Family and community identities differentially predict psychological and immune recovery in women survivors of domestic violence.

OBJECTIVE

Social identities shape recovery after trauma, yet little is known about how different identity types foster resilience or perpetuate distress in survivors of domestic violence (DV). We investigated whether the number and centrality (i.e., subjective importance) of family and community identities predicted psychological and physiological health among women accessing DV support services in Ireland, an understudied population in trauma research.

METHOD: Sixty-four women (Mage = 43.87 years) reported their meaningful social group memberships, coded as family, community, and total identities. Psychological outcomes were complex posttraumatic stress symptoms and posttraumatic growth. The physiological outcome was salivary secretory immunoglobulin A, a biomarker of mucosal immune function. Multiple regression models with bootstrapped estimates (5,000 resamples) tested associations between identity variables and health outcomes.

RESULTS

The total number of identities did not predict outcomes. However, greater number and centrality of family identities were robustly associated with higher complex posttraumatic stress symptoms. In contrast, greater number of community identities predicted lower complex posttraumatic stress symptoms, higher posttraumatic growth, and higher secretory immunoglobulin A levels. Centrality of community identities also predicted higher posttraumatic growth. Effect sizes were large, with confidence intervals excluding zero.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight the critical role of identity type and centrality in DV recovery. Whereas family identities may exacerbate trauma-related distress, community identities were protective, predicting psychological resilience and enhanced immune function. By focusing on women in Irish DV services, this study broadens trauma recovery research beyond predominantly North American samples. Interventions should prioritize fostering safe, valued community roles to support recovery among DV survivors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).