Intimate Partner Violence and Psychological Maladjustment: Examining the Role of Institutional Betrayal Among Survivors

Lee, Jenny Y.; Micol, Rachel L.; Davis, Joanne L.

doi:10.1177/0886260519836783

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Regarding the former, results demonstrate that two key tenets of procedural unfairness—unfair treatment and unfair decision-making by an authority within the institution—shape IPV survivors’ mental health in the context of family court as has been shown in other contexts. As for the latter, these results add to prior research demonstrating a link between institutional betrayal and worsened mental health for IPV survivors (Lee et al, 2021) by highlighting the role of one specific dimension of institutional betrayal—judicial inaction. This is all too commonly reported by family court-involved mothers who have been victimized by coercive and controlling partners (Gutowski & Goodman, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Legal abuse and mental health: The role of judicial betrayal.

Gutowski¹,

Goodman²

2023

Psychology of Violence

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Objective: When mothers who have survived intimate partner violence separate from their partners, they often turn to family court for help with a range of issues from division of assets to child custody arrangements. Often, however, they face ongoing legal abuse when abusive partners use court processes to further enact coercive control and judicial betrayal, when judges fail to prevent such harms and/or add to the mistreatment. Although both processes may undermine survivors’ mental health, existing research on this topic is limited and no known research has explored the relationship between the two constructs. To address this gap, we explored the direct association between legal abuse and mental health, as well as the possible mediating role of judicial betrayal. Method: In a sample of 218 family law-involved survivor-mothers who responded to a survey, we explored the relationship between legal abuse and mental health and the mediating role of judicial betrayal in that relationship. Results: Legal abuse was related to elevated symptoms of both posttraumatic stress disorder and depression even after controlling for prior psychological, physical and sexual abuse, and demographic variables. Further, associations between legal abuse and mental health were mediated by one of the two dimensions of judicial betrayal (Missing the Abuse), though not by the other (Mistreating the Survivor). Conclusion: Findings highlight the profound damage associated with legal abuse, especially when it is mediated by judicial betrayal. They underscore the key role that judges can play in protecting survivor-mothers’ mental health in family court.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Legal abuse and mental health: The role of judicial betrayal.

Gutowski¹,

Goodman²

2023

Psychology of Violence

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“…It may be that MST survivors who experience IB have a greater need for health care that, in some cases, supersedes prior institutional experiences that could otherwise deter help-seeking from VHA. Indeed, IB has been associated with PTSD and depressive symptoms in MST survivors (Andresen et al, 2019; Monteith et al, 2016); and dissociative symptoms, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, and physical health problems in other samples (Lee et al, 2019; Smith & Freyd, 2013; Smith & Freyd, 2017). Since we did not include health status, a potential proxy of need for health care, as a covariate, this is an important undertaking for subsequent research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Institutional betrayal and help-seeking among women survivors of military sexual trauma.

Monteith¹,

Holliday²,

Schneider³

et al. 2021

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and

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Women veterans experience disproportionately high rates of military sexual trauma (MST). Nonetheless, many MST survivors delay or forgo health care, particularly within Veterans Health Administration (VHA) settings. Institutional betrayal (IB) has been posited as a potential explanation for this. Objective: The current study examined if IB was associated with women veterans' willingness to seek VHA and non-VHA mental health and medical care, prior use of VHA care, past year use of VHA care, and use of VHA and non-VHA MST-related care. Method: Participants were 242 women veterans who screened positive for MST and completed self-report measures of IB and willingness to seek VHA and non-VHA mental health and medical care. Use of VHA care was assessed through VA Corporate Data Warehouse data. Results: IB was associated with lower willingness to use VHA medical care and higher willingness to use non-VHA mental health care. Although IB was not significantly associated with prior use of VHA care, participants who reported more IB were more likely to have used VHA care in the past year and to have used both VHA and non-VHA MST-related care. Conclusion: These findings illuminate the relationship between the institutional response to MST with women's help-seeking willingness and use. Addressing IB may be important for increasing women MST survivors' willingness to use VHA medical care. Additionally, as IB was associated with greater willingness to use non-VHA mental health care, non-VHA institutions and providers should be prepared to serve women veterans who have experienced MST-related IB. Clinical Impact StatementAmong women veterans who experience military sexual trauma (MST), those who experience institutional betrayal report that they are less willing to use Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical care and are more willing to use non-VHA mental health care. Institutional betrayal is also associated with being more likely to have used VHA and non-VHA MST-related health care and VHA care in the past year. Clinicians in both non-VHA and VHA settings should be prepared to work with women MST survivors who have experienced institutional betrayal. Addressing institutional betrayal is recommended to increase women MST survivors' willingness to use VHA medical care.

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“…A key finding was that police believed that many women were unwilling to help themselves by changing their online behaviors. A study on institutional betrayal and domestic violence found that women’s perceptions of betrayal by institutions after reporting domestic violence had detrimental mental health consequences, including depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress, and anxiety (Lee et al, 2019).…”

Section: Institutional Betrayal and Griefmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Living in the Darkness”: Technology-Facilitated Coercive Control, Disenfranchised Grief, and Institutional Betrayal

Woodlock

Salter

Dragiewicz

et al. 2022

Violence Against Women

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This article draws on interviews with 20 Australian women subjected to technology-facilitated coercive control (TFCC), foregrounding their accounts of grief and institutional betrayal. Findings show that while the harms of TFCC were significant, survivors’ experiences were often minimized and dismissed by justice institutions. Women experienced grief due to abuse and separation from partners who had betrayed them. This loss was compounded when seeking help. We propose that disenfranchised grief is an underexplored response to domestic violence and institutional betrayal as well as a potential intervention site, particularly in relation to technology-facilitated abuse.

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Intimate Partner Violence and Psychological Maladjustment: Examining the Role of Institutional Betrayal Among Survivors

Cited by 5 publications

References 34 publications

Legal abuse and mental health: The role of judicial betrayal.

Legal abuse and mental health: The role of judicial betrayal.

Institutional betrayal and help-seeking among women survivors of military sexual trauma.

“Living in the Darkness”: Technology-Facilitated Coercive Control, Disenfranchised Grief, and Institutional Betrayal

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