Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Women Interpersonal Violence Survivors
Abstract
Women have a significant risk of experiencing interpersonal violence over the course of
their lifetime. There has been some suggestion that this risk has been exacerbated by the
isolation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed study will evaluate
levels of stress associated with interpersonal violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Depression, coronavirus anxiety, Posttraumatic symptoms, and COVID-19 stress levels
will be evaluated. It is hypothesized that participants who experienced interpersonal
violence (childhood abuse, physical assault, unwanted sexual experiences, and/or
intimate partner violence) will endorse higher levels of COVID-19 stress, Posttraumatic
symptoms, depression. These outcomes would be mediated by experiential avoidance.
Moreover, there would be an increase in COVID-19 stress in those experiencing more
types of exposure to interpersonal violence. Finally, barriers to assistance seeking
behavior will be explored.