ABSTRACT
Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) related to stay-at-home orders, as well as the financial and emotional stress many individuals are experiencing. With limitations on group gatherings, typical in-person prevention and intervention resources, such as anger management groups or batterer intervention programs, may be inaccessible to people in need of resources. Method: In order to understand effective options for reducing risk when face-to-face interventions are not feasible, we conducted a meta-analysis to examine the effects of online programs aimed at improving participants' well-being and reducing IPV risk. Six studies were identified in databases using key search terms. Results: Change score comparisons revealed that online programs reduced participants' anger, depression, emotional IPV perpetration, and physical IPV perpetration significantly more than control groups. Discussion: Findings suggest that online resources can help motivated individuals struggling with anger and/or at risk for IPV perpetration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Both media and academic reports have highlighted COVID-19's negative impacts on mental health and safety in the United States, yet care and service gaps persist. Evidence suggests that a default to in-person service delivery did not meet clients' needs before the pandemic, and that unmet needs have ballooned since COVID-19 spread throughout the United States due to a combination of increased stress, social isolation, and fewer available services during lockdowns. This article reviews literature on online interventions' utility and effectiveness in preventing and treating problems likely exacerbated under pandemic conditions, including mental health conditions, anger, couple dynamics, parenting, and alcohol misuse. The article also describes barriers to evidence-based e-interventions' wider and more consistent use, highlights some vulnerable populations' unique service needs, outlines service gaps that online programs might effectively mitigate, and offers a path by which social workers can lead an interdisciplinary charge in researching, developing, and implementing e-interventions during the current pandemic and beyond.