Risk for Revictimization of Intimate Partner Violence by Multiple Partners: A Case Control Study
Year: 2021
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: A substantial minority of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimized women are revictimized by more than one intimate partner (termed multiple partners, MP). This has received limited theoretical and empirical attention. It is important to consider victims’ circumstances and vulnerabilities that reflect barriers to the ability, opportunity, or motivation to engage in self-protective behavior. The present study applied an interactional perspective to violence revictimization, including the complex, heterogeneous, and dynamic interaction within a person and between person and situation.\nA systematic literature review and a case control study were conducted. Quantitative data were obtained through a structured interview with a stratified sample of help-seeking women (N = 154) categorized according to their recent intimate relationship: IPV in the recent relationship only (n = 55), IPV in the recent and previous relationships (n = 51), and no lifetime IPV (n = 48). The study investigated the association between specific independent variables within the categories (a) childhood family violence, (b) other childhood adversities, (c) victimization and perpetration of IPV in the recent relationship, (d) attachment anxiety and avoidance, and (e) controlling sociodemographic and contextual variables, and the following dependent variables: (a) IPV victimized women compared to non-victimized women and (b) women with IPV by multiple partners compared to women with IPV from one partner. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied for simultaneous testing of significant risk factors in order to investigate their interaction and relative strength.\nThe extended number and aspects of distal and proximal risk factors analyzed and controlled for in this study was unique in this research field. The results indicated that compared to women victimized by one partner, there were specific interactions for women revictimized by multiple partners. More childhood emotional abuse, increased attachment anxiety, and an interaction between more childhood emotional abuse and increased attachment anxiety were risk factors for IPV by multiple partners in particular. In addition, shorter education, disability benefits, shorter relationship and being native Norwegian increased the likelihood for IPV by multiple partners. Neither childhood family violence, nor characteristics of IPV victimization or perpetration were risk factors for IPV by MP.\nThe results must be interpreted with a number of limitations in mind. Especially, with the cross sectional format, the study reported interactions, not causal factors.
Author: Elisabeth Christie Ørke
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3172388559