Intimate partner violence in Appalachia : a study of relationship violence among community college students in Southern Appalachia

Few studies have directly assessed the occurrence of intimate partner violence in the Appalachian region. High levels of man-to-woman violence, as well as woman-to-man violence, are described by Fitchen (1981) in her research on marriage in Appalachia However research studies on this topic are largely qualitative in nature and therefore do not allow for quantification of rates of violent interaction or comparison with prevalence rates from other regions. In conjunction with the International Dating Violence Consortium, students at a community college in the Appalachian region completed questionnaires about their experiences with intimate partner violence (n =116) Twenty-four percent of female participants and 25% of male participants report being violent towards an intimate partner in the past year. These perpetration rates are comparable to those obtained in other student samples and do not provide support for theories about heightened violence in this region or culture. Communication problems and dominance are significant predictors of physical assault and injury Incidence of victimization and perpetration are related to degree of identification with traditional values. Women who have been injured by their partners report more depressive symptoms However, for males, victimization and perpetration are not related to measures of depressive symptoms