Social Reactions Received by Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Validation of Key Constructs From the Social Reactions Questionnaire

Abstract

The majority of intimate partner violence survivors tell at least one person about the abuse, and the reactions of these support providers can have a profound impact on survivors’ recovery. In recent years, the Social Reactions Questionnaire (SRQ) has become the predominant measure of social reactions toward intimate partner violence survivors, but the SRQ was developed based on the experiences of sexual assault survivors only. To determine how well intimate partner violence survivors’ descriptions of social reactions from informal support providers align with constructs in the SRQ, we examined qualitative interview data about survivors’ interactions with informal support providers obtained from a larger study with 113 female survivors of intimate partner violence. Excerpts were coded inductively, and a total of 12 types of social reactions emerged. Seven of these social reactions aligned with existing social reactions in the SRQ: (a) emotional support, (b) tangible aid, (c) blame, (d) took control, (e) treated differently, (f) egocentric reactions, and (g) distraction. An additional six reactions emerged as separate constructs, including (h) minimization, (i) told to leave, (j) advice, (k) interventions, and (l) indifference. These findings highlight the need for direct interventions with friends and family members to improve social reactions toward intimate partner violence survivors.

“If He Were a Terrorist, You Would Have Caught Him Already”: The Experience of Divorce Denial Among Intimate Partner Violence Survivors

“…One of the most frequent responses IPV survivors encounter when sharing is “Why don’t you just leave the relationship?” (Ahrens et al, 2021; Peled et al, 2000). This reaction fails to consider the phenomenon of separation abuse (Mahoney, 1991), which is a different form of violence and power and control tactic that has been identified in the literature as used by spouses during, and after, separation (Adelman, 2000, 2017).…”

A Qualitative Analysis of How Individuals Utilized the Twitter Hashtags #NotOkay and #MeToo to Comment on the Perpetration of Interpersonal Violence

“…The process of disclosing experience of interpersonal violence may facilitate healing and positive psychological well-being, particularly when responses to disclosure are perceived as positive via listening, encouraging, or sympathizing (Taku et al, 2009). Most interpersonal violence victims disclose their experience to at least one person (e.g., Sylaska & Edwards, 2014) and often disclose to more (Ahrens et al, 2021; Filipas & Ullman, 2001). The most common recipients of these disclosures are friends and family (e.g., Ahrens et al, 2021; Fanslow & Robinson, 2010; Orchowski & Gidycz, 2012).…”

“…Most interpersonal violence victims disclose their experience to at least one person (e.g., Sylaska & Edwards, 2014) and often disclose to more (Ahrens et al, 2021; Filipas & Ullman, 2001). The most common recipients of these disclosures are friends and family (e.g., Ahrens et al, 2021; Fanslow & Robinson, 2010; Orchowski & Gidycz, 2012). Disclosure of interpersonal violence allows survivors to develop a coherent and contextualized narrative of their experience (Harp et al, 2018; Starzynski et al, 2005).…”

Disclosure Recipients’ Perceptions Related to Helping Victims of Dating and Sexual Violence

“…While much of the research on social reactions to disclosure has focused on disclosure of sexual violence, qualitative research has confirmed that the types of reactions provided to dating violence survivors are largely similar (e.g., emotional support, tangible aid, and blame; Ahrens et al, 2021). Also, quantitative research shows that negative social reactions are similarly associated with negative psychological outcomes following dating violence (DePrince et al, 2014; Edwards, Dardis, 2015; Schackner et al, 2017; Sullivan et al, 2010).…”