Validity of a three-item dating abuse victimization screening tool in a 11-21 year old sample

Co-occurrence of Intimate Partner Violence and Suicide Mortality Among Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States

PURPOSE

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people ages 10-24 in the United States (US). Intimate partner violence (IPV) is also prevalent, and studies suggest that IPV is associated with youth suicide risk. However, limited research has investigated such associations. We conducted an in-depth analysis of youth suicides that were preceded by or coincided with IPV (i.e., IPV-related) to characterize how decedents were involved in IPV, IPV types experienced, and prior legal systems involvement.

METHODS

Using US National Violent Death Reporting System (2014-2018) data for suicide decedents aged 7-24 (n = 15,430 deaths), we manually reviewed case narratives for IPV-related suicides (n = 882) and coded details concerning IPV circumstances. We conducted bivariate analyses to compare IPV-related suicides to other (non-IPV) youth suicides and examined differences in antecedent circumstances between IPV perpetrators (n = 651) and victims (n = 81) using multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS

Among IPV-related suicides, most decedents were male and were described as IPV perpetrators. Physical IPV was most frequently reported. Compared to decedents with a history of IPV perpetration, decedents with a history of IPV victimization were more often female and younger. Narratives of IPV victim decedents had higher odds of reporting physical IPV; narratives of IPV perpetrator decedents had higher odds of reporting psychological IPV.

DISCUSSION

Future research should explore the relationship between IPV perpetration and suicide and potential impacts on surviving partners. Research and practice should seek to develop effective assessments and interventions for young people that address IPV and suicide risk simultaneously.

Coercive Control in 2SLGBTQQIA+ Relationships: A Scoping Review

Existing measures and theories of intimate partner coercive control largely evaluate men's coercion of women. The extent of knowledge pertaining to intimate relationships among other genders and sexual identities is unclear. Guided by a theoretical framework of intersectionality, we examined and synthesized original studies on coercive control by (perpetration) or against (victimization) Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual individuals within intimate partner relationships. We searched eight academic databases for records from 2014 through 2022 and hand-searched review articles' reference lists, supplemented with gray literature and website searches. Using duplicate screening, we identified 1,774 unique documents; 526 met preliminary eligibility criteria and 277 were retained for data extraction in duplicate. Coercive control was more common among minority individuals and was related to mental health challenges. Few studies reported on gender- or sexual-identity specific forms of coercive control, and an intersectional focus was uncommon. This review revealed a lack of agreed definition of coercive control or accepted standard of measurement, and a gap in research with individuals who identify as gender diverse, gender fluid or intersex, or those identifying their sexuality as asexual, pansexual, or sexually diverse.

Verbal, physical and sexual dating violence among a population-based sample of teens: Does exposure to intimate partner violence in the home account for the association between dating violence and mental health?

BACKGROUND

Teen dating violence (TDV) and exposure to intimate partner violence (eIPV) are associated with poorer mental health; however, few studies investigate verbal TDV or the independent contributions that TDV and eIPV have on mental health.

OBJECTIVE

Examine the prevalence of TDV (verbal, physical, sexual, multiple forms) among youth, associations between TDV and mental health, and how eIPV affects these associations.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A school-based sample of 71,635 9th and 11th grade students (51.5% assigned female, 71.9% White) completed the anonymous 2019 Minnesota Student Survey, providing data on mental/emotional/behavioral (MEB) problems and treatment, depression and anxiety symptoms, non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation/attempts, TDV, and eIPV.

METHODS

Chi-square tests were used to compare the prevalence of mental health concerns by TDV form; logistic regression models controlled for demographic characteristics and eIPV. Interaction tests identified the multiplicative effects of eIPV and TDV on mental health.

RESULTS

TDV was reported by 36.4% of those with vs 13.6% of those without eIPV. Each type of TDV was significantly associated with adverse mental health (p's<0.001), even after adjusting for demographic variables and eIPV. The prevalence of each mental health outcome was significantly increased by eIPV for youth with no TDV (p's<0.001), verbal only (p's<0.001), sexual only (p's<0.05), and multiple forms of TDV (p's<0.001); findings for physical TDV varied.

CONCLUSIONS

Education on healthy, consensual dating relationships is critical, alongside regular screening for eIPV and TDV, referring affected youth for treatment. Further research on factors that attenuate the association between TDV and mental health is warranted.

The Health Care Provider's Role in Addressing Adolescent Relationship Abuse

Adolescent relationship abuse (ARA) is highly prevalent across all sociodemographic groups with negative outcomes in multiple domains of health. Using a healing-centered engagement approach, health care providers can support healthy adolescent relationships and connect ARA survivors to resources and supports to ensure health and well-being. Essential components of health care support for adolescents experiencing ARA include validation of disclosure, assessing safety, a warm hand-off to advocacy resources, addressing immediate and long-term health needs, and connection to a trusted adult. Informing adolescents about limits of confidentiality and use of shared decision-making after ARA disclosure recognizes adolescents' lived experiences and emerging autonomy.

Cumulative Incidence of Physical and Sexual Dating Violence: Insights From A Long-term Longitudinal Study

Decades of inquiry on intimate partner violence show consistent results: violence is woefully common and psychologically and economically costly. Policy to prevent and effectively intervene upon such violence hinges upon comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon at a population level. The current study prospectively estimates the cumulative incidence of sexual and physical dating violence (DV) victimization/perpetration over a 12-year timeframe (2010-2021) using diverse participants assessed annually from age 15 to 26. Data are from Waves 1-13 of an ongoing longitudinal study. Since 2010 (except for 2018 and 2019), participants were assessed on past-year physical and sexual DV victimization and perpetration. Participants (n = 1,042; 56% female; Mage baseline = 15) were originally recruited from seven public high schools in southeast Texas. The sample consisted of Black/African American (30%), White (31%), Hispanic (31%), and Mixed/Other (8%) participants. Across 12 years of data collection, 27.3% experienced sexual DV victimization and 46.1% had experienced physical DV victimization by age 26. Further, 14.8% had perpetrated at least one act of sexual DV and 39.0% had perpetrated at least one act of physical DV against a partner by this age. A 12-year cumulative assessment of physical and sexual DV rendered prevalence estimates of both victimization and perpetration that exceeded commonly and consistently reported rates in the field, especially on studies that relied on lifetime or one-time specified retrospective reporting periods. These data suggest community youth are at continued and sustained risk for DV onset across the transition into emerging adulthood, necessitating early adolescent prevention and intervention efforts that endure through late adolescence, emerging adulthood, and beyond. From a research perspective, our findings point to the need for assessing DV on a repeated basis over multiple timepoints to better guage the full extent of this continued public health crisis.