Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Can Have Profound Traumatic Effects and is Pervasive Among People Accessing Treatment Services
A large body of research demonstrates that experiencing abuse by an intimate partner is associated with a range of behavioral health consequences. Some are the direct results of violence; others are related to the traumatic psychophysiological effects of ongoing abuse. Both clinical and population-based studies indicate that victimization by an intimate partner places people at significantly higher risk for substance use disorder, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, insomnia, chronic pain, and suicide attempts, regardless of whether they have suffered physical injury. In addition, there are high rates of IPV among people accessing services in substance use disorder treatment settings (Warshaw & Zapata-Alma, 2020; Phillips, 2014; Dillon et al., 2013; Nathanson et al., 2012; Trevillion et al., 2012; Howard et al., 2013; Riviera et al., 2015; Warshaw et al., 2009).