Barriers to Seeking Help for Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Mothers with a History of Foster Care

Background and Purpose: Young mothers with a history of foster care are at high risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) and encounter barriers to seeking help. These barriers may not only endanger their safety but also negatively impact the well-being of their children. However, few studies have explored IPV help-seeking barriers among women with foster care histories. The current study seeks to understand barriers to seeking help for IPV among young mothers with foster care histories.

Methods: This is a qualitative study of stakeholders’ perspectives of IPV help-seeking barriers among young mothers (aged 18-30) with a history of care. This study took place in Arizona. Participants were recruited through agency partners, flyers, and snowball sampling. We conducted in-depth interviews with young mothers aged 18-30 with a history of IPV and foster care (n=7) and service providers working with this population (n=14). Interviews were cleaned, transcribed, and thematically coded through an inductive process, with half of the transcripts double-coded for rigor and code agreement.

Results: Most mothers identified as White (42.9%) or Black/African American (28.6%), and over a quarter (28.6%) were in serious relationships. The majority of service providers were women (85.7%) who identified as White (71.4%) or Black/African American (21.4%) and had over 10 years of experience working with IPV (57.1%) and/or foster care (42.8%; some overlapped in both areas).

Three themes emerged as barriers to young mothers' IPV help-seeking: (1) financial barriers, (2) system-related barriers, and (3) poor mental health. Participants discussed how financial barriers, including limited financial literacy related to financial control by abusive partners, keep young mothers in abusive relationships. They also discussed how having to pay for basic needs, such as legal fees for protective orders and transportation, makes it difficult for young mothers to become financially independent, especially if they are single. System-related barriers included subthemes related to a lack of relevant programs, including culturally relevant (e.g., “. . . the program was [for] single mom, I felt like I was [the] only foster kid there and I was the only Black kid...the only Black person.”), child welfare policies (e.g., “. . .there are requirements for them to maintain custody of their children [that make it] impossible to hold a job . . .”), and disrupted systems of support and trust (i.e., lack of trust in the system due to prior experiences, poor communication between systems, and social isolation related to being in foster care). Regarding poor mental health, participants discussed how IPV, motherhood, and having negative role models can contribute to mental health challenges. Subthemes revolved around substance use and psychological distress.

Conclusions and Implications: Young mothers with foster care histories face overlapping challenges financial instability, limited support, and poor mental health which can hinder help-seeking for IPV. IPV interventions used with this population must be trauma-informed, culturally and developmentally appropriate, and address both financial and mental health needs. They must also take into account mothers’ unique foster care experiences; failing to do so risks further undermining their ability to seek help for IPV.