College Students and IPV: Coping Skills Matter

College can be a tough time. It's a period where many young adults experience intimate partner violence (IPV), either as victims or as perpetrators. A recent study looked into how coping strategies affect the psychological well-being of college students who face or inflict IPV. The study involved 333 college students, mostly women, who filled out an online survey. They found some interesting links between different types of IPV and mental health issues like depression and anxiety. For instance, verbal aggression, whether experienced or perpetrated, was linked to mental health problems like depression and anxiety. What's more, the way students cope with these situations makes a big difference. Students who use avoidant coping strategies - like trying to ignore or run away from problems - tend to have worse mental health. Specifically, women who use avoidant coping after experiencing verbal aggression were more likely to have serious issues like somatization, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. For men, avoidant coping was also a problem. It made the connection between experiencing violence and mental health issues like depression and somatization even stronger. So, what does this mean? Well, it shows that teaching better coping skills could be a key part of reducing IPV and its psychological impacts. Both men and women could benefit from learning healthier ways to deal with these tough situations.