Protective Factors Related to Psychological Distress and Suicidal Ideation in College Student Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Background and Purpose: Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts survivors across the life course, with significant impacts on emerging adults, including students attending institutions of higher education. Survivors of IPV may experience psychological distress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Despite a growing body of research on the negative impacts of IPV on the mental health of both undergraduate and graduate college students, little work has explored the potential for protective factors that may mitigate symptoms. This study examined campus belonging, campus safety, flourishing, and resilience as protective factors in addressing psychological distress and suicidal ideation in college student survivors of IPV.

Methods: We analyzed Fall 2019 panel data (n=35,220 after listwise deletion) from the National College Health Assessment (NCHA). The majority of participants were undergraduate students (79.35%) and identified as women (61.76%), and heterosexual (82.25%). Approximately 55% of participants identified as white, followed by Latinx (13.38%), Multiracial or another identity (12.5%), Asian (11.2%), and Black (7.84%). Multivariate regression analyses were employed to explore the relationship between IPV experiences and mental health outcomes. Additionally, interactions between protective factors and IPV experiences were included in these analyses, which were stratified for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Results: Students who reported having no experiences of IPV had higher mean scores across all protective factors. Those who experienced IPV had higher levels of reported psychological distress and suicidal ideation. All protective factors (i.e., campus belonging, campus safety, flourishing, and resilience) were associated with less psychological distress and less suicidal ideation. For students with no IPV experiences, greater perceived campus belonging was associated with less psychological distress, protecting students who had not experienced IPV from psychological distress, but this protection was lessened for students who had IPV experiences. Greater perceived campus safety was associated with lower psychological distress, with a more pronounced effect observed among students with IPV experiences. The impact of flourishing on suicidal ideation was more substantial for students who had experienced IPV, indicating a greater protective effect for survivors. Finally, higher resilience was associated with fewer reports of suicidal ideation for students with no experience of IPV but not among those who had experienced IPV. These protective factors functioned similarly for undergraduate and graduate students, albeit with some noteworthy distinctions.

Conclusions and Implications: Supporting college student survivors necessitates a comprehensive strategy, including early detection methods, customized interventions, nurturing a campus environment of support, advocating for protective measures, and enacting supportive university policies. Campus advocacy and prevention efforts should focus on creating safer environments and fostering a supportive community that responds effectively to incidents of IPV. Findings emphasize the crucial role of proactive screening to identify survivors who require mental health assistance. Recognizing campus belonging, safety, flourishing, and resilience as protective highlights the need for holistic approaches to student well-being.