Pandemic Pressures: Social Isolation,Financial Hardship,and Negative Emotional Affect as Risk Factors for Physical Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had widespread social and economic impacts, and these stressors may have motivated intimate partner violence (IPV) during this timeframe. The present study takes a strain-theoretic approach to this topic, drawing on recent survey data from the United States (n = 1,195; 54 who reported physical IPV perpetration) to examine the extent to which social isolation and financial hardship were associated with physical IPV perpetration during the first year of the pandemic. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the association between these risk factors and the probability of self-reported physical IPV perpetration. Next, we employed the Karlson, Holm, Breen method to estimate whether these associations were mediated by negative emotional affect. We found both social isolation and financial hardship to be associated with increased risk of IPV perpetration. Adjusting for other social and demographic factors, a unit increase in social isolation was associated with a 118% increase in odds of IPV perpetration, (logit coefficient = 0.78, odds ratio = 2.18, z = 2.79; p = .005), while a unit increase in financial hardship was associated with a 167% increase in odds of IPV perpetration (logit coefficient = 0.98, odds ratio = 2.67, z = 5.61, p < .001). Substantial portions of both associations were mediated by negative emotional affect, particularly anger. These findings suggest that General Strain Theory is a useful lens for understanding how the social and economic consequences of the pandemic mattered for IPV. Efforts to mitigate IPV, particularly in the wake of similar societal crises, may benefit from a focus on social, economic, and mental health support for vulnerable populations.