What Factors Contribute to Positive Mental Health for Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence?

Abstract

Aims: The possibility of better outcomes for women in the intimate partner violence (IPV) context is an emerging and relatively unexplored area of interest. In this thesis, I explored the factors associated with positive mental health outcomes, using a holistic and multidimensional measure of positive mental health. Methods: I took data from He Koiora Matapopore (the 2019 Family Violence Study), a population-based study collecting data on 2,887 men and women aged 16 and over in New Zealand. I applied a population health perspective and a feminist empirical lens. Firstly, we (with co-authors) conducted confirmatory factor analysis to explore the psychometric properties of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, a measure of positive mental health used in the study. Second, we created a multivariable logistic model to explore the factors contributing to positive mental health in a sample of women with exposure to IPV. Third, we carried out structural equation modelling to explore which aspects of social support contributed to positive mental in this sample. Finally, I synthesised the key findings using a socio-ecological framework. Results: Results demonstrate confidence that the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form can be used to measure positive mental health for a general sample of the New Zealand population. Safety from abuse emerged as key factor enabling positive mental health outcomes in the IPV context, as well as ongoing social support. Negative reactions to disclosures was negatively associated with positive mental health. Individual factors (e.g., general health, socio-economic factors) and receiving formal support did not have significant associations with positive mental health. The structural equation modelling identified the key role that friends, families and neighbours had in contributing to positive mental health. Importantly, the benefits of social support were consistent regardless of socio-demographic factors and severity. The results reinforced the findings of the multivariable regression by demonstrating that in the absence of safety from violence, social support is not enough to contribute to positive mental health. Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that social factors matter the most in contributing to positive mental health following experience of IPV. Whilst the detrimental effects of IPV should never be minimised, findings suggest communities should better support women who have exposure to IPV. This could be through enhanced resourcing of community supports, education, and coordinated community responses.