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Many studies look at intimate partner voilence (IPV), but only two previous studies look at it specifically related to a natural disaster, so this research is inventive in that way. It uses data from a larger study of the area that was hit by Katrina. The data was obtained through interviews, and in the period of time 6 months before Katrina to 6 months after, measures of psychological and physical IPV are analyzed. These measures were also compared to a scale of how stressful the individual's life had been in that time frame, which was reached based on answers to questions about how Katrina affected the individual.

According to Google Scholar, this study has been cited 21 times in various papers on the topics of mental health in the face of disaster and studies on domestic violance.

It is published in "Violence & Victims", which is a peer-reviewed journal that analyzes all aspects of interpeersonal violence. The journal features contributions from many fields, from medicine to law to social work.

It was partialy funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The data for this study were collected as part of a larger, population-based, representative study of persons living in the 23 southernmost counties of Mississippi prior to Hurricane Katrina. This is not a new or inventive way of studying this issue, as a representitive study of a population is one of the classic ways social research is conducted.

The object of this study is to analyze the rates of intimate partner violence before and after Hurricane Katrina, and look at the causes for the increases found.

The study addresses the survivors of Katrina fairly soon after the disaster, at a time when they likely do not have much stability. Many were without homes, may have lost family or friends, neighborhoods were torn apart, schools were destroyed, and money was very thin. It was not an easy time, so focusing on this group at such a stressful time was the goal of the study.

This article was published throught the National Institute of Public Health's Public Access database. The NIH makes all of the peer reviewed articles and studies that it funds available to the public on this platform "to advance science and improve public health." 

This study was funded by the National Institute of Health, which is why it was made available through their public access database.

The information in this study can be used to offer help to couples after disasters, as it shows that counseling may be needed to help aleviate some of the issues at hand. While counseling may not be readily available with all of the other disaster relief that is going on, it should be reconized as something that may be necessary to help the recovery process and ensure greater safety.