Assessing Community Readiness to Develop a Socioculturally Relevant Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Program.

The prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV), the most prevalent form of gender-based violence, requires initiatives grounded in the values and norms of members of a given community. As part of an ongoing effort to develop a socioculturally responsive prevention program, we assessed levels of readiness to address IPV in an Asian Indian community in the midwestern USA. Consisting of six focus groups (n = 28), individual interviews (n = 6), and surveys (n = 189) of diverse community leaders and members, the assessment indicated that, while there was only vague awareness of IPV in the community as a whole, some limited segments of the community had a higher degree of readiness to address IPV. Capitalizing on the readiness and commitment of selected individuals, we developed a health communications campaign and implemented it in phases. We discuss methodological issues and lessons learned in assessing community readiness, including implications for study design and future research.

Domestic violence calls for police service in five US cities during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

BACKGROUND: When COVID-19 stay-at-home orders were instituted, there were concerns that isolation may lead to increases in domestic violence (DV). Reports of increased rates of DV during the stay-at-home period have been suggestive of this but inconsistent across different locations. We sought to complement the existing studies by characterizing changes in DV trends in US cities of Chicago, Los Angeles (LA), New York City (NYC), Philadelphia, and Phoenix using police call volume data from January 1st, 2018, through Dec 31st, 2020. METHODS: The stay-at-home orders were generally instituted for most US states in the second half of March 2020. We used the call volume for the pre-COVID-19 period (Jan. 2018 to Feb. 2020) to model a forecast against the stay-at-home order period (Mar. - May 2020) and the period after lifting the order (June - Dec. 2020) using the interrupted autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) time series model. RESULTS: During the stay-at-home order, increases in mean DV calls relative to pre-COVID-19 were observed in Chicago (47.8%), Phoenix (18.4%), NYC (3.5%), and LA (3.4%), but a decrease in Philadelphia (-4.9%). After lifting the stay-at-home order, changes in mean calls relative to pre-COVID-19 remained elevated in Chicago, slightly elevated in Phoenix, and returned to baseline in NYC and LA. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that the stay-at-home orders may have contributed to an increase in DV calls in some cities (Phoenix, and to a smaller extent LA, NYC), but the increase seen in Chicago (and to some extent Phoenix) persisted beyond the stay-at-home order and therefore may not be attributable to the stay-at-home orders. Additional studies are needed to help explain why the association between stay-at-home orders and DV police call volume seems to only appear in some locations.

An exploratory qualitative study of undergraduate men's perspectives on sexual violence bystander education.

ObjectiveThis study examined the experiences of men in sexual violence bystander education programs at one institution of higher education. Participants: Twenty-three men participated in the study, of which 15 identified as men of color. Methods: Four focus groups were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed in Dedoose 8.2.14 using thematic analysis. Results: Many men questioned the applicability of national rates of sexual assault to their local campus. While bystander programing helped the men learn and use intervention skills, they critiqued these programs for unfairly characterizing all/most men as perpetrators. Additionally, Black men felt that the programing did not take into account potentially negative consequences of intervention for men of color. Conclusions: Presenting national statistics on sexual assault during bystander intervention programing may not increase men's threat perception if not paired with local campus data. Future programing should consider addressing the complicated nature of intervention specifically for men of color.

Peerformance: Bystanders Enacting and Challenging Gender Norms in Community-Based Theater to Prevent Domestic Violence.

This study examined the gender beliefs and norms expressed by South Asian community members when intervening as bystanders in Peerformance, a publicly performed scene depicting a husband's controlling behavior toward his wife enacted by a peer-led theater group. Using a grounded theory approach, inductive coding and reiterative visual analysis of videotaped bystander interactions revealed that, while most community members confronted the husband, beliefs about gender roles and relations impacted how these confrontations occurred. The complexity of gender norms in bystanders' interventions calls for sociocultural tailoring; bystander programs must attend to the rich, within-group variations in community members' attitudes and beliefs.

Analysis of Bystander Behavior Towards Intimate Partner Violence via Peerformance.

This study of a South Asian community in the midwestern USA examines what bystanders do when they witness an incident of intimate partner violence (IPV). Because of ethical and safety constraints, in lieu of observation in a natural setting, data were collected at a Peerformance, a peer-led IPV prevention program, using the forum theatre method introduced in Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed. Event attendees were invited to respond to an IPV incident enacted by peer educators in which a controlling husband's behavior escalates to the point of suggesting physical violence. Using a grounded theory approach, we analyzed the videotaped bystander actions while applying pertinent aspects of visual analysis. Event attendees responded in variety of ways, exploring and/or de-escalating the situation, providing information, and encouraging the couple to resolve their conflict and/or seek outside help. They expressed empathy, support, and (dis)agreement with the husband and the wife. Their actions encompassed a number of dimensions: introductory, investigative, supportive/empathic, informational, instructional, instrumental, and confrontational. Participants' vastly varied responses to IPV within the same scenario suggest difficulty in developing a generic IPV bystander program. The findings also suggest possible directions for developing bystander programs to address IPV. In lieu of prescribing and/or proscribing specific actions in a given risk situation, bystander training can help participants build their repertoire of actions while collectively examining the strengths and limitations of various actions in their sociocultural context. Such bystander training is complex and difficult to manualize; it will involve reflexive and critical discussions and learning and trying out various possible alternatives. A Peerformance is a site of action, a realistic and familiar milieu where community members can imagine and try out interventions that may be different from the norm of indifference and non-intervention. It can open up new possibilities for addressing IPV in diverse communities.

Walking the Walk: Testing a Theory-Derived Measure of Campus Sexual Assault Policy Implementation.

Institutional Theory posits that organizations sometimes engage in practices that are inconsistent with their stated policies-a process called "decoupling"-due to three types of legitimacy pressures: normative, coercive, and mimetic. Limited previous research suggests that such decoupling between policy and practice may be occurring in institutions of higher education (IHEs) when addressing sexual assault. The objective of this study was to test a measure designed to assess sexual assault policy implementation using the constructs of Institutional Theory. The measure was tested with a national sample of 210 staff and faculty at IHEs who work on sexual assault prevention and response on their campuses. This study assessed (a) the reliability of the measure; (b) the degree to which the measure identified legitimacy pressures and decoupling in the sample; (c) the degree to which legitimacy pressures were linked to decoupling in the sample, as the theory suggests; and (d) the degree to which campuses and individual characteristics were differentially associated with decoupling and legitimacy pressures. Principal factor analysis resulted in a factor structure that conformed reasonably well to the existing constructs of Institutional Theory, with the addition of a new construct reflecting an institution's stated commitment to addressing sexual assault. Regression analyses found that only normative legitimacy pressures significantly predicted decoupling and commitment. Higher decoupling scores were found for public campuses and larger institutions. Campus-based victim advocates reported significantly higher rates of decoupling than Title IX coordinators. The findings suggest that the process of policy implementation may vary across campus types and that further research is needed to better understand the impact of campus sexual assault regulatory attention.

Trauma and Relationship Strain: Oral Histories With World Trade Center Disaster Responders.

Existing models of couple functioning after trauma are primarily based on the experiences of returning military veterans. In this study, we conducted thematic analysis of a purposive sample of 49 oral histories of responders to the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks to understand how they navigated life with their spouses after the response experience. Use of multiple coders and analytic matrices increased analytic rigor. In the sample, 34.7% disclosed a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis and another 22.7% mentioned experiencing at least one trauma symptom. Most responders had not sought mental health intervention, relying instead on their spouses' caregiving. Responders reported limited disclosure to their spouses about the details of their 9/11/01 response work, which may have helped them cope emotionally with repeated 9/11/01 clean-up duties. Shared values regarding the common good and patriotism were important for maintaining an intimate relationship after 9/11/01, and helping partners understand and feel understood by each other.

Risk and Protective Factors for Family Violence among Low-Income Fathers: Implications for Violence Prevention and Fatherhood Programs.

Over the last decade there has been an increased focus on improving father engagement to improve child and family outcomes. Recent research suggests that child and family outcomes improve with increased fatherhood engagement. This exploratory study examined risk and protective factors associated with approval of family violence among a sample of low-income fathers (N = 686) enrolled in a responsible fatherhood program. The program goals include increasing father involvement and economic stability and encouraging healthy relationships-with a focus on preventing intimate partner violence. Toward these aims, this study explored factors associated with fathers' self-reported approval of family violence. Understanding the prevalence of risk and protective factors in this population and factors associated with fathers' potential for family violence is important in developing programs to address responsible fatherhood and healthy relationships.

The self-management experience of patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to explore views related to the self-management of type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. METHODS: We conducted three semi-structured focus groups in participants with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Credibility was supported through triangulation of data sources and the use of multiple investigators from different disciplines. RESULTS: Twenty-three adults participated. Three major themes were identified: emotional reactions to health state, the impact of family dynamics on self-management, and the burden of self-management regimens. Family dynamics were found to be a barrier and support to self-management, while complicated self-management regimens were found to be a barrier. Additionally, participants expressed several emotional reactions related to their CKD status, including regret related to having developed CKD and distress related both to their treatment regimens and the future possibility of dialysis. CONCLUSIONS: This exploratory study of patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease describes barriers and supports to self-management and emotional reactions to chronic kidney disease status. Future research should confirm these findings in a larger population and should include family members and/or health care providers to help further define problems with self-management in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Intimate partner violence prevention program in an Asian immigrant community: integrating theories, data, and community.

To fill an existing gap in research and practice on intimate partner violence (IPV) in immigrant communities, the authors developed an IPV prevention program, called the Shanti Project, in an Asian Indian community in the Midwest. Building on the notion of shanti (harmony/peace), a cherished value and strength of the community, we created a communications campaign that combined social marketing and community-based participatory approaches. Recognizing the interactive influences of multiple levels of social ecology, campaign activities were designed to bring about changes at the individual, relationship/family, organization, and community levels. This article presents the development of this theoretically, empirically, and community-based IPV prevention program.

Intimate partner violence, welfare receipt, and health status of low-income african american women: a lifecourse analysis.

Although the association among intimate partner violence (IPV), welfare receipt, and health status has been well-established, little is known about the temporal sequencing of these events. In a random sample of low-income African American women in an urban Midwestern county, lifecourse data about IPV and welfare receipt were obtained using the Life History Calendar method (D. Freedman, A. Thornton, D. Camburn, D. Alwin, & L. Young-DeMarco, 1988), along with data about mental and physical health status. Controlling for relevant factors, longitudinal analyses found that previous experience of IPV increased women's odds of receiving welfare benefits in a given year, but previous welfare receipt did not. Cumulative IPV, but not cumulative welfare receipt, was associated with current and past-year health problems. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that IPV leads women to turn to welfare assistance, and that compromised physical and mental health due to past cumulative IPV interferes with women's gainful employment.