Child-Focused and Economic Stability Service Requests and Barriers to Service Access Among Intimate Partner Violence...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure in childhood is common, with impacts on lifespan well-being. However, there are knowledge gaps about needs and barriers to services for IPV survivors with children.

We analyzed data from adults aged ≥ 19 years who resided in the U.S., were experiencing IPV, and who contacted the National Domestic Violence Hotline from 1/1/2017-12/31/2021 (N = 599,207). Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) and 95% CIs were calculated to compare differences in IPV exposure, service requests, and service access barriers for IPV survivors with and without children at home, adjusting for age, gender, and race/ethnicity. We examined time trends (2017-2021), with comparisons before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many adult IPV survivors (42.6%) reported having a child at home; survivors with children reported greater polyvictimization (mean IPV types: 2.27, SD: 1.03) than those without children (M: 2.06, SD: 1.04). A small proportion of those with children requested support identifying child-focused services (4.1%); a greater proportion of those with children (30.8%) requested economic stability services compared to those without children (25.2%) (aPR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.15-1.17). Additionally, 33.1% of survivors with children at home reported having any service access barrier; this was 16% higher than adult IPV survivors without children (28.7%) (aPR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.15-1.17). There were changes over time, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

IPV survivors with children need additional supports; organizations serving IPV survivors with children may consider the unique needs and victimization profile of this population when designing interventions and services.