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Gunendra R. K. Dissanayake

University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Trauma Never Ending: The Impact of Different Forms of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) on Women’s Psychological Well-being

Abstract. The objective of the present study was to investigate the relative contribution of psychological, sexual and physical abuse to the development of psychological distress among women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in Sri Lanka. A sample of 200 help seeking ever-partnered women recruited from ten women help centers from five districts in Sri Lanka completed a several structured questionnaires measuring different types of abuse, and psychological symptoms, as well as demographic variables. Findings show that there was a high degree of overlap between the different types of abuse, in 79 % of cases physical, sexual and psychological abuse occurring together. Multiple regression analyses revealed that psychological abuse was a stronger predictor of psychological distress, memory problems, problems in general functioning, and attempts of suicide than physical and sexual abuse, even though psychological, physical, and sexual abuse experiences were highly correlated. Psychological abuse contributed uniquely to the prediction of psychological distress, even after controlling for the effects of physical and sexual abuse. Results highlight the importance of examining the effects of less visible forms of IPV like psychological abuse, independent of physical forms of abuse, to understand its impact on victims.

Keywords: intimate partner violence, mental health, psychological distress, Sri Lanka

1 Introduction

Intimate partner violence (IPV) causes...