Trajectories and Syndemic Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence Victimization with Multiple Partners

Background/Purpose. This study follows women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) over an eight-year period to longitudinally and prospectively examine the individual and social characteristics associated with having multiple violent partners. The aim of this research is to add to the limited body of knowledge concerning women’s risk factors for IPV victimization to inform the development and refinement of interventions indicated for reducing IPV victimization. This area of focus is particularly needed as current treatments have found limited support for their effectiveness in reducing future IPV victimization, raising questions about the appropriateness of current intervention programs. A more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of risk for women’s complex IPV victimization (i.e. victimization across multiple partners) is required to provide effective pathways to mitigating future victimization. Early identification and treatment of women with these vulnerabilities may significantly change their IPV victimization trajectories, leading to a reduction in experiences of complex IPV and increases in overall wellbeing. Thus, the goal of this research to identify factors that women can influence to help reduce their IPV victimization risk.

Methods. Participants were drawn from a randomized control trial evaluation of an intervention for mothers who had experienced IPV victimization originally conducted in 2006-2010. Women (N=120) with IPV victimization within the previous two years were randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group, then interviewed at baseline (time 1), 5-weeks (upon intervention/wait-list completion; time 2), 6-months (time 3), and 8-years (time 4) after. Longitudinal multilevel modeling was used to examine predictors of number of violent partners over time, including IPV victimization, trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress (PTS), depression, and sociodemographic indicators.

Results. Results revealed that less sexual IPV and more psychological IPV over time were associated with a greater number of violent partners. Lower levels of PTS re-experiencing over time were associated with a greater number of violent partners. Lower levels of positive affect and higher levels of somatic depressive symptoms were associated with a higher number of violent partners over time. Unemployment and higher levels of income over time predicted greater number of violent partners. Finally, there was a significant interaction between the passage of time and group assignment, such that those in the treatment group at time 4 reported significantly fewer violent partners than those in the control group.

Conclusions/Implications. This present study provides a rich examination of women’s risk factors for IPV victimization with multiple partners utilizing a prospective methodology with eight-year longitudinal data. This research suggests that it is not so much what has happened to a woman (i.e. experiences of abuse) that create risk for re-engagement rather nuances of how a woman is doing following traumatic experiences (i.e. traumatic stress and depressive symptoms). This is hopeful as there are many evidence-based interventions that have shown to be effective for treating aspects of traumatic stress and depression following experiences of trauma.