Poster #255 - What is Helpful Help? Understanding How Women Experience Help-seeking for Intimate Partner Violence

• In Event: ASC Poster Session I

Abstract

Approximately 50% of women in the U.S. will experience at least one instance of intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime. Most women who experience IPV will disclose their experience to others and engage in a variety of help-seeking strategies in attempts to lessen or stop abuse, or escape their abuser. However, given how social structures related to gender influence dynamics of IPV, levels, patterns, and women’s experiences with help-seeking may differ based on their power in the social structure. This study explores how experiences with help-seeking for IPV may be impacted by a woman’s level of social power based on data from an online survey conducted to understand women’s experiences of abuse in romantic relationships (n = 372). Experiences with and barriers to help-seeking were measured via modified versions of the Goodman et al. Intimate Partner Violence Strategic Index and the Clement et al. Barriers to Access to Care Evaluation Scale. The survey also included measures that allow for study of the participant’s social power in their community. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and regression models will be used to test the explanatory power of different methods of measuring social power in predicting use of and experiences with help-seeking.

Authors

• Kelley Ortiz, University of Central Florida

• Alison Cares, University of Central Florida

• Megan Haselschwerdt, University of Tennessee, Knoxville