Brief report Changes in intimate partner violence during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA Katelyn K Jetelina , Gregory Knell, Rebecca J Molsberry
the severity and type of abuse, changed during early stay-at-home policies. The purpose of this study is to describe the impact of COVID-19 on the change of IPV severity among a convenience sample of adults residing in the USA. We hypothesised that self-reported IPV worsened following the initiation of the pandemic. This cross-sectional analysis was part of a larger study aimed to measure behavioural responses to the novel SARS coronavirus outbreak and subsequent shelter-in-place and work-from-home policies. Study setting and population sample A 15 min survey was distributed through the authors’ university, department, lab and private social media accounts (ie, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) and to professional email distribution lists (eg, American Public Health Asso- ciation, Society of Behavioral Medicine). Eligible participants must have been residing in the USA and over the age of 18 to provide consent. The survey was open for 14 days in April 2020. The posts reached approximately 47 796 social media users, of which, 2766 (5.7%) agreed to participate and were eligible (figure 1). The current study only includes those that answered positively to currently having an intimate partner (n=1759). METHODS Study design Measures IPV was measured using the validated 5-item, Extended Hurt, Insulted, Threated and Scream (E-HITS) construct. 12 Participants responded to, “How often does your partner: (1) physically hurt you; (2) insult or talk down to you; (3) threaten you with harm; (4) scream or curse at you; (5) force you to have sexual activities”. Each item was answered on a 5-point Likert scale: 1=never; 2=rarely; 3=sometimes; 4=fairly often; 5=frequently. Responses were summed (range 5–25) and partic- ipants were considered IPV positive if they had a cut-off score of 7 or greater (sensitivity=75%; specificity=85%). 12 COVID-19-related IPV severity: of the partic- ipants that screened positive for E-HITS, a follow-up question was asked: “Since the corona- virus outbreak, has this gotten… 1) Much better; 2) Somewhat better; 3) Stayed the same; 4) Somewhat worse; and 5) Much worse”. Response categories were further categorised into: (1) much better/ somewhat better; (2) stayed the same; and (3) somewhat worse/much worse.
ABSTRACT The objective of this study is to describe intimate partner violence (IPV) severity and types of victimization during the early states of the COVID19 pandemic. A survey was distributed through social media and email distribution lists. The survey was open for 14 days in April 2020 and 2441 participated. Information on IPV, COVID19-related IPV severity, sociodemographics, and COVID19-related behaviors (eg, job loss) were collected. Regression models were used to evaluate COVID19-related IPV severity across victimization types and sociodemographics. 18% screened positive for IPV. Among the respondents that screened positive, 54% stated the victimization remained the same since the COVID19 outbreak, while 17% stated it worsened and 30% stated it got better. The odds of worsening victimization during the pandemic was significantly higher among physical and sexual violence. While the majority of IPV participants reported victimization to remain the same, sexual and physical violence was exacerbated during the early stages of the pandemic. Addressing victimization during the pandemic (and beyond) must be multi-sectorial. INTRODUCTION Nationwide stay-at-home policies following the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly interrupted daily life and introduced strains or exacerbated stressors (like job loss, poor mental health and lack of social support) across the USA. 1 2 Past literature has shown parenting stress, 3 economic hardship, 4 food insecurity, 5 eviction threat and utilities non- payment 5 increase the risk of violence, like intimate partner violence (IPV). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define IPV as abuse or aggression that occurs in a close relationship of current or former spouses and dating partners. 6 The World Health Organization (WHO) 7 and European Commission 8 recently summarised evidence indicating a ‘shadow pandemic’, with the strong potential of increased IPV across the globe as seen during the Ebola pandemic. 9 In the beginning of the pandemic (March–April), community-based victim organisations reported 25%–50% increase in hotline calls, up to 150% increase in website traffic and a 12.5% increase in IPV related police activity. 10 Conversely, by the end of April, the International Rescue Committee found a dramatic drop in the number of reported cases due to the suspension of protection services for women and restrictions on mobility, lack of information and increased isola- tion. 11 However, no scientific study has evaluated whether self-reported victimisation, and specifically
School of Public Health, Dallas Regional Campus, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Dallas, Texas, USA Correspondence to Dr Katelyn K Jetelina, School of Public Health, Dallas Regional Campus, University of Texas Health Science Center, Dallas, TX 77030, USA; katelyn.k.jetelina@ uth.tmc.edu
Received 16 May 2020 Revised 20 August 2020 Accepted 22 August 2020 Published Online First 1 September 2020
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No
To cite: Jetelina KK, Knell G, Molsberry RJ. Inj Prev 2021; 27 :93–97. commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Jetelina KK, et al . Inj Prev 2021; 27 :93–97. doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2020-043831
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