Trajectories of Intimate Partner Violence and Help-Seeking Among Older Adult Women in the Southwest United States: A Life Course Perspective

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a common experience among (lifetime prevalence 16.5% - 54.5%); however, current research, intervention programs, and policies tend to target women of child-bearing age, leaving older adult women feeling unseen and unheard. The purpose of this study was to provide a more accurate picture of violence against women over the life course. Guided by Life Course Theory, the characteristics of trajectories of IPV events and IPV-related help-seeking were assessed among a sample of community-dwelling women aged 60 or older residing in the Southwest United States (n = 52). Semi-structured retrospective interviews were conducted using a Life History Calendar (LHC). The characteristics of trajectories of IPV by type (physical, psychological, sexual) and by frequency (high, low) were examined. The impact of experiencing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) on trajectories of violence were analyzed to account for childhood victimization in the life course. To better understand IPV-related help-seeking behaviors, the characteristics of trajectories of IPV-related help-seeking by age, type of IPV, and frequency of IPV were examined. Generalized linear mixed modeling was used to evaluate whether the probability of experiencing IPV and seeking IPV-related help changed over the life course. Half of the women in the sample experienced IPV at age 45 or later (n = 28; 53.8%), with approximately one-quarter of the women in an intimate relationship reporting IPV at time of interview (n = 6; 27.3%). Findings revealed curvilinear characteristics of IPV experience by type and frequency over the life course, with the probability of IPV events increasing earlier in life then decreasing later in life. Compared to previous studies that report IPV events decreasing in the latter 20s, the probability of experiencing IPV events increased later into adulthood (mid to late thirties among women in the study sample). The probability of seeking IPV-related help increased earlier in the life course and then declined, with the occurrence of IPV of all types significantly affecting trajectories of help-seeking behavior. Findings from this study contribute evidence needed for the recommendation of IPV screening into older adulthood and the adaptation of supportive services for older women seeking IPV-related help.