Characteristics of Abusive Relationships with Presence of Firearms: Impact of Partners' Firearm Ownership on Immigrant Women's Mental Health and Safety-Related Empowerment.

Abstract

Immigrant women are at heightened risk for intimate partner homicide from their abusive partners' firearms. This research examined the correlates of a partner's firearm ownership and whether it affected women's mental health (MH) and safety-related empowerment through its association with increased severity of intimate partner violence (IPV). This cross-sectional study is based on data from immigrant women (n=134) with past-year IPV experiences. Logistic regression was used to examine individual and relationship-level correlates of partners' firearm ownership. Mediation analysis was conducted using a bootstrapping approach. Correlates significantly associated with partner's firearm ownership were women's region of origin and length of time in the US. Partner's firearm ownership was less common among Asian women and more common among immigrant women who had lived in the US for more than ten years. Severe IPV significantly mediated the association between a partner's firearm ownership and women's MH and safety-related empowerment. Understanding how a partner's firearm ownership impacts abused women's MH, their exposure to IPV, and their ability to protect themselves from IPV-related harm is crucial for developing targeted interventions and policies with substantial public health implications.