Date of Award

9-25-2024

Publication Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Psychology

Keywords

Community Cohesion;Intimate Partner Violence;Parental Intimate Partner Violence;Resilience;Social Support

Supervisor

Patti Timmons Fritz

Abstract

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) refers to physical, emotional, and sexual harm and/or controlling behaviours by a current or former intimate partner. Children are often present when parental IPV occurs which puts them at a higher risk for many negative immediate and long-term physical, psychological, and social consequences. Despite childhood exposure to IPV, positive outcomes are possible which has led to the study of resilience. Resilience refers to the ability to cope with stress and thrive despite adverse experiences. Previous research has highlighted the importance of social supports (e.g., family, friends, and professional supports like IPV services) for resilience in adults exposed to IPV as children. Despite this, little is known about the roles that community factors and spirituality play in resilience in P-IPV exposed individuals. Objectives: To investigate the role of and relations among individual, interpersonal (i.e., social support, spirituality), community/organizational factors (i.e., community cohesion) using a social-ecological model of resilience for individuals exposed to IPV as children. Understanding the mechanisms that promote resilience in P-IPV exposed children can inform the creation of target driven interventions that may bolster resilience in adulthood for P-IPV exposed children. Methods: The current study examined data from respondents who reported exposure to parental intimate partner violence before the age of 15 years on the 2019 General Social Survey conducted by Statistics Canada. Results: As predicted, there were significant relationships between social support and resilience, and community cohesion and resilience, respectively. However, the overall model examining the relationships between social support, community cohesion, and resilience resulted in poor model fit. Significance: Findings from this study add to our current understanding of resilience in P-IPV exposed individuals by demonstrating that social support and community cohesion both significantly impact resilience.

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