Intimate Partner Violence and Psychological Distress among Young Couples: Analysis of the Moderating Effect of Social Support

• NCJ Number: 239383
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2012 Pages: 63-73
• Author(s): Isabel Fortin; Stephane Guay; Vicky Lavoie; Jean-Marie Boisvert; Madeleine Beaudry
• Date Published: January 2012
• Length: 11 pages
• Grant Number(s): 410-2000-1157
• Sponsoring Agency: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The objective of this study was to examine the links between intimate partner violence (IPV), social support and distress in young couples.

Abstract

Young adults are more likely to experience intimate partner violence (IPV) than older adults. Little is known about the effect of confiding to others about sustained violence on the mental health of victims. The objective of this study was to explore the links between IPV, help-seeking behaviors and psychological distress by gender in a sample of 233 young couples.Our results indicate the frequency of sustained psychological violence, but not physical violence, was positively associated to distress. For women, seeking help from a greater number of confidents moderated the association between violence and psychological distress. For men, results showed that frequencies of physical and psychological violence were both positively linked to distress. However, unlike women, social support had no buffering effect on men's distress. These findings increase our understanding of the effects of social support on young adults' distress following episodes of IPV. (Published Abstract)