“I Wouldn’t Be Here Without Them”: Resilience in Youth Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate and describe the coping strategies that young persons exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) use to effectively cope with the traumatic experience of growing up in an IPV-affected family. We conducted a qualitative investigation in which we drew on concepts of the constructivist grounded theory method to develop a resilience model that reflects our understanding of the subjective and contextual experiences of the young persons included in our study. Data were collected from 13 young persons aged 9–17 years who were recruited through purposive (non-random) sampling from community agencies located in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Data collection methods included face-to-face open-ended interviews, drawing of ecomaps, and photovoice. Study participants described a variety of coping strategies that they had used and/or were still using to cope with adversity in their lives, including IPV exposure, which became main themes in our analyses and involve lower level categories. We organized our findings into a resilience model that categorizes the coping strategies described by our study participants in individual-level, family-level, and community-level strategies. From the accounts of the young persons we interviewed emerged a model of resilience in which the constant interaction between their ability and motivation to access useful resources both within their home and in the external environments, coupled with the presence of these resources in these environments was what ultimately promoted their healthy development and well-being following IPV exposure. We provided recommendations for practice and policy based on our findings.