Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health Among Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Adults.

There is significant evidence to suggest that intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with mental health problems including anxiety and depression. However, this research has almost exclusively been conducted through heteronormative and cisgender lenses. The current study is an exploratory, quantitative analysis of the relationship between experiences of IPV and mental health among transgender/gender nonconforming (TGNC) adults. A national sample of 78 TGNC individuals completed a survey online measuring participants' experiences with IPV and depression, anxiety, and satisfaction with life. Of the sample, 72% reported at least one form of IPV victimization in their lifetime: 32% reported experiencing sexual IPV, 71% psychological IPV, 42% physical IPV, and 29% IPV assault with injury. All four types of IPV were positively associated with anxiety, and all but physical abuse was significantly associated with depression. None of the four types of IPV was associated with satisfaction with life. In a canonical correlation, IPV victimization and mental health had 31% overlapping variance, a large-sized effect. Sexual IPV and anxiety were the highest loading variables, suggesting that TGNC individuals who have experienced sexual IPV specifically tended to have higher levels of anxiety. These findings support previous qualitative, small-sample studies suggesting that IPV is a pervasive problem in the TGNC community. TGNC individuals who have experienced IPV may be at increased risk for mental health problems, and therefore, IPV history may trigger appropriate mental health screenings and referrals for this population in health care settings.

Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among Sexual Minority Women: A Latent Class Analysis.

This study explored patterns of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration in 150 sexual minority women (SMW): 25.3% had been sexually victimized, 34% physically victimized, 76% psychologically victimized, and 29.3% suffered an IPV-related injury. A latent class analysis found four behavioral patterns: (1) minor-only psychological perpetration and victimization; (2) no IPV; (3) minor-severe psychological, physical assault, and injury victimization, and minor-only psychological, physical, and injury perpetration; and (4) severe psychological, sexual, physical assault, and injury victimization and perpetration. Individuals who experienced and/or perpetrated all types experienced the greatest heterosexism at work, school, and in other contexts.

The development of the Systems and Individual Responsibility for Poverty (SIRP) Scale.

Poverty is a widespread social problem that affects a substantial number of Americans each year. Attitudes can affect a range of judgments, behavioral intentions, and actions related to addressing this problem. However, existing tools that measure attitudes toward those in poverty do not fully capture the deficit ideology that is a critical component of beliefs about social class. We developed the Systems and Individual Responsibility for Poverty (SIRP) Scale to address this gap. This article describes the development of an initial pool of 20 items, and then the refinement and validation of the final 17-item measure. Exploratory factor analysis (N = 260) and confirmatory factor analysis (N = 280) yielded 2 factors: Individual Responsibility and Systems Responsibility. The Individual Responsibility factor comprises two subscales, differentiating between reasons for getting into and not getting out of poverty. The SIRP is a new tool for evaluating community psychologists' efforts to shift deficit-oriented thinking about poverty, and is likely to be particularly useful in education contexts. In future work, community psychologists might adapt the measure to assess deficit oriented thinking about other problems, and to explore how such attitudes are related to behavior.

Rape and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Examining the Mediating Role of Explicit Sex-Power Beliefs for Men Versus Women.

Many rape survivors exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and recent literature suggests survivors' beliefs about sex and control may affect PTSD symptoms. The present study examined beliefs about sex and power as potential mediators of the relationship between rape and PTSD symptoms for men versus women. Participants ( N = 782) reported lifetime history of rape, current PTSD symptoms, and beliefs about sex and power. Women reported higher levels of lifetime history of rape than men (19.7% for women; 9.7% for men). While rape history predicted PTSD symptoms for both genders, beliefs about sex and power were shown to be a significant partial mediator of this relationship for men, but not for women. Results extend the literature on rape and PTSD by suggesting that survivors' beliefs about sex and power are connected and can affect their PTSD symptoms. Additionally, results illustrate how sexual violence against men may reaffirm male gender roles that entail power and aggression, and ultimately affect trauma recovery.

The Subjective Court Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence Victims: Does Motherhood Matter?

Many women with children experience intimate partner violence (IPV). These survivors are particularly important to assist, because countless have complex safety concerns related to their children. Mothers' concerns about their children have been shown to impact their decision making related to abuse, but researchers have not closely explored what happens during mothers' interactions with help sources. This study examined whether women with (n = 98) and without (n = 44) children differ in a) their court experiences through their perceptions of procedural and distributive justice, and b) the context of their lives surrounding the court experience. We also explored the relationship between contextual factors and procedural and distributive justice. Results indicate participants were relatively satisfied with their court experiences, despite experiencing reabuse, danger, and fear throughout court processes. Mothers reported significantly higher levels of distributive justice and contact with the abusive partner than non-mothers. However, mothers did not differ significantly from non-mothers with regard to procedural justice, fear, danger, reabuse or reliance on the abusive partner. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated the interaction between fear and motherhood significantly predicted participants' perceptions of distributive justice, as did the interaction between danger and motherhood. In these interactions, mothers' fear and perceptions of danger were not related to their perception of distributive justice. However, non-mothers who reported higher levels of fear and danger perceived less distributive justice. Results suggest mothers and non-mothers enter the system with similar life contexts, and that these contextual factors impact their perceptions of court outcomes differently.

Coping styles used by sexual minority men who experience intimate partner violence.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study examined the coping styles used by sexual minority men who have experienced intimate partner violence, including sexual, emotional and physical victimisation, as well as physical injury. BACKGROUND: Although sexual minority men experience intimate partner violence at least as often as do heterosexuals, there is currently limited knowledge of intimate partner violence in this community or resources for sexual minority men who experience intimate partner violence. DESIGN: Cross-sectional design. METHOD: Sexual minority men (N = 89) were recruited as part of a national online survey and completed questionnaires assessing lifetime experiences of intimate partner violence as well as various coping strategies. In terms of intimate partner violence, 34·8% of participants reported having been targets of sexual abuse, 38·2% targets of physical abuse, 69·7% targets of psychological abuse and 28·1% had experienced an injury as a result of intimate partner violence during their lifetime. RESULTS: Canonical correlation analyses found that intimate partner violence victimisation explained 32·5% of the variance in adaptive and 31·4% of the variance in maladaptive coping behaviours. In the adaptive coping canonical correlation, standardised loadings suggested that sexual minority men who experienced intimate partner violence resulting in injury were more likely to use religious coping, but less likely to use planning coping. In the maladaptive coping canonical correlation, sexual minority men who had been targets of intimate partner sexual victimisation and intimate partner violence resulting in injury tended to engage in increased behavioural disengagement coping. CONCLUSION: This study revealed several coping behaviours that are more or less likely as the severity of different forms of intimate partner violence increases. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The identification of these coping styles could be applied to the development and modification of evidence-based interventions to foster effective and discourage ineffective coping styles, thereby improving outcomes for sexual minority men who experience intimate partner violence.

Anxiety symptoms and functional impairment: A systematic review of the correlation between the two measures.

Researchers and clinicians assume a strong, positive correlation between anxiety symptoms and functional impairment. That assumption may be well-justified since diagnostic criteria typically include functional impairment. Still, the relationship remains largely unavailable in any systematic review. Our aim with this paper was to provide empirical evidence for this assumed relationship and to document the observed correlations between anxiety symptom measures and functional impairment measures. Correlations existed for symptoms of six anxiety disorders (Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Social Anxiety Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) across four functional domains (global, social, occupational, and physical). Overall, the mean of 497 correlations across all disorders and functional domains was modest (r=.34); since the variability between disorders and functional domains tended to be rather large, we explored these correlations further. We presented these results and the potential explanations for unexpected findings along with the clinical and research implications.

Barriers to Help Seeking for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive and devastating social problem that is estimated to occur in one of every four opposite-sex relationships and at least one of every five same-sex romantic relationships. These estimates may not represent violence against those who identify as transgender or genderqueer, and very little comprehensive research has been conducted on IPV within these populations. One statewide study on IPV found rates of IPV were as high as one of every two transgender individuals. In order to cope with the effects of abuse or leave an abusive partner, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and genderqueer (LGBTQ) IPV survivors seek support from others. However, LGBTQ IPV survivors may experience unique difficulties related to their sexual orientation and gender identity when seeking assistance. This article reviews the literature on LGBTQ IPV and suggests three major barriers to help-seeking exist for LGBTQ IPV survivors: a limited understanding of the problem of LGBTQ IPV, stigma, and systemic inequities. The significance and consequences of each barrier are discussed, and suggestions for future research, policy, and practice are provided.