Acculturation, Acculturative Stress, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Intimate Partner Violence Among Latinx Immigrants in the US

Abstract

Latinx immigrants bear a disproportionate burden associated with intimate partner violence (IPV); however, efforts to develop evidence-based IPV prevention strategies and address health disparities have been impeded by a lack of understanding of the unique cultural (i.e., acculturation and acculturative stress) and socio-environmental (i.e., adverse childhood experiences [ACEs]) factors that contribute to IPV in this historically marginalized population. Guided by a contextual framework for IPV and a life-course perspective viewed through a gendered lens, this study aims to (a) identify relationships among acculturation, acculturative stress, ACEs, and IPV victimization and perpetration; and (b) explore whether profiles of IPV risk factors differ by gender (women vs. men) among Latinx immigrants. This cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study was a secondary analysis of data from the baseline assessment of 331 ever-partnered Latinx immigrants aged 18 to 44 in a longitudinal study named Salud (Health), Estrés (Stress), y Resilencia (Resilency) (SER) Hispano. Logistic regressions adjusting for individual characteristics and gender subgroup analyses were used to address study aims. The majority of the participants were women (71.30%). More than half of all participants had experienced IPV victimization (57.70%) or IPV perpetration (60.73%). Latinx immigrants with higher family stress (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.16; p < .001) had an elevated risk for IPV victimization; those with more ACEs (aOR = 1.08; p = .005) had an increased risk for IPV perpetration. Women had a lower risk of IPV victimization (aOR = 0.45; p = .03) and a higher risk for IPV perpetration (aOR = 3.26; p = .001) compared to men. Although further research is warranted, the profiles of risk factors for IPV perpetration were different for women than for men. Culturally tailored preventions focused on acculturative stress and ACEs are needed to help Latinx immigrant communities minimize exposure to life-course adversities, improve positive adaptation to the US, and eliminate IPV-relevant health disparities.

Special Issue: 24th Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International (NNVAWI) Conference Proceedings June 21 ‐ 23, 2022

“…Increasing knowledge of the prevalence and consequences of violence in the lives of people experiencing intersectional vulnerabilities to their health is key to developing effective responses. Exemplar abstracts aligned with these themes focused on: Black sexual minority women (Alexander et al, 2022); Black women who are survivors of violence (Tomlinson, 2022) women living with disabilities (Alhusen et al, 2022; Campbell, MacKinnon et al, 2022; Laughon et al, 2022); Latin American immigrant and Indigenous women in the United States (Campbell, Loerzel, et al, 2022; Cao et al, 2022; Gonzalez‐Guarda, 2022); elder Korean immigrant women living in Canada (Guruge et al, 2022); Chinese immigrant women living in the United States (Li et al, 2022); gender non‐binary victims of sexual assault (Mackler et al, 2022); and, gender‐, sexual‐ and ethnic‐minority college students (Fedina, Ashwell et al, 2022). Understanding resilience, healing and help‐seeking amongst survivors of violence support strengths‐based solutions that are more likely to benefit the intended populations and communities.…”

Influence of Family Functioning and Communication on Intimate Partner Violence in Female University Students who Migrated to Metropolitan Lima

“…Another important factor is migration, which has not yet been studied (Cao et al, 2022;Williams & Adams Rueda, 2022;Williams & Adams Rueda, 2022). (Cao et al, 2022;Williams & Adams Rueda, 2022).and therefore there is a gap in knowledge.…”