Bidirectional intimate partner violence during COVID‑19 in Portugal: prevalence and psychosocial correlates

Several studies demonstrated that intimate bidirectional violence (BV) is more common
than unidirectional IPV. However, little is known about the phenomenon of BV during
COVID-19 lockdowns. The present study focuses on BV during the second lockdown in
Portugal to characterize the BV rates in an online sample from the community and identify
the main psychosocial correlates associated with BV. Three hundred and thirty-six Portuguese
adults, with a mean age of 35.02 years (SD = 11.67; 18–68 years), participated in this
study. In addition to a sociodemographic questionnaire, IPV (victimization and perpetration),
psychological distress, COVID-19-related anxiety, COVID-19 fear, and life satisfaction
measures were used. BV (31.3%) emerged as the most reported pattern of violence.
The BV group scored higher on psychological distress and depression than the nonviolence
group. Being married/living in cohabitation, having a high level of education, working on
the front line (during the COVID-19 pandemic), and having psychological distress emerged
as important predictors of BV. Results emphasized the role of psychosocial dimensions,
particularly marital status/cohabitation and educational levels, as relevant risk factors for
BV during a worldwide crisis event. The assessment, prevention, and intervention of IPV
should consider the possibility of BV, providing a response congruent with its specificities.
Open access funding provided by FCT|FCCN (b-on). This study was funded by the Foundation
for Science and Technology – FCT (Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education),
under the grant UIDB/05380/2020. This was also partially conducted at the Psychology Research Centre
(PSI/01662), School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by the Foundation for Science and
Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget (Ref.: UIDB/PSI/01662/2020)