intended to promote awareness of sexual assault and reduce the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses. Numerous studies have examined the short term effectiveness of sexual assault prevention programs (e.g., Anderson & Whiston, 2005). However, few studies have explored the effectiveness of repeated, annual prevention program participation on rape supportive beliefs. In addition, studies that have explored the efficacy of prevention programs have tended to rely exclusively on self-report measures and some have only focused on outcomes among men or women groups only. The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of level of participation and gender in sexual assault prevention training on rape myth acceptance (RMA) and response latency to a hypothetical date rape scenario among a sample of Western college students. Results revealed no significant relationships between higher levels of sexual assault prevention programming participation and RMA scores and latency times. Additionally, there were no gender differences on IRMA scores or response latency. Findings have important implications for future sexual assault prevention programming efforts on college campuses and community settings.

Background: Pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) is the leading cause of maternal mortality and a major contributor to preterm birth and neonatal mortality. Literature suggests that several modifiable psychosocial and health behavioral factors may play significant roles in the development of PIH. However, interrelationships among these factors and their collective impact on PIH are not well understood. Objectives: This study aims to: 1) Examine the relationship between pre-pregnancy physical activity and risk of PIH, 2) Determine the association between prepregnancy depression and PIH and the role of race/ethnicity in this association, 3) Evaluate the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) in women before and/or during pregnancy and PIH, and the role of utilization of prenatal care (PNC) as a mediator in this association. Methods: This study utilized the national Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System survey data (years 2009-2015). The outcome variable PIH was defined as a dichotomized variable (Yes; No) utilizing a birth certificate variable data. Domain-adjusted multiple logistic regression, multiple logistic regression with stratification, and structural equation modeling analyses were used to investigate the study aims. Results: No significant reduced risk of PIH was observed in women who were physically active prior to pregnancy compared to sedentary women. However, women with prepregnancy depression were more likely to have PIH compared to women without prepregnancy depression and this association was significant for non-Hispanic White women when stratified by race/ethnicity. Further, PNC utilization was a significant mediator in the association between IPV before and/or during pregnancy and PIH. However, IPV had no direct or total effect on PIH in this study. Conclusions: Public health professionals and health care providers should be aware of the relationships between prepregnancy depression, race/ethnicity, IPV, and prenatal care utilization, and PIH, and utilize the information in risk profiling, screening, early detection and intervention in women at risk of PIH.

The cost of domestic and intimate partner violence (DIPV) exceeded $8 billion annually on a national level, and North Carolina spent $307 million on DIPV and DIPV-related mental health care. Studies have shown a correlation between DIPV, mental illness, and substance abuse. North Carolina was found to have higher than normal risk factors for DIPV. In response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention partnered with the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCCADV) to develop the NCCADV 10-year primary prevention plan. This study investigated clinicians' perceptions of the effectiveness of the plan. Phenomenological thought served as the conceptual framework. A purposive sample of 10 clinicians who worked in the region with DIPV clients in the preceding 12 months responded to semistructured interview questions that investigated their perceptions of whether the 10-year plan had a positive influence on victims and if the plan could potentially impact victims' future mental health and substance use behaviors. Interview data were transcribed, open coded, and thematically analyzed with the aid of qualitative software. Study results indicated that these clinicians believed the plan did not impact DIPV clients' current behaviors and was unlikely to have a future impact. A policy recommendation in the form of a position paper resulted from the findings, which recommended the use of mass media that encompass old and new technologies to promote primary prevention efforts by stakeholders and practitioners for the general public. This study has implications for positive social change in that it may provide knowledge to clinicians and stakeholders at the study site that aids them in understanding and preventing DIPV, in addition to promoting an overall increase in public awareness of the negative effects of DIPV.