Kirby Charli M, Jarnecke Amber M, Leone Ruschelle M, Flanagan Julianne C
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425.
Mark Chaffin Center for Healthy Development, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302.
Partner Abuse. 2022 Jul;13(3):296-315. doi: 10.1891/pa-2021-0051.
Psychological intimate partner violence (IPV) will impact almost half of US adults throughout the lifespan and as many as 80% of undergraduate college students; however, psychological IPV remains understudied. Examining perceptions of IPV can aid in the identification of potential barriers to treatment seeking and advance intervention efforts. The current study intended to determine how myths and stigmatizing beliefs about IPV affected the minimization (i.e., neutralization) of IPV acts and how history of psychological IPV victimization could moderate the aforementioned associations.
Participants were undergraduate students in the southeastern United States ( = 52) who were currently, or had previously been, in a relationship for at least 1 month. Data were collected regarding IPV victimization and perpetration and perceptions of IPV, including stigmatizing beliefs, myth endorsement, and neutralizing beliefs.
Findings indicated that those reporting higher levels of psychological IPV victimization endorsed more neutralizing beliefs about IPV more stigmatizing beliefs about females experiencing IPV victimization, compared to those reporting fewer stigmatizing beliefs towards females experiencing IPV. That is, individuals who have experienced psychological IPV and also stigmatize females experiencing IPV victimization may tend to normalize IPV.
Findings illuminate how perceptions and personal experiences of IPV can minimize someone's views of the severity of others' IPV victimization. This research has implications for highlighting barriers to help-seeking behaviors for individuals experiencing IPV and informing future studies about help-seeking in undergraduate populations.
心理层面的亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）在人的一生中会影响近半数美国成年人，多达80%的大学生也会受其影响；然而，心理层面的IPV仍未得到充分研究。审视对IPV的认知有助于识别寻求治疗的潜在障碍，并推动干预工作。本研究旨在确定关于IPV的误解和污名化观念如何影响对IPV行为的淡化（即中和），以及心理层面IPV受害史如何调节上述关联。
参与者是美国东南部的本科生（n = 52），他们目前或曾经处于至少持续1个月的恋爱关系中。收集了有关IPV受害和施暴情况以及对IPV的认知的数据，包括污名化观念、对误解的认同以及中和观念。
研究结果表明，与那些对遭受IPV的女性持有较少污名化观念的人相比，报告心理层面IPV受害程度较高的人对IPV持有更多的中和观念，对遭受IPV的女性持有更多的污名化观念。也就是说，经历过心理层面IPV且对遭受IPV的女性持有污名化观念的个体可能倾向于将IPV正常化。
研究结果揭示了对IPV的认知和个人经历如何能够淡化某人对他人IPV受害严重程度的看法。这项研究对于凸显IPV受害者寻求帮助行为的障碍以及为未来关于本科生群体寻求帮助的研究提供信息具有重要意义。
