Eduardo Reis, a PhD candidate in the Doctoral Program in Psychology, will defend the thesis titled "Intimate Partner Violence: Evaluation and development of campaigns tailored for victimized men". The public defense is scheduled for December 15 at 14:30 at the room B1.02 of Iscte-University Institute of Lisbon.
Abstract
Research on intimate partner violence (IPV) targeting men in different-sex and same-sex relationships (DS/SSR) is scarce. It is understood that men’s help-seeking can be improved and that IPV campaigns could be instrumental in this process, but there is essentially no research about its impacts on these populations. This work employed a mixed methods approach to understand how to facilitate help-seeking in men targets of IPV in DS/SSR relationships through IPV campaigns, leveraging theoretical models of behavioral change, health risk perception, and persuasion. The findings indicate that men experience various forms of severe violence and may face conflicts related to their gender roles. Additionally, the lack of awareness about IPV and information about help-seeking services affects their willingness to seek help. Promoting adaptive social norms toward calling helplines is important to enhance men’s intentions to seek help. IPV campaigns may help in this regard, however, men target of IPV are unaware of existing IPV campaigns directed at men in Portugal. Moreover, men expressed the need for authentic representation and the avoidance of the label "victim" in future initiatives. IPV campaigns’ effectiveness may increase if they integrate the insights from theoretical models and highlight how so many other men seek help in these circumstances. These findings shed light on under-represented populations and how their help-seeking is conditioned and facilitated. Public IPV campaigns can serve as one of the means to encourage seeking help, but future research should identify appropriate health risk-related content and represent diverse groups of men in DS/SSR relationships.
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