Couples with Intimate Partner Violence Seeking Relationship Help: Associations and Implications for Self‐Help and Online Interventions

• Author: Emily J. Georgia,Brian D. Doss,McKenzie K. Roddy
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12291
• Date: 01 June 2018
• Published date: 01 June 2018

Couples with Intimate Partner Violence Seeking

Relationship Help: Associations and Implications for

Self-Help and Online Interventions

MCKENZIE K. RODDY*

EMILY J. GEORGIA*

BRIAN D. DOSS*

In-person conjoint treatments for relationship distress are effective at increasing rela-

tionship satisfaction, and newly developed online programs are showing promising results.

However, couples reporting even low levels intimate partner violence (IPV) are tradition-

ally excluded from these interventions. To improve the availability of couple-based treat-

ment for couples with IPV, the present study sought to determine whether associations

with IPV found in community samples generalized to couples seeking help for their rela-

tionship and whether web-based interventions for relationship distressed worked equally

well for couples with IPV. In the first aim, in a sample of 2,797 individua ls who were seek-

ing online help for their relationship, the levels and correlates of both low-intensity and

clinically significant IPV largely matched what is found in community samples. In the sec-

ond aim, in a sample of 300 couples who were randomly assigned to a web-based interven-

tion or a waitlist control group, low-impact IPV did not moderate the effects of the

intervention for relationship distress. Therefore, web-based interventions may be an effec-

tive (and easily accessible) intervention for relationship distress for couples with low-inten-

sity IPV.

Keywords: Interpersonal Violence; Help-Seeking; Couple Intervention; Web-Based

Intervention

Fam Proc 57:293–307, 2018

Romantic relationships in the United States are unfortunately characterized by high

divorce rates and considerable dissatisfaction. Indeed, among first marriages, nea rly

1/5 end within 5 years and 1/3 end within 10 years (Bramlett & Mosher, 2001). Even

among intact relationships, estimates suggest that nearly 1/3 of couples are relationally

distressed at any given time (Whisman, Beach, & Snyder, 2008). These high rates warrant

attention as relationship distress and divorce are continually linked with poor mental

health (Whisman, 2007), poor physical health (Jaremka, Glaser, Malarkey, & Kiecolt-

Glaser, 2013), reduced social and work functioning (Whisman & Uebelacker, 2006), and

negative outcomes for children’s mental and physical health (O’Leary & Vidair, 2005).

Further, despite many efficacious interventions for preventing (Hawkins, Blanchard,

Baldwin, & Fawcett, 2008) and alleviating (Lebow, Chambers, Christensen, & Johnson,

2012) relationship distress, the majority of couples do not seek treatment. Less than 1/5 of

all couples have attended couple therapy, and among divorced couples, only 37% sought

couple therapy before separating (Johnson et al., 2002).

*University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to McKenzie K. Roddy, Department of Psy-

chology, University of Miami, P.O. Box 248185, Coral Gables, FL 33124-0751. E-mail: mkr19@miami.edu

293

Family Process, Vol. 57, No. 2, 2018 ©2017 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12291