Differences in Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence Between Professionals and Nonprofessionals

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent and harmful, yet many are unable to recognize violence or do not take it seriously. To address this, people with professional expertise in IPV are working to educate the public, often through public education campaigns and other prevention efforts. However, disconnects can exist between what professionals and the public perceive as violence. The current research sought to gain a deeper understanding of how professionals and nonprofessionals differ in their perceptions of IPV. We recruited participants with and without professional expertise in IPV and asked them to categorize a series of behaviors (e.g., “Justin(e)'s partner did not let him/her make decisions”) as either abusive or not abusive. We manipulated the gender of the survivor and did not clearly state the gender of the perpetrator. We found that professionals, in comparison to nonprofessionals, categorized higher proportions of physically, psychologically, and sexually abusive behaviors as abusive. The gender of the survivor was not associated with categorizations of abuse. We discuss specific behaviors which professionals and nonprofessionals categorized most differently; for example, significantly more professionals than nonprofessionals categorized “Justin(e)'s partner insisted that they have sex” as abusive. These findings contribute to the wider literature on perceptions of abuse and have implications for improving efforts to prevent intimate partner violence.