Brett Peters of Ohio University Grant Award

Dr. Brett J. Peters, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Ohio University submitted a research proposal to examine the prospective association between COVID-19 stressors, intimate partner violence (IPV), and health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. MRI has awarded him $22,000 dollars to prospectively examine the extent to which 1) COVID-19 stressors predict IPV victimization and 2) IPV victimization predicts health and health behaviors. Dr Peters’ central hypothesis is that greater COVID-19 stressors (e.g., financial anxiety, social disconnectedness, COVID-19 related health anxiety and stress) will predict greater IPV victimization and greater IPV victimization will, in turn, predict worse self-reported health, greater substance abuse, and more movement outside of the home.

The focus of the research on COVID-19 related stressors, intimate partner violence, and health directly relates to the Mental Research Institute’s mission to support the development of innovative interactional systemic approaches to understanding and improving human relationships by better understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic is influencing victims of IPV. By better understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic is influencing victims of IPV, counselors, researchers, public health professionals and policy makers will be able to make empirically informed decisions about IPV interventions and support services during the pandemic and beyond. These services will benefit individual health and well-being, by decreasing substance abuse, the risk of COVID-19 infection, and stress and the potential injury from acts of violence. It may also help curtail the spread of the virus by reducing the need to leave home and come into contact with other people. More broadly the research will reflect the priorities of the World Health Organization and the United Nations for COVID-19 responses and research to focus on IPV and gender-based violence.