Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence, Alcohol Use, and Mental Health Symptoms Among College Students
Open Access
- Author:
- Doshi, Khushi
- Area of Honors:
- Science
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Jocelyn Anderson, Thesis Supervisor
Ronald Albert Markle, Thesis Honors Advisor
Jill Wood, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- Intimate Partner Violence
IPV
Sexual Violence
Alcohol Use
Mental Health
Public Health
College
Campus - Abstract:
- Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a growing public health problem that is overwhelmingly prevalent among college-age young adults. Alcohol use and negative mental health symptoms are commonly associated with IPV with complex bidirectional relationships. However, not much work has explored the phenomena from the students’ perspectives. This secondary qualitative analysis examined interviews from a parent study in which participants talked about their alcohol, IPV, sexual violence (SV), and mental health experiences. The eligibility criteria for this sample were that participants had to have experienced IPV and did not endorse a disability in the parent study. The analytic sample consisted of fourteen participants who were majority white (64.3%, n=9), self-identified as solely heterosexual (71.4%, n= 10), and female (64.3%, n=9). Analysis of the interview transcripts was conducted using descriptive and thematic analysis approaches. Following the analysis, three themes were identified: 1) alcohol leading to IPV, 2) IPV leading to worsening mental health symptoms, and 3) help-seeking behaviors. Each of these themes had several subthemes and provided a comprehensive overview of the complex, multidirectional relationship between IPV, mental health symptoms, and alcohol use. These findings call for holistic IPV interventions that are individualized on a case-by-case basis and focus on 1) incorporating alcohol related content and interventions, 2) include campus and community-based resources and focus on building support systems, and 3) educate lay people such as friends and family members about IPV resources available for survivors.