The Experiences of Adults Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence as Children: An Exploratory Qualitative Study of Resilience and Protective Factors

Research indicates a large percentage of children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) experience psychological, social, cognitive, behavioral, and physical problems. These deficits can have overwhelming long-term problems for children. Although there is some evidence of the intergenerational cycle of violence, not all children exposed to IPV encounter abuse in their adult relationships. This study qualitatively explored the protective factors or resiliencies that contribute to adaptive outcomes of adults exposed to IPV as children. Ten major and five minor themes emerged from this analysis. These themes were organized into internal factors/individual characteristics, family factors, and external factors. Implications for practice are also discussed. KEYWORDS: Risk factorsexposure to intimate partner violenceexposure to intimate partner abusequalitative research Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank Nancy E. Johnson, PhD, JD, for her assistance and guidance in the completion of this research study. Notes 1. It should be noted that two of the protocols in the current study may be invalid due to inflated scores on the DAPS' validity scales. Peter had an elevated score on the negative bias scale, suggesting that he presented himself in an overly symptomatic way (T-score = 88). Lydia had an elevated T-score on the positive bias scale, suggesting that she responded in a defensive manner (T-score = 100+). While the normative sample of the DAPS was comparable in ethnicity and race to the larger population (CitationBriere, 2001), it is important to note that the two invalid profiles in this study were from Latino and African-American participants. It is uncertain if this measure is culturally sensitive and to date there is no information about the validity of the DAPS with ethnic or racial groups. However, data from these two participants were included in the study despite the elevated validity scores because the results from the PAS indicated that they were most likely not experiencing any clinical problems.