Using the Contextual Model of Family Stress, discuss IPV.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers may include:
aStressor (A) The degree of stress produced in each family could vary, depending on the source (e.g., internal vs. external), type (e.g., normative/predictable vs. catastrophic/unexpected), duration (e.g., chronic vs. acute), and density (e.g., cumulative vs. isolated) of the stressor event. Thus, a woman who is physically abused by her husband for the first time after 5 years of marriage would likely perceive IPV differently from another woman who has been physically abused consistently for the past 5 years of her marriage. Research suggests that the severity and type of abuse does influence a victim’s response and help-seeking behaviors. Generally, the more severe and frequent the violence, the more likely IPV victims are to seek help (Duterte et al., 2008).
Resources (B) Partner violence research has consistently identified the role of social support as a protective factor in mitigating the harmful mental health effects of IPV (e.g., depression) and increasing the quality of life for abused women over time (Beeble, Bybee, Sullivan, & Adams, 2009; Coker, Smith et al., 2002). Economic resources also play a comparable role. Historically, higher rates of IPV have been found among low-income and poor families (Rennison & Planty, 2003). Goodman, Smyth, Borges, and Singer (2009) theorized that when IPV and poverty intersect, the combination of stress, powerlessness, and social isolation puts victims at risk of developing emotional difficulties such as PTSD and depression. Indeed, the lack of economic resources and resulting social and structural conditions seem central in proliferating the cycle of violence for families in poverty.
Perception (C) Perceptions of reality can be distorted (Boss, 2002), which is why so many victims’ initial response to IPV is to deny its existence. Because they often view their relationships through rose-colored glasses, victims tend to minimize IPV and disengage from the current reality of their situation (Shir, 1999). However, as Boss puts it, “when even one family member begins to see things differently . . . change is on the way,”.
Stress or crisis (X) When the level of stress (and the abuse) becomes too overwhelming for the family, it can lead to a crisis. Boss (2002) describes family crisis as a state of “acute disequilibrium”, where the family system hits a breaking point and is believed to have become dysfunctional. Qualitative studies of IPV suggest that the turning point from stress to crisis may be marked by an event or a series of events that lead to the realization the situation will never get better (Khaw & Hardesty, 2007).
The external context surrounding the individual or family is one they have little control over.