Correlates of Duration of Intimate Partner Violence Among Women Seeking Services at a Domestic Violence Support Center

Intimate partner violence (IPV) duration may reflect factors preventing women from leaving abusive relationships. Although many studies have analyzed factors associated with IPV occurrence, few studies have evaluated factors associated with IPV duration. This exploratory study examined intake forms completed by 230 women seeking services at an IPV support center over a 2.5-year period, beginning in 2006. These women spent an average of 11 years in abusive relationships during their lives, which was more than twice the lifetime duration of their non-abusive relationships. In a multivariate analysis model, longer lifetime IPV duration was significantly associated with greater age, having children, non-minority racial/ethnic membership, and having no parental IPV history. The current study found that many factors associated with IPV duration were different from factors previously found to be associated with IPV occurrence. Therefore, efforts aimed at preventing IPV occurrence may also need to differ from efforts to limit IPV duration.