Women’s Reports of Suicidality as a Result of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

The link between intimate partner violence (IPV) and suicidality has been well-established in empirical literature; yet, these phenomena are typically measured independently and associated via statistical tests. The purpose of this study was to assess whether women reported suicidality directly due to their experiences of IPV victimization. Data were collected from 150 women who experienced IPV and were receiving civil legal services in a Midwest state in the United States. Women were asked if they ever had suicidal thoughts, made suicidal gestures, made a plan for suicide, or attempted suicide as a result of the abuse they experienced from their intimate partner. Women were also asked about suicidality as a result of childhood maltreatment, along with aspects of well-being. Nearly 45% of the sample (n = 67) reported some form of suicidality as a result of IPV. There were no group differences in women’s reports of suicidality (lifetime-only, past year/lifetime, none) with respect to any sociodemographic characteristics; however, physical IPV was greater among women who reported both past year and lifetime suicidality compared to women who reported no suicidality (p = .027). Group differences in suicidality were also associated with depressive and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, interpersonal support, and empowerment. The study findings demonstrate a more nuanced link between IPV and suicidality, which have implications for IPV and suicide prevention and future data collection efforts.

Keywords

intimate partner violence domestic violence suicide suicidality

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Afifi

T. O.

MacMillan

Cox

B. J.

Asmundson

G. J. G.

Stein

M. B.

Sareen

(2009). Mental health correlates of intimate partner violence in marital relationships in a nationally representative sample of males and females. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24(8), 1398–1417. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260508322192

Alhusen

J. L.

Frohman

Purcell

(2015). Intimate partner violence and suicidal ideation in pregnant women. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 18(4), 573–578.

Angelakis

Gillespie

E. L.

Panagioti

(2019). Childhood maltreatment and adult suicidality: A comprehensive systematic review with meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 49(7), 1057–1078.

Asad

Karmaliani

Sullaiman

Bann

C. M.

McClure

E. M.

Pasha

Wright

L. L.

Goldenberg

R. L.

(2010). Prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempts among pregnant Pakistani women. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 89(12), 1545–1551.

Batterham

P. J.

Fairweather-Schmidt

A. K.

Butterworth

Calear

A. L.

Mackinnon

A. J.

Christensen

(2014). Temporal effects of separation on suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Social Science & Medicine, 111, 58–63.

Bergman

Brismar

(1991). Suicide attempts by battered wives. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 83(5), 380–384.

Beydoun

H. A.

Beydoun

M. A.

Kaufman

J. S.

Zonderman

A. B.

(2012). Intimate partner violence against adult women and its association with major depressive disorder, depressive symptoms and postpartum depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 75(6), 959–975. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.04.025

Breiding

M. J.

Black

M. C.

Ryan

G. W.

(2008). Chronic disease and health risk behaviors associated with intimate partner violence–18 US states/territories, 2005. Annals of Epidemiology, 18(7), 538–544. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2008.02.005

Brown

Seals

(2019). Intimate partner problems and suicide: Are we missing the violence? Journal of Injury and Violence Research, 11(1), 53–64.

10.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2024). CDC WONDER: 2018–2023 underlying cause of death. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://wonder.cdc.gov/deaths-by-underlying-cause.html.

11.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2025). Suicide data and statistics. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/data.html

12.

Chan

K. L.

Straus

M. A.

Brownridge

D. A.

Tiwari

Leung

W. C.

(2008). Prevalence of dating partner violence and suicidal ideation among male and female university students worldwide. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 53(6), 529–537.

13.

Chen

Walters

M. L.

Gilbert

L. K.

Patel

(2020). Sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence by sexual orientation, United States. Psychology of Violence, 10(1), 110–119.

14.

Chiesa

A. E.

Kallechey

Harlaar

Ford

C. R.

Garrido

E. F.

Betts

W. R.

Maguire

(2018). Intimate partner violence victimization and parenting: A systematic review. Child Abuse & Neglect, 80, 285–300.

15.

Cohen

Hoberman

(1983). Positive events and social supports as buffers of life change stress. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 13(2), 99–125.

16.

Cohen

Mermelstein

Karmarck

Hoberman

H. M.

(1985). Measuring the functional components of social support. In Sarason

I. G.

Sarason

B. R.

(Eds.), Social support: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 73–94). Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.

17.

Coleman

F. L.

(1997). Stalking behavior and the cycle of domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12(3), 420–432.

18.

Connor

K. M.

Davidson

J. R.

(2003). Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 76–82.

19.

Devries

K. M.

Mak

J. Y.

Bacchus

L. J.

Child

J. C.

Falder

Petzold

Astbury

Watts

C. H.

(2013). Intimate partner violence and incident depressive symptoms and suicide attempts: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. PLoS Medicine, 10(5), Article e1001439.

20.

Devries

K. M.

Watts

Yoshihama

Kiss

Schraiber

L. B.

Deyessa

Heise

Durand

Mbwambo

Jansen

Berhane

Ellsberg

Garcia-Moreno

(2011). Violence against women is strongly associated with suicide attempts: Evidence from the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women. Social Science & Medicine, 73(1), 79–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.05.006

21.

Dillon

Hussain

Loxton

Rahman

(2013). Mental and physical health and intimate partner violence against women: A review of the literature. International Journal of Family Medicine, 2013, Article 313909. https://www.doi.org/10.1155/2013/313909

22.

Edleson

J. L.

Shin

Armendariz

K. K. J.

(2008). Measuring children’s exposure to domestic violence: The development and testing of the Child Exposure to Domestic Violence (CEDV) Scale. Children and Youth Services Review, 30(5), 502–521.

23.

Gehring

K. S.

Vaske

J. C.

(2017). Out in the open: The consequences of intimate partner violence for victims in same-sex and opposite-sex relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 32(23), 3669–3692.

24.

Haarr

R. N.

(2010). Suicidality among battered women in Tajikistan. Violence Against Women, 16(7), 764–788.

25.

Harden

McAllister

Spencer

C. M.

Stith

S. M.

(2022). The dark side of the rainbow: Queer women’s experiences of intimate partner violence. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 23(1), 301–313.

26.

Hassanian-Moghaddam

Zamani

Sarjami

(2016). Violence and abuse against women who have attempted suicide by deliberate self-poisoning: A 2-year follow-up study in Iran. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(7), 1257–1273.

27.

Hicks

M. H. R.

Bhugra

(2003). Perceived causes of suicide attempts by UK South Asian women. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 73(4), 455–462.

28.

Higgins

D. J.

McCabe

M. P.

(2001). The development of the comprehensive child maltreatment scale. Journal of Family Studies, 7(1), 7–28.

29.

Hottes

T. S.

Bogaert

Rhodes

A. E.

Brennan

D. J.

Gesink

(2016). Lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts among sexual minority adults by study sampling strategies: A systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 106(5), e1–e12.

30.

Houry

Kaslow

N. J.

Thompson

M. P.

(2005). Depressive symptoms in women experiencing intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(11), 1467–1477.

31.

Huang

Ribeiro

J. D.

Musacchio

K. M.

Franklin

J. C.

(2017). Demographics as predictors of suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A meta-analysis. PLoS One, 12(7), Article e0180793.

32.

Hudson

W. W.

McIntosh

S. R.

(1981). The assessment of spouse abuse: Two quantifiable dimensions. Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, 43, 873–885.

33.

Johnson

D. M.

Worell

Chandler

R. K.

(2005). Assessing psychological health and empowerment in women: The Personal Progress Scale Revised. Women & Health, 41(1), 109–129.

34.

Kafka

J. M.

Moracco

K. E.

Pence

B. W.

Trangenstein

P. J.

Fliss

M. D.

Reyes

L. M.

(2024). Intimate partner violence and suicide mortality: A cross-sectional study using machine learning and natural language processing of suicide data from 43 states. Injury Prevention, 30(2), 125–131.

35.

Kafonek

Gray

A. C.

Parker

K. F.

(2022). Understanding escalation through intimate partner homicide narratives. Violence Against Women, 28(15–16), 3635–3656.

36.

Kazan

Calear

A. L.

Batterham

P. J.

(2016). The impact of intimate partner relationships on suicidal thoughts and behaviours: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 190, 585–598.

37.

Khalifeh

Oram

Trevillion

Johnson

Howard

L. M.

(2015). Recent intimate partner violence among people with chronic mental illness: Findings from a national cross-sectional survey. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 207(3), 207–212.

38.

Lagdon

Armour

Stringer

(2014). Adult experience of mental health outcomes as a result of intimate partner violence victimisation: A systematic review. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5(1), Article 24794.

39.

Leemis

R. W.

Friar

Khatiwada

Chen

M. S.

Kresnow

Smith

S. G.

Caslin

Basile

K. C.

(2022). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 report on intimate partner violence. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

40.

Zhao

(2019). Childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence victimization: A meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 88, 212–224.

41.

McLaughlin

O’Carroll

R. E.

O’Connor

R. C.

(2012). Intimate partner abuse and suicidality: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 32(8), 677–689. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2012.08.002

42.

Meadows

L. A.

Kaslow

N. J.

Thompson

M. P.

Jurkovic

G. J.

(2005). Protective factors against suicide attempt risk among African American women experiencing intimate partner violence. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36(1–2), 109–121.

43.

Miller

A. B.

Esposito-Smythers

Weismoore

J. T.

Renshaw

K. D.

(2013). The relation between child maltreatment and adolescent suicidal behavior: A systematic review and critical examination of the literature. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 16(2), 146–172.

44.

Muyan

Chang

E. C.

(2019). Hope as a mediator of the link between intimate partner violence and suicidal risk in Turkish women: Further evidence for the role of hope agency. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(21–22), 4620–4637.

45.

Peterson

Kearns

M. C.

McIntosh

W. L.

Estefan

L. F.

Nicolaidis

McCollister

K. E.

Gordon

Florence

(2018). Lifetime economic burden of intimate partner violence among US adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 55(4), 433–444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2018.04.049

46.

Peterson

Miller

G. F.

Barnett

S. B.

Florence

. (2021). Economic cost of injury—United States, 2019. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 70(48), 1655–1659. https://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7048a1

47.

Pico-Alfonso

M. A.

Garcia-Linares

M. I.

Celda-Navarro

Blasco-Ros

Echeburúa

Martinez

(2006). The impact of physical, psychological, and sexual intimate male partner violence on women’s mental health: Depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder, state anxiety, and suicide. Journal of Women’s Health, 15(5), 599–611. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2006.15.599

48.

Radloff

L. S.

(1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.

49.

Reviere

S. L.

Farber

E. W.

Twomey

Okun

Jackson

Zanville

Kaslow

N. J.

(2007). Intimate partner violence and suicidality in low-income African American women: A multimethod assessment of coping factors. Violence Against Women, 13(11), 1113–1129.

50.

Rezey

M. L.

(2020). Separated women’s risk for intimate partner violence: A multiyear analysis using the national crime victimization survey. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(5–6), 1055–1080.

51.

Rosay

(2016). Violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women and men: 2010 findings from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence survey. National Institute of Justice Research Report. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249736.pdf

52.

Salway

Ross

L. E.

Fehr

C. P.

Burley

Asadi

Hawkins

Tarasoff

L. A.

(2019). A systematic review and meta-analysis of disparities in the prevalence of suicide ideation and attempt among bisexual populations. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48(1), 89–111.

53.

Scheer

J. R.

Poteat

V. P.

(2021). Trauma-informed care and health among LGBTQ intimate partner violence survivors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(13–14), 6670–6692.

54.

Smith

P. H.

Smith

J. B.

Earp

J. L.

(1999). Beyond the measurement trap: A reconstructed conceptualization and measurement of woman battering. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 23, 177–193.

55.

Smith

P. N.

Cukrowicz

K. C.

(2010). Capable of suicide: A functional model of the acquired capability component of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 40(3), 266–274.

56.

Snyder

C. R.

Sympson

S. C.

Ybasco

F. C.

Borders

T. F.

Babyak

M. A.

Higgins

R. L.

(1996). Development and validation of the State Hope Scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(2), 321–335.

57.

Starr

Fawcett

(2006). If I had one more day: Findings and recommendations from the Washington state domestic violence fatality review. Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

58.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). (2021). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/

59.

Tolman

R. M.

(1999). The validation of the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory. Violence and Victims, 14, 25–37.

60.

Trevillion

Oram

Feder

Howard

L. M.

(2012). Experiences of domestic violence and mental disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One, 7(12), Article e51740.

61.

Van Orden

K. A.

Witte

T. K.

Cukrowicz

K. C.

Braithwaite

S. R.

Selby

E. A.

Joiner Jr

T. E

. (2010). The interpersonal theory of suicide. Psychological Review, 117(2), 575–600.

62.

Waller

B. Y.

Harris

Quinn

C. R.

(2022). Caught in the crossroad: An intersectional examination of African American women intimate partner violence survivors’ help seeking. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 23(4), 1235–1248.

63.

Weiss

D. S.

Marmar

C. R.

(1996). The impact of event scale—Revised. In Wilson

J. P.

Keane

T. M.

(Eds.), Assessing psychological trauma and PTSD (pp. 399–411). Guilford Press.

64.

Wright

C. V.

Perez

Johnson

D. M.

(2010). The mediating role of empowerment for African American women experiencing intimate partner violence. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2(4), 266–272.

65.

Wolford-Clevenger

Smith

P. N.

Kuhlman

D’Amato

(2019). A preliminary test of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide in women seeking shelter from intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(12), 2476–2497.

66.

Worell

Chandler

(1998). The Personal Progress Scale-Revised (PPS-R) (Unpublished Manuscript).

67.

Yoon

Cummings

Nugent

W. R.

Forrest-Bank

(2022). How spousal physical abuse impacts suicidal ideation among community-dwelling older adults: The effects of protective factors. Aging & Mental Health, 26(1), 130–139.