2026-11-26 –, Holme Room
Studies that collect sensitive information about intimate partner violence (IPV) provide critical evidence for policy and practice, but present complex methodological, ethical, legal and operational challenges. For longitudinal studies, these challenges are amplified by ongoing relationships with participants, multiple modes of data collection, and the need to balance participant safety with data quality and completeness. Despite growing interest, there is limited practical guidance on how to measure IPV in ways that prioritise participant safety, choice and control while maintaining robust survey practice.
This paper presents a case study from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). As a mature national panel study that has followed participants from childhood into adulthood, LSAC provided a unique opportunity to introduce IPV measures within an established longitudinal research relationship. In its most recent data collection wave (2025-26), LSAC collected information on participants' experiences and use of IPV when they were aged 21-26 years. Survey development was informed by a targeted review of relevant research and consultation with people with lived expertise, subject matter experts, government stakeholders, and legal and ethics advisers. This resulted in a practical framework for survey design guided by three intersecting lenses: participant safety and ethical research practice; legal obligations; and the practical requirements of survey administration.
Consultation findings were turned into specific survey and fieldwork decisions. These included revising introductory text to support informed participation; emphasising that providing information was voluntary; taking a considered approach to question ordering and sequencing; and enabling participants to skip or exit the survey modules at multiple points. Participants were also offered an optional educational resource about respectful relationships and IPV. Privacy checks, interviewer protocols and mode-specific safeguards were developed for both face-to-face and video interviews.
This case study demonstrates how trauma-informed and Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence (DFSV)-informed principles can be operationalised through survey design alongside broader ethical commitments. It highlights the inherent tensions between participant safety, data completeness, representativeness and mode flexibility, and illustrates how these tensions can be managed in practice within a longitudinal study. The lessons and practical strategies described provide transferable guidance for panel and longitudinal studies seeking to introduce sensitive content while balancing ethical obligations, participant safety and data quality.
Amanda Vittiglia is a Research Manager (Methods) at the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), working on Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Her work focuses on longitudinal survey methodology, content development, data collection and fieldwork management. Amanda has expertise in questionnaire design, mixed-methods research, and translating complex research findings into policy-relevant insights.
Prior to joining AIFS in 2022, she worked in behavioural and public health research, including the development and evaluation of health warnings for alcohol and tobacco. Her research interests include survey methodology, trauma-informed research practices, adolescent and young adult health, health behaviours, and the use of longitudinal evidence to inform policy and practice.