Date of Award

January 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Counseling Psychology & Community Services

First Advisor

Kara Wettersten

Abstract

Researchers have found psychological intimate partner violence (P-IPV; defined as emotional and verbal abuse utilized to degrade, demean, create fear, control, or isolate; Tolman, 1989; Sullivan et al., 2012) is detrimental to mental health functioning, including increased sexual risk behaviors, depressive and anxious symptomology, and relationship dissatisfaction (Hellemans et al., 2015; Overstreet et al., 2015). Despite this, little is known regarding the academic and psychological lived experiences of survivors of P-IPV. Therefore, the current study sought to qualitatively explore the lived experiences of female-identified students exposed to psychological intimate partner violence while in college. Through a Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR; Hill et al., 1997) framework, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 female-identified college survivors of P-IPV to explore the unique experiences of P-IPV within a college sample. Transcriptions of the interviews were reviewed by a team of researchers to develop domains, categories, and core ideas of the participant data. Domains emerged including: (a) Control and Manipulation Tactics, (b) Conceptualization of P-IPV, (c) Impact of P-IPV, (d) Involvement with Support Systems, (e) Awareness and Prevention Strategies, (f) Sense of Safety, and (g) Environmental Factors. Results provided a robust and unique dialogue regarding the lived experiences of survivors of P-IPV that were consistent with prior findings on P-IPV. However, results from the current study also expanded existing theory on IPV victimization within the Belongingness Hypothesis (Baumeister & Leary, 1995) to further understand the relationship between P-IPV and the detrimental impact of P-IPV on college survivors.

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