Date of Award
Spring 5-3-2024
Document Type
Honors Project
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Department
Psychological Science
Department Chair or Program Director
Liss, Miriam
First Advisor
Palmwood, Erin
Major or Concentration
Psychology
Abstract
Survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) who have experienced injury may have numerous lingering effects of the violence, even long after the abusive romantic relationship has ended. However, despite understanding some of these lingering effects, it is unclear how the impact of perceived normality of IPV and PTSD symptoms affect survivors’ perceptions of responsibility for the violence. The present study aimed to examine these variables (perceived normality and PTSD symptoms) as moderators of the link between IPV-related injury and perceptions of the extent to which an individual provokes their own experience of abuse. To this end, participants (n = 510) viewed a series of vignettes describing intimate partners experiencing a conflict and encountering no IPV, emotional abuse, or physical abuse. Participants’ views on the extent to which they interpreted the violence as provoked, as well as how normal they think that IPV is and their own symptoms of PTSD that they have developed from IPV, were measured. Results indicated that participants who experienced IPV-related injury perceived others’ experiences of abuse to be provoked when they (1) generally perceive abuse to be normal and (2) had low levels of PTSD symptoms. These findings underscore the impact that the normalization of IPV and the development of PTSD symptoms have on survivors of intimate partner violence as they evaluate new relationship dynamics.
Recommended Citation
Shenk, Noel, "Perceived Normality of IPV and PTSD Symptoms as Moderators of the Relationship between IPV-Related Injury and Perceptions of Responsibility for IPV" (2024). Student Research Submissions. 577.
https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/577