2025 Summer Research Symposium • Miranda Ibarra • July 9, 2025

Miranda Ibarra

Class of 2027

Major: Psychology

Mentor: Colton Daniels, PhD, St. Mary’s University

Sacred Silence: Religion and Intimate Partner Violence

This study investigates the Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) within the St. Mary’s University

community. A survey distributed via institutional email collected responses addressing both

direct and indirect experiences related to IPV. The analysis explores associations between

religiosity, permissive IPV attitudes, and belief in divine control; results indicate no statistically

significant relationship. Additionally, the study examined the connections between religiosity,

IPV victimization, and frequency of perpetrated abuse, finding no significant associations with

religiosity but a significant association between victimization and perpetration frequency.

Limitations include the use of a convenience sample, restricted generalizability, and potential

self-report bias, which may affect the reliability of the data.

Keywords: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV),Victim-Perpetration Dynamics, Religion,

Spirituality, Cultural Influences