Sense of Community among Female Residents of a Trauma-Informed Sober Living Home.

BACKGROUND: Substance use disorders (SUDs) and domestic and/or sexual violence (DSV) co-occur at high rates. Although some studies have examined sober living homes (SLHs), no research to date has evaluated SLHs specifically designed for women with histories of SUDS and DSV. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to present data from an exploratory analysis of the association between sense of community (SOC) and mental health symptoms within a unique trauma-informed and gender-responsive SLH (i.e., Support, Education, Empowerment, and Directions [SEEDs]). METHOD: Participants included current or former residents of SEEDs (N = 28) who completed surveys assessing SOC and mental health symptoms. The sample was predominantly White (85.7%), heterosexual (64.3%), low income (71.4% < $20,000 per year), had children (67.9%), and reported a history of incarceration (71.4%). RESULTS: On average women reported high levels of SOC. Higher SOC was related to lower posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms and higher coping self-efficacy and sexual assault resistance self-efficacy, with large effect sizes. CONCLUSIONS: Trauma-informed SLHs may promote positive mental health symptoms for women with histories of DSV and SUDs via SOC. Additional research is needed to more rigorously evaluate these preliminary findings. Further, longitudinal, prospective research is needed to better understand the process by which SOC develops and mechanisms by which SOC promotes (and/or is impacted by) positive mental health symptoms.

Stalking Victimization and Substance Use in College Dating Relationships: An Exploratory Analysis.

Traditionally, most dating violence research has focused on physical aggression and has left stalking behaviors largely unexamined, despite evidence that stalking of an intimate partner occurs with high frequency. Moreover, the extent to which stalking victimization has the same negative mental health consequences as other forms of dating violence is unclear. Thus, using a sample of male and female undergraduate students in current dating relationships (N = 357), the association between stalking victimization and alcohol and drug use was explored. Results indicated that for both men and women, stalking victimization from a dating partner was related to alcohol and drug use, even after controlling for age, gender, length of dating relationship, and physical aggression victimization. These preliminary findings suggest that stalking victimization is associated with deleterious consequences; thus, additional research is needed to better understand the longitudinal, long-term consequences of stalking victimization. Additional implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Drinking Motives as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Dating Violence Victimization and Alcohol Problems.

The present study sought to examine whether drinking motives (i.e., coping, social, conformity, and enhancement) moderated the relationship between physical, sexual, and psychological dating violence victimization and alcohol-related problems in a sample of drinking college women ( N = 177). Results demonstrated that coping and social drinking motives moderated the relationship between sexual victimization and alcohol problems; conformity, social, and enhancement drinking motives moderated the relationship between alcohol-related problems and physical victimization; no significant findings were evident for psychological aggression victimization. Our results partially support the self-medication model of alcohol use, and this may be particularly relevant to sexual victimization.

Co-Occurrence of and Recovery from Substance Abuse and Lifespan Victimization: A Qualitative Study of Female Residents in Trauma-Informed Sober Living Homes.

Despite the co-occurrence of substance use disorders (SUDs) and domestic and/or sexual violence (DSV) in the lives of women, there remains a dearth of research on how and why these phenomena intersect as well as the role that trauma-informed sober living homes (SLHs) may play in promoting recovery. Following a detailed description of a unique trauma-informed SLH (Support, Education, Empowerment, and Directions [SEEDs]), we present findings from a qualitative study that documented the perceptions and lived experiences of 28 female current or former residents of a trauma-informed SLH; all women had histories of SUDs and DSV. Results uncovered four themes (fractured foundations, points of intersection of SUDs and DSV, pervasiveness of SUDS and DSV, resiliency) and a constitutive pattern (moving away from instability and harnessing self-agency). Women noted that their engagement with SEEDs played a significant role in their recovery, specifically through fulfilling their needs for tangible resources (e.g., food, clothing, shelter) and the community's provision of emotional support (e.g., family, love, consistency) to promote recovery. These findings provide new insights on SUDs and DSV and preliminary support for the effectiveness of a trauma-informed SLH.

High School Youth's Reactions to Participating in Mixed-Methodological Dating Violence Research.

The present study used a sample of high school youth (N = 218) and a mixed-methodological research design to examine high school students' reactions to participating in focus groups and completing surveys that inquired about dating violence (DV). Results showed that showed that 1.5% (n = 3) of the youth regretted participating in the study and 6% (n = 12) were upset by the study questions; being upset was attributed to personal experiences with DV and being disturbed by peers' responses during the focus group. Furthermore, 49% (n = 99) of the youth reported feeling that they personally benefited from participating in the study for reasons such as learning ways to help friends in situations of DV. Results have implications for conducting mixed-methodological DV research with youth.