Intimate partner violence in female African-American college students

This study examined the variables of relationship status, social desirability, socio-economic status, classification (academic levels), and religious affiliation in African-American women to understand the effects of these variables on reported intimate partner violence (IPV). A total of 301 African-American women participated in this study with a majority ( n = 246; 81.7%) reporting no history of being in an abusive relationship and fifty-five (18.3%) of the participants reporting a history of IPV. Overall, older participants had a higher risk of experiencing IPV. The IPV that these older participants endured was more likely associated with sexual coercion rather than physical assault or physical injuries. Older participants (who were more likely to report IPV) were also linked to having higher levels of spirituality, attending more religious services, and being in a higher classification group. Relationship status was not significantly associated with IPV. However, socio-economic level was a significant predictor of relational aggression—the lower the socio-economic level, the higher the risk of IPV. Other significant predictors were age, sexual problems, and psychological aggression. Interestingly, lower reported levels of psychological aggression were related to higher risk of relationship violence