Contributing Factors to Reporting Intimate Partner Violence as a Clinical Concern

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent problem in clinical populations. However, many couples experiencing IPV do not report it to their therapists, and many therapists do not systematically screen for IPV. This creates a dangerous situation where IPV is going unidentified, placing couples at risk for future violence and limiting the effectiveness of therapy. The purpose of this study was to identify whether there were differences in psychopathology, relationship satisfaction, substance use, post-traumatic stress symptoms, perception of safety, and childhood violence exposures between couples who report IPV as a clinical concern versus those who do not. ANOVAs, chi-square, and dyadic multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted with a clinical sample of 1,208 individuals to examine differences between participants among the chosen variables and to determine which participants may be more likely to report IPV as a clinical concern. Results indicated that participants who were more distressed were more likely to report IPV as a clinical concern. Implications for clinical work, including the need for consistent, systematic screening, and future directions for research on this topic are discussed.