Rates of physical and psychological aggression among couples increased significantly after the implementation of shelter-in-place restrictions at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. The findings indicate that stress related to the pandemic was strongly associated with perpetration of intimate partner aggression, even among individuals considered at low risk.
The study found that the pandemic resulted in a six-to-eightfold increase in rates of intimate partner aggression across the U.S. Physical aggression increased from two acts per year before the pandemic to 15 acts per year once shelter-in-place restrictions began. Psychological aggression increased from 16 acts per year to 96 acts per year.
The findings indicate that stress related to the pandemic was strongly associated with perpetration of intimate partner aggression, even among individuals considered at low risk.
«If you think about it, that [increase] represents an enormous shift in people’s day-to-day lives,» said the study’s lead author Dominic Parrott, professor of psychology and director of the Center for Research on Interpersonal Violence. «It’s the difference between having a bad fight with your partner once a month versus twice a week.»
The study, published in the journal Psychology of Violence, is among the first to document increases in perpetration of intimate partner aggression following the onset of the pandemic in local communities.
Researchers recruited 510 participants in April 2020 — during the height of shelter-in-place restrictions across the U.S. — and asked them questions related to the period prior to and after the onset of the COVID-19 in their community. Participants answered questions about COVID-19 stressors, perpetration of physical and psychological aggression towards their partner and heavy drinking, which is known to facilitate aggression. About half of the participants identified as a sexual or gender minority.
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Materials provided by Georgia State University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.