Intimate Partner Violence Within the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Associations Among Veterans

Times of heighted societal stress exacerbate of intimate partner violence (IPV) and emerging research suggests IPV increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of this work, is cross-sectional and does not include United States veterans, a population at increased risk for IPV. The current study addresses these gaps by examining changes in IPV and risk factors of IPV among post-9/11 veterans.

Veterans (N = 153) residing in Central Texas completed online self-report surveys across four time points spanning from June 2020 (2.5 months after mandatory shutdowns in Texas) to February 2021 (after most major restrictions were lifted in Texas). Measures assessed IPV experience and use, social isolation, global mental health, alcohol and substance use, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and pandemic-related job loss.

In multilevel models with time nested within individual, IPV experience and use decreased across the study period; the size of this decrease was quite small. Increases in social isolation were associated with IPV experience. Greater substance use at the first assessment, poorer global mental health at the first assessment, and worsening mental health were associated with IPV use. Job loss, alcohol use, and PTSD symptoms were not associated with experience or use of IPV.

The current study observed slightly declining patterns of IPV across the first year of the pandemic. These findings speak to the enduring effects of heightened societal stress on IPV and underscore the impact of social isolation, mental health, and substance use beyond the direct effects of such stress.