Support Needs Among Young Adult Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence in Texas

Background and Purpose: Prior research has explored available resources and potential barriers youth face in accessing dating violence (DV) services. However, these studies typically ask a sample of youth to think of their responses to hypothetical experiences with violence (Cho & Huang, 2017; Fry et al, 2013; Kim et al., 2017; Martin et al., 2012; Oscampo et al., 2007). Rarely has research gathered information from actual DV victims. To address this gap in knowledge, we explore unmet formal and informal support needs of young adult survivors of DV who have never sought service.

Methods: We interviewed 19 young adult female survivors of DV (23 or 24 years old). Participants included 9 African Americans, 3 European Americans, 4 Hispanic Americans, 2 Asian Americans, and 1 mixed race. Six participants had High school education, 2 completed an Associate degree, 10 were attending college or had completed a college degree, and 1 had completed a Master’s degree. Among the participants, 11 were dating, 2 were married, and 6 were not in a relationship. Seven participants lived with their romantic partner at the time of the interview, and the remaining lived with their family (n = 5), friends/roommates (n = 4), or alone (n = 2).

Results: Identified barriers for seeking help for DV included deprivation of close relations, worrying about bothering others, afraid of being judged, questioning the helpfulness of talking, and protecting the image of the partner. While there was a general recognition for the need of support, there was a lack of in-depth knowledge about professional services. When asked about reasons for not seeking professional help, participants discussed family influence (e.g., following the model of parents who did not seek help), protecting their partner, not thinking their problem was “big enough” to seek professional help, and lack of resources. Various suggestions were gathered from participants to enhance service provision, including educating DV victims about (un)healthy relationships, need for support groups, provision of easy-to-access services (particularly via modern technology), and help from school/workplace and communities.

Conclusions and Implications: The study identified an overall lack of knowledge regarding DV and awareness of professional services among young adult female victims of DV. Although our participants appeared to know that professional help was available, many did not recognize the course and consequences of DV or potential need for services. Albeit many recognized that counseling or therapists were potential resources, they identified the high cost and lack of access as a major barrier to utilizing. Knowledge of reduced cost or free help such as hotlines were lacking. Based on these findings, more promotion of available – and especially reduced-cost – services are needed.