Friends' Responses to Disclosure of Intimate Partner Violence
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) affects a significant number of women worldwide, including adolescent college students (Straus, 2004). Research indicates that women impacted by IPV disclose their experiences to informal support networks, such as friends, in approximately 65-80% of cases (Fisher et al., 2003, Demers and colleagues 2018). Friends’ responses to these disclosures can be positive (e.g., providing support and aid), negative (e.g., minimizing or avoidance), or a combination of both, which can critically influence the victim’s subjective experiences. Specifically, these responses may contribute to victims feeling supported, hurt, or empowered.This study investigates the nature and impact of friends’ responses to disclosures of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). The primary objectives were to identify the most common types of responses and to assess their influence on survivors' subjective experiences. To achieve this, we modified the Ullman Social Reactions Questionnaire (SRQ) by incorporating two additional subscales (i.e., minimization and encouragement of relationship termination) based on qualitative data. The findings indicate that friends were more likely to provide emotionally supportive responses, encouragement of relationship termination and aid compared to responses such as minimizing or avoidance. Given the absence of a standardized measure to capture the subjective experiences of victims following disclosure, we developed a new scale, “Victims’ Subjective Experiences of Disclosure”, informed by qualitative accounts of victims’ disclosure experiences. Findings revealed that emotionally supportive responses were significantly associated with positive subjective experiences, whereas responses such as minimizating and avoidance were linked to negative subjective experiences. Furthermore, exploratory analyses were conducted to determine whether the nature of the disclosed IPV (i.e., sexual, physical, or psychological violence) influences the type of responses received. We found that friends’ responses significantly differ based on the type of IPV disclosed. This study underscores the complex and nuanced role of informal support networks in shaping victim’s psychological outcomes.
Adolescent, College, Disclosure, Intimate partner violence, IPV
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