While physical and verbal abuse are commonly observed forms of intimate partner violence (IPV), emotional, sexual, and proprietary abuse are less likely to be reported. The present study examined how people would respond to common scenarios of psychological abuse, sexual abuse, and proprietary control (i.e., claiming ownership or entitlement).
One hundred twenty-nine participants (94 females, 35 males: mean age+ 32 years) completed and online survey assessing open-ended responses to 17 scenarios of intimate partner violence portraying psychological abuse (e.g., A young girl has a restraining order against her boyfriend but he comes over to say he just wants to grab a few things from the garage), sexual abuse (e.g., a mother has a feeling that her new husband may be sexually molesting her daughter), and proprietary control (e.g., a husband won’t let his wife go back to school because he feels that she should stay home and cook, clean, and take care of the children). Data were analyzed with selective coding using grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Sixteen core categories emerged from the data. Two research assistants individually coded each scenario responses; inter rater reliability was high (alpha=0.90). For the psychologically abusive scenarios, the top four responses were to call 911, seek help from support network, collect evidence to provide proof of violence, and become educated. For the scenarios of sexual abuse, the most common responses were to set boundaries, communicate with partner, call 911, and seek help from support network. Overall findings suggest that people have mixed responses to the IPV scenarios. On one hand, people would call 911 or leave their partner in these situations. On the other hand, they would reach out to their support network, try to communicate or make an effort to compromise with the perpetrator. Further research is needed, comparing what people actually do in situations of intimate partner violence to what experts suggest are appropriate and effective responses to these situations. Suggestions for prevention and intervention are discussed.
Additional examples of IPV
- A daughter confronts her mother saying that her boyfriend is sexually molesting her. The mother does not believe her because she thinks she is trying to sabotage the relationship. *Sexual
- A husband forces his wife to have sex on a daily basis, saying that he deserves sex anytime he feels like it. *Psychological, sexual, power and control
- A girl is raped by her friend while drunk. She would inform her boyfriend but is afraid he would blame her due to her drunken state. In the meantime, she is forced to see her attacker on a daily basis and feels the need to act as if nothing happened. *Sexual
- You live down the hall in an apartment from a couple that has very loud and angry fights. You think you hear incidents of physical violence, but when you try to talk to your neighbors, they both state that everything is fine. *Physical, verbal
