Intimate partner violence (IPV) and its associated factors may vary according to women’s age. In this study, we analyze the effect of age on help-seeking behavior and the associated factors among women exposed to IPV in Spain. Using the Spanish Macrosurvey on Gender Violence of 2014, we analyzed the frequency of help-seeking behavior (police report, formal resources, and informal networks of support) in women who were exposed to lifetime physical/sexual or fear-based IPV (n = 1,567 women). We used Poisson regression models to obtain variables associated with support resources. The analysis was carried out in three age groups: young women (16–29 years old), adults (30–49 years old), and older women (50 years and over). Our results show that informal support networks are the most used resource by all women´s age groups. The probability of filing a police complaint increases among women exposured to physical IPV (PRadult : 1.58; PRelder : 2.17 ). The probability of using formal resources decreased among older women with low family socioeconomic status (PR: 0.80) and in adult women exposed to sexual IPV (PR: 0.78), and increased among young women and adult Spanish women (PRyoung: 1.65; PRadult: 1.34). The use of informal support networks increased among adult women with physical and mental health effects (PR: 1.22). In older women use of informal support networks was associated with the type of IPV (PRphysical: 1.14; PRsexual: 0.88). The presence of minors who witnessed IPV increased help-seeking behavior among adult and older women.
In conclusion, the knowledge of the differences in help-seeking strategies by women in different age groups could contribute to designing strategies to promote women’s ability to seek formal help when exposed to IPV.
AlexanderP. C., TracyA., RadekM., & KoverolaC. (2009). Predicting stages of change in battered women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24(10), 1652–1672.
2.
AshleyO. S., & FosheeV. A. (2005). Adolescent help-seeking for dating violence: prevalence, sociodemographic correlates, and sources of help. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36(1), 25–31.
3.
BaragattiD. Y., CarlosD. M., Cruz-LeitãoDa, M.N. Carvallo-Ferriani M. D.G., & Maria-SilvaE. (2018). Critical path of women in situations of intimate partner violence. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem, 26, e3025.
4.
BaragattiD. Y., RolimA. C. A., de CastroC. P., de Melo.M. C., & SilvaE. M. (2019) Critical pathway of women facing violence: an integrative review. Revista Panamericana de Salud Publica, 43, e34.
5.
Briones-VozmedianoE., ParraLa D. Vives-CasesC. (2015). Barriers and facilitators to effective coverage of intimate partner violence services for immigrant women in Spain. Health Expectations, 18(6), 2994–3006.
6.
BundockK., ChanC., & HewittO. (2018). Adolescents’ help-seeking behavior and intentions following adolescent dating violence: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 21(2), 350–366. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018770412
7.
Herrero-AriasR., Ortiz-BarredaG., HollekimR., Briones-VozmedianoE., & Vives-CasesC. (2019). The position of the child in the life experiences of immigrant survivors of intimate partner violence: A study of service providers’ perspectives in Spain. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519889931
8.
Domingo-SalvanyA., BacigalupeA., CarrascoJ. M., EspeltA., FerrandoJ., & BorrellC. (2013). Proposals for social class classification based on the Spanish National Classification of Occupations 2011 using neo-Weberian and neo-Marxist approaches. Gaceta Sanitaria, 27(3), 263–272.
9.
Fernández-FuertesA. A., & FuertesA. (2010). Physical and psychological aggression in dating relationships of Spanish adolescents: motives and consequences. Child Abuse & Neglect, 34(3), 83–91.
10.
FlemingP. J., McCleary-SillsJ., MortonM., LevtovR., HeilmanB., & BarkerG. (2015). Risk factors for men’s lifetime perpetration of physical violence against intimate partners: Results from the international men and gender equality survey (IMAGES) in eight countries. PLoS One, 10(3), e0118639.
11.
ForkeC. M., MyersR. K., FeinJ. A., CatallozziM., LocalioA. R., WiebeD. J., & GrissoJ. A. (2018). Witnessing intimate partner violence as a child: How boys and girls model their parents' behaviors in adolescence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 84, 241–252.
12.
Garcia-MorenoC., JansenH. A., EllsbergM., HeiseL., WattsC. H. &WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women Study Team. (2006). Prevalence of intimate partner violence: Findings from the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence. Lancet, 368(9543), 1260–1269.
13.
KellyU. (2009). “I'm a mother first”: The influence of mothering in the decision-making processes of battered immigrant Latino women. Research in Nursing & Health, 32, 286–297.
14.
LeeY. P., NgaimanN. K. B., PoonL. Y., JalilAbdul, H.B. Yap M.H., AbdinE., SubramaniamM., LeeH. Verma S.K. (2019). Evaluating Singapore’s CHAT assessment service by the World Mental Health Organization (WHO) “youth-friendly” health services framework. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10, 422.
15.
LundyM., & GrossmanS. F. (2009). Domestic violence service users: A comparison of older and younger women victims. Journal of Family Violence, 24, 297–309.
16.
MartinC. E., HoustonA. M., MmariK. N., & DeckerM. R. (2012). Urban teens and young adults describe drama, disrespect, dating violence and help-seeking preferences. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 16, 957–966.
17.
MeyeS. (2010). Seeking Help to Protect the Children? The Influence of Children on Women’s Decisions to Seek Help When Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence. Journal of Family Violence, 25, 713–725.
18.
MolidorC., & TolmanR. M. (1998). Gender and contextual factors in adolescent dating violence. Violence Against Women, 4, 180–194.
19.
MorteruelM., Rodriguez-AlvarezE., MartinU., & BacigalupeA. (2018). Inequalities in Health Services Usage in a National Health System Scheme: The Case of a Southern Social European Region. Nursing Research, 67, 26–34.
20.
OcampoB. W., ShelleyG. A., & JaycoxL. H. (2007). Latino teens talk about help seeking and help giving in relation to dating violence. Violence Against Women, 13(2), 172–189.
21.
OrchowskiL. M., UntiedA. S., & GidyczC. A. (2013). Social reactions to disclosure of sexual victimization and adjustment among survivors of sexual assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(10), 2005–2023.
22.
Otero-GarcíaL., Briones-VozmedianoE., Vives-CasesC., García-QuintoM., Sanz-BarberoB., & GoicoleaI. (2018). A qualitative study on primary health care responses to intimate partner violence during the economic crisis in Spain. European Journal of Public Health, 28, 1000–1005.
23.
PathakN., DhairyawanR., & TariqS. (2019). The experience of intimate partner violence among older women: A narrative review. Maturitas, 121, 63–75.
24.
PrósperoM., & Vohra-GuptaS. (2008). The use of mental health services among victims of partner violence on college campuses. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 16(4), 376–390.
25.
RickwoodD., DeaneF. P., WilsonC. J., & CiarrochiJ. (2005). Young people’s help-seeking for mental health problems. Advances in Mental Health, 4(3), 218–251.
26.
RivasC., VigursC., CameronJ., & YeoL. (2019). A realist review of which advocacy interventions work for which abused women under what circumstances. Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews, 29, CD013135.
27.
RhodesK. V., CerulliC., DichterM. E., KothariC. L., & BargF. K. (2010). “I didn't want to put them through that”: The influence of children on victim decision-making in intimate partner violence cases. Journal of Family Violence, 25(5), 485–493.
28.
RosenbergN. E., BhushanN. L., VansiaD., PhangaT., MasekoB., NthaniT., LibaleC., BamuyaC., KamtsenderoL., KachigambaA., MyersL., TangJ., HosseinipourM. C., BekkerL. G., & PettiforA. E. (2018). Comparing youth-friendly health services to the standard of care through “girl power-Malawi”: A quasi-experimental cohort study. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 79(4), 458–466.
29.
SabinaC., CuevasC., & RodriguezR. M. (2014). Who to turn to? Help-seeking in response to teen dating violence among Latinos. Psychology of Violence, 4(3), 348–362.
30.
Sanz-BarberoB., ReyL., & Otero-GarciaL. (2014). Health status and intimate partner violence. Gaceta Sanitaria, 28, 102–108.
31.
Sanz-BarberoB., Vives-CasesC., Otero-GarcíaL., MuntanerC., Torrubiano-DomínguezJ., & O’CampoP. (2015). Intimate partner violence among women in Spain: the impact of regional-level male unemployment and income inequality. European Journal of Public Health, 25, 1105–1111.
32.
Sanz-BarberoB., Heras-MosterioJ., Otero-GarcíaL., & Vives-CasesC. (2016). Sociodemographic profile of femicide in Spain and its association with domestic abuse reporting. Gaceta Sanitaria, 30(4), 272–278.
33.
Sanz-BarberoB., PereiraLópez, P.Barrio G. Vives-CasesC. (2018). Intimate partner violence against young women: prevalence and associated factors in Europe. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 72, 611–616.
34.
Sanz-BarberoB., BarónN., & Vives-CasesC. (2019). Prevalence, associated factors and health impact of intimate partner violence against women in different life stages. PLoS One, 14, e0221049.
Statistical Division Publications of the United Nations. (2014). Guidelines for the production of statistics on violence against women: statistical surveys. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations.
38.
StöcklH., & PenhaleB. (2015). Intimate partner violence and its association with physical and mental health symptoms among older women in Germany. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30, 3089–3111.
39.
TyleeA., HallerD. M., GrahamT., ChurchillR., & SanciL. A. (2007). Youth-friendly primary-care services: how are we doing and what more needs to be done? The Lancet, 369(9572), 1565–73.
40.
VuN. L., JourilesE. N., McDonaldR., & RosenfieldD. (2016). Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence: A meta-analysis of longitudinal associations with child adjustment problems. Clinical Psychology Review, 46, 25–33.
41.
WeeksL. A., MacquarrieC., BegleyL., GillC., & LeblancK. D. (2016). Strengthening resources for midlife and older rural women who experience intimate partner violence. Journal of Women & Aging, 28(1), 46–57.
42.
Wolitzky-TaylorK. B., RuggieroK. J., DanielsonC. K., ResnickH. S., HansonR. F., SmithD. W., SaundersB. E., & KilpatrickD. G. (2008). Prevalence and correlates of dating violence in a national sample of adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(7), 755–762.
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
