Perceived Risk for Future Intimate Partner Violence among Women in a Domestic Violence Shelter

Research investigating women’s risk assessments for intimate partner violence (IPV) shows that women can predict future violence with relative accuracy. Limited research has investigated factors that are associated with perceived risk and the potential behavioral consequences of victim risk perception. Results from a survey of women in a domestic violence shelter (N = 56) indicated that women perceive lower risk of future violence if the abusive relationship were to end and higher risk of violence if it were to continue. Certain abuse experiences were related to elevated perceptions of personal risk for future violence. Further, perceived personal risk predicted the women’s intention to terminate their relationship upon leaving shelter. Results are discussed as they may inform interventions preventing IPV.

Gender Inequality and Patterns of Abuse Post Leaving

Drawing on Connell’s (Gender and power: Society, the person and sexual politics. California: Stanford University Press, 1987; Masculinities. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995) model of gender relations, this paper examines patterns of intimate partner violence among women who have recently left an abusive partner. In so doing, we attempt to better understand the social structural factors that shape the relations of power and control in intimate violent heterosexual unions. The data come from the first wave of a longitudinal prospective survey of 309 women who had left an abusive partner in the previous 3 years. Our data suggest that structured relations of inequality, namely relations of production, power and cathexis, shape women’s risk of abuse and harassment after leaving, and do so in ways that shape relations of coercive control. These results have implications for understanding the social context within which male violence against women occurs, and how this context constrains and/or enables women’s strategies for leaving and safety. This research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Emerging Team Grant #106054 and Institute of Gender and Health Operating Grant #15156 (Marilyn Ford-Gilboe, Principal Investigator). The authors thank the participants in the Women’s Health Effects Study. We also thank Julie McMullin, Kim Shuey, and the Health Effects research team for their helpful feedback.     

African American Women’s Readiness to Change Abusive Relationships

This study explores 178 low-income, abused African American women’s readiness to change abusive relationships and achieve safety. We explore stages of change using Prochaska and DiClemente’s transtheoretical model (TM; Precontemplation, Contemplation, Action, Preparation, and Maintenance). Results reveal that: for abused women, the stages fall along a continuum (versus discreet and linear stages); abused women are primarily in the Contemplation stage; and multiple factors (perception of current abuse, number of children in her home, symptoms of general anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], substance use, spiritual well-being, self-esteem, and social support) affect women’s total readiness to change intimate partner violence (IPV). Current IPV, anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse, and spirituality were positively correlated with readiness to change, and children in the home and self-esteem were negatively correlated with readiness to change. Multiple regression analysis revealed that PTSD and spiritual well-being are positive predictors of readiness to change. Findings contribute to the growing body of literature supporting the TM as applied to IPV. Results are discussed in terms of applicability to interventionists, policy makers, and community leaders as they consider the plight of abused women and their efforts towards violence-free relationships.     

“I Didn’t Want To Put Them Through That”: The Influence Of Children on Victim Decision-making in Intimate Partner Violence Cases

For mothers, intimate partner violence (IPV) presents a concern not only for their own well-being but also for that of their children who are exposed to the violence and its aftermath. In focus groups with adult women (N = 39) across three jurisdictions who had experienced legal system intervention for IPV victimization, mothers raised unsolicited concerns about the negative effects of IPV exposure on their children. These comments were not prompted by the facilitator but were raised by women in all seven of the focus groups during discussions about motivations and barriers to participation in prosecution of their abusive partners. The overall message was that victims with children felt very conflicted. Children both facilitate and inhibit leaving the abusive relationship. Mothers wanted to spare their children from harmful effects of violence but also wanted to keep their families together and protect their children from potential agitation and instability caused by legal system involvement. Participants described how fears and threats of involvement from child protective services inhibited help-seeking while simultaneously voicing a desire for services that would help their children. More research is needed to help service providers understand the quagmire mothers who are victims of IPV encounter regarding their children’s wellbeing.     

Does Separation or Divorce Make any Difference? An Interactional Perspective on Intimate Partner Violence with Focus on Marital Status

This article reports a study of the impact of marital status on interactional aspects of intimate partner violence (IPV) among help-seeking women. Are there differences among marital status groups concerning (a) other sociodemographic variables, (b) IPV categories, (c) interactional IPV variables, and (d) perception and interpretation of IPV? A representative sample of 157 women recruited from family counseling, the police, and shelters were interviewed. There was no significant sociodemographic difference among the marital status groups. There were no significant differences pertaining to IPV categories, neither for IPV severity, injury, duration, frequency, mortal danger, and regularity, nor for physical, psychological, or sexual IPV. However, multivariate logistic regression showed that post-separation women were significantly more likely to have (a) had longer duration since the last psychological and sexual IPV episode, (2) reported the physical IPV to be more predictable, and (3) used more active coping strategies against physical IPV. However, our research was not able to determine if perception and interpretation predict actual leaving behavior, or vice versa, or how the victim’s subjective perception and interpretation of the IPV changes over time.     

From Victim to Offender: The Effects of Male Initiated Violence on Women Arrested for Using Intimate Partner Violence

A number of theorists posit that most women who are arrested for using violence against their intimate partners are in-fact victims of IPV themselves and should be treated as such. However, in this population of women IPV arrestees empirical investigation has yet to explore how physical and emotional victimization experiences are associated with arrest related factors, propensity to be abusive or attitude toward using relationship violence. The current study explores these factors finding no difference in arrest factors between women who (a) deny abuse, (b) report rare/occasional abuse and (c) report frequent/very frequent abuse. However, mixed results were found with regard to participants’ responses on scales measuring propensity to be abusive and attitudes about using violence in marriage. Theoretical and practical related issues are addressed.     

The Dynamics of Staying and Leaving: Implications for Battered Women’s Emotional Well-Being and Experiences of Violence at the End of a Year

Much of the discourse on intimate partner violence assumes that women must end their relationship with their abusive partner to increase their safety and emotional well-being. Few studies, however, exist to support this assumption. Equally problematic, those studies that do exist have failed to distinguish women who leave and stay out from those who leave only to later return. Comparing emotional well-being and experiences of violence for 206 low-income, primarily Black battered women following different relationship trajectories, this longitudinal study found that women both separated from and together with their partner for the entire year of the study fared best at the end of that year compared to women “in” and “out” of the relationship over time. Beyond challenging common assumptions, these findings highlight the importance of considering the larger context within which an individual instance of leaving occurs.

Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy and 1-Year Post-Partum

Using data on a nationally representative cohort of pregnant women in US cities, this study examines the prevalence and correlates of interpersonal violence (IPV)—physical, emotional, and coercion-control—during pregnancy and 1 year after birth. Overall, 33% of mothers and 40% of fathers experience some form of IPV during or after pregnancy. Hispanic women and those no longer romantically involved with their children’s fathers were most likely to experience IPV during pregnancy. Less educated women, women who reported that they or their spouses used substances (i.e., alcohol or illicit drugs), and women who reported that their pregnancy was unwanted were at high risk of IPV both during and after their pregnancy. Violence during pregnancy strongly predicted violence after pregnancy. Recent immigrants were among the least likely to leave a violent relationship 1-year post-partum. US-born women who were employed during their pregnancy were among the most likely to leave an abusive relationship 1-year post-partum. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Quality of Maternal Parenting among Intimate-Partner Violence Victims Involved with the Child Welfare System

Children are overrepresented in households with intimate-partner violence (IPV), and many suffer the double burden of being the subject of maltreatment and bearing the consequences of abuse to their mothers. Despite this situation, little information exists concerning parenting by women who have been abused by an intimate partner. We examine the relationship between women’s experiences with IPV and the quality of maternal parenting using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. The sample consisted of 1,943 female caregivers of children younger than 10 years investigated for child maltreatment. Women who had experienced IPV in the past but were no longer victims of IPV had significantly better parenting scores than women who were currently experiencing IPV, when other risk factors were controlled. This study adds to the evidence that IPV does not necessarily impair maternal parenting. Women abused by an intimate partner deserve a thorough assessment of what services they need: parenting services should be offered as warranted on a case-by-case evaluation of the particular woman’s parenting skills.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Familias con Voz</Emphasis>: Community Survey Results from an Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Prevention Project with Migrant Workers

The Migrant Clinicians Network’s Familias con Voz (Families with a Voice) project aims to train migrant men and women to become intimate partner violence (IPV) peer educators in their communities. In preparation for implementing educational activities, a community survey was conducted with 298 participants in three Texas border counties. Verbal abuse, such as name calling, was the most frequent type of violence reported. Men perceived anger as a cause of partner violence significantly more than women. Only 22% of respondents reported knowing of a shelter they could turn to for help. Surprisingly, a majority of participants cited “seeking help from the police” when asked about ways to decrease partner violence. Survey results offer insight into developing effective intervention programs by capturing the intended audiences’ beliefs and attitudes. Additionally, survey results reveal possible strategies for how to tackle IPV in U.S.-Mexico border migrant farmworker communities.

Characteristics of Callers to the Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men

Intimate partner violence (IPV) by women against men has been the subject of much debate. Feminists typically argue that IPV is committed only by men against women. Others argue that violence is a human problem and women also commit much IPV. To resolve these debates, IPV has been classified into two categories: common couple violence captured by population-based studies, and patriarchal terrorism, captured by studies of battered women. This typology ignores male victims of extreme IPV. The current study addresses this omission by describing 190 male callers to the Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men. All callers experienced physical abuse from their female partners, and a substantial minority feared their wives’ violence and were stalked. Over 90% experienced controlling behaviors, and several men reported frustrating experiences with the domestic violence system. Callers’ reports indicated that their female abusers had a history of trauma, alcohol/drug problems, mental illness, and homicidal and suicidal ideations.

Why Victims of Intimate Partner Violence Withdraw Protection Orders

While reasons for returning to abusive partners have received considerable attention in research on intimate partner violence, few studies have examined the reasons why victims fail to follow through with the protection order process, regardless of whether or not they return to their abusive partners. Fifty-five women who were in the process of withdrawing a protection order against a male intimate partner were surveyed in the present analysis. Recognizing that reasons given for withdrawing a protection order often follow common themes, individual responses were organized into several “domains,” or groupings of such reasons. The most commonly cited domain involved a “concrete change” on behalf of the victim or defendant, which made the protection order less necessary in the victim’s view. This was closely followed by the domain addressing emotional attachment to the abuser. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.     

Attitudes of Men and Women Towards Wife Beating: Findings From Palestinian Refugee Camps in Jordan

The aim of this study is to investigate the factors associated with the acceptance of wife beating among currently married men and women living in disadvantaged Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. The study uses data from a cross-sectional survey of 3,100 households from 12 refugee camps, conducted in 1999, with a sub-sample of 395 married women and men selected for this analysis. Associations between acceptance of wife beating and experience of abuse as well as other risk factors are assessed for men and women separately, using χ ² tests and odds ratios from binary logistic regression models. The majority of men (60.1%) and women (61.8%) believe that wife beating is justified in at least one of the eight hypothetical marital situations presented to them. Among women, those that had been victims of intimate partner violence are significantly more likely to report acceptance of wife beating. Among men, acceptance of wife beating is also significantly associated with their current age, labor force participation, their view on women’s autonomy, and their own history as perpetrators of IPV. The majority of respondents justify wife beating in this context, with essentially no difference between men and women. Acceptance of wife beating by both men and women was strongly associated with previous experiences of wife beating adjusting for other risk factors.     

Mothers’ Motivations for Intimate Partner Violence Help-Seeking

The purpose of this study was to determine motivators for intimate partner violence (IPV) help-seeking among mothers. This qualitative study used English and Spanish-speaking focus groups and a grounded theory approach. Sixty-two mothers participated in eight groups. Motivators for IPV help-seeking fell into two broad categories, internal and external motivators. Although participants cited numerous motivators for IPV help-seeking, recognizing the negative effects of IPV on their children, labeling the partner’s behavior as abusive and the intervention of others were particularly important. For many participants, the effects of IPV on their children were the most important motivator. Few women made the decision to seek help without the encouragement of others. Unique to the Spanish-speaking participants was the influence of immigration status and limitations to disclosure created by using significant others as translators. Exploration of incorporating these motivators into IPV intervention efforts is warranted.     

No More! Women Reporting Intimate Partner Violence in Mexico

An analysis of the National Survey of Violence Against Women (2006) in Mexico was performed to estimate the prevalence and the associated factors of women suffering intimate partner violence (IPV) that report their aggressor by severity of violence. Women aged 15 years or older who reported IPV were analyzed by using logistic regression models. Prevalence of IPV was 33.33 %, 64.11 % of them were classified as non-severe violence (NSV) and 35.89 % as severe violence (SV). Women with SV reported the aggressor more often (24.69 % vs. 6.08 % of NSV). Variables associated with reporting the aggressor for both NSV and SV were having children living in the household, higher socioeconomic status, frequent alcohol consumption by the partner, and health personnel informing women that they were experiencing IPV. We can conclude that a low percentage of women reported IPV. Greater efforts should be made to empower women so they can effectively execute their right to live a life free of violence.     

Psychosocial Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Exposure in Maltreated Adolescents: Assessing More than IPV Occurrence

The majority of research on the psychosocial impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure for children has focused on IPV occurrence. The current study extended this research by examining three dimensions of IPV exposure: frequency, proximity, and severity, and tested whether these dimensions predicted variance in adolescents’ psychosocial problems over-and-above that accounted for by IPV occurrence. Participants included 140 adolescents and their caregivers, who were recruited for an intervention involving maltreated youth placed in out-of-home care. After controlling for IPV occurrence, exposure to community violence, and severity of maltreatment, results indicated a positive association between the multidimensional IPV index and youth report of psychosocial problems. There was also a trend for a positive association between the IPV index and caregiver report of psychosocial problems for boys. The study’s results are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention researchers and child welfare agencies.     

Does Intimate Partner Violence Epidemiology Differ Between Homes With and Without Children? A Population-Based Study of Annual Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors

We sought to determine whether intimate partner violence (IPV) risk factors differed depending upon the presence of children in the home, and to estimate the annual prevalence of IPV first in the general population and then in homes with and without children. We analyzed data from a cross-sectional random sample of 6,836 women in southeastern Pennsylvania interviewed by telephone in 2004. The magnitude of association between IPV and risk factors varied between homes with and without children for women’s alcohol problems (with children, odds ratio (OR) 7.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.9, 20.9; without children, OR 2.4; 95% CI 0.9, 6.0), and mental health problems (with children, OR 4.0; 95% CI 1.8, 8.9; without children, OR 3.0; 95% CI 1.6, 5.7). Poverty was significantly associated with IPV only in homes without children (OR 3.6; 95% CI 1.9, 7.2). Annual IPV prevalence was 1.2% overall, 1.4% in homes with children, and 1.1% in homes without children. One in 63 children lived in a home with IPV. Differences in IPV risk factors in homes with and without children suggest distinct underlying IPV mechanisms or consequences in these contexts.