Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Well-Being Among Married Women Attending Psychiatric Outpatient Clinics: The Roles of Childhood Trauma and Self-Compassion.

Background/

Objectives

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health problem associated with adverse mental health outcomes among women. Although prior research has focused on psychological distress (PD), mental well-being (MWB) is a distinct dimension of mental health that has received less attention in IPV research, particularly in clinical samples. Childhood trauma (CT) and self-compassion (SC) may contribute to variability in IPV-related outcomes. This study examined associations between IPV and MWB, considering SC, PD, and CT within an integrated framework.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 340 married women aged 18-65 years attending psychiatric outpatient clinics completed self-report measures of IPV, CT, SC, PD, and MWB. Hierarchical regression analyses examined predictors of MWB, and conditional process analysis tested moderated serial mediation models evaluating indirect associations of IPV with MWB through SC and PD, with CT as moderator.

Results

SC subscales accounted for the largest incremental variance in MWB (ΔR2 = 0.256 and 0.294, both p < 0.001), exceeding contributions of IPV and CT. CT moderated the IPV-SC association (B = 0.0052, 95% CI (0.0008, 0.0097), p = 0.022), but not the IPV-PD pathway. IPV showed indirect associations with MWB through SC and PD.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that IPV-related mental health outcomes may be better understood within an integrative framework including vulnerability-related factors and psychological resources. Clinically, routine assessment of IPV, CT, SC, PD, and MWB together may help clinicians develop more comprehensive, trauma-informed and self-compassion-focused care plans for women in psychiatric outpatient settings.