Changes in Mental Health, Emotional Distress, and Substance Use Affecting Women Experiencing Violence and Their Service Providers during COVID-19 in a U.S. Southern State

Abstract

Research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed many unintended consequences of mandated safety precautions, including increased perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV), increases in substance use, and worsening mental health conditions. We conducted a repeated, cross-sectional survey of survivors of IPV, a longitudinal survey of service providers working in an IPV shelter, and interviews with both. We conducted surveys at the beginning of the pandemic and nearly half a year later to assess mental health and, for clients, substance use. Results showed that two small samples of survivors living in the shelter in 2020 and 2021 experienced both mental health decline and increased use of substances. Qualitative data from in-depth interviews suggest that COVID-19-related restrictions mirrored survivors' experiences of power and control in violent relationships. Further, IPV service providers-essential workers during COVID-19-experienced stress associated with reports of burnout and mental fatigue. This study suggests that community-based organizations can help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on survivors of IPV but should avoid adding additional work for staff as service providers experienced mental and emotional stress.

Keywords: COVID-19; intimate partner violence; mental health; power and control; substance use.

Figure 1

The Duluth Models Power and Control Wheel [49]. Reprinted with written permission from Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs (DAIP) of Duluth, MN.

Figure 2

COVID-19 power and control wheel. Duluth’s Power and Control Wheel [49] was used as a framework to show how COVID-19 emphasized and provided new examples of IPV. This adaptation was first presented by Bauer et al. [50] at the 14th Annual InWomen’s Conference.