Impact Of Partner Violence Research Articles

Professionals' Perception of the Needs of Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: A Vignette Study.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has a high prevalence and serious consequences for the wellbeing of the victims. The impact of partner violence and the behavior of female victims continue to be poorly understood. Recently, a number of reviews have enhanced the understanding of the needs of female victims of IPV. These reviews improve the evidence base relating to IPV needs assessment and can enhance effectiveness of service provision. The aim of the current study is to review the currency of the knowledge used by social workers working with victims of IPV. We used a qualitative design in which 23 social workers from 10 IPV teams were asked to react to vignettes. Participants were asked what they perceived to be essential for understanding the women's needs and determining an accurate treatment and guidance plan. Data were analyzed using open coding, followed by thematic analysis. Results indicate that in health services planning for battered women, service providers ask about the right domains, including: the characteristics of the relationship, social context, nature and pattern of abuse, characteristics of the female client, and-although to in a lesser degree-characteristics of the partner. Unfortunately, the sub themes within these domains are only partially considered, and sometimes superficially considered. Some topics that were not determined in the literature as relevant needs factors were seen as important by social workers, or assessed too soon, including the stay or leave question. These findings underline the realistic risk that staff members miss the actual reasons women stay with their partners or make certain choices in their help-seeking behavior. Incorrect needs assessments enhance the risk of female victims feeling unheard, and ineffective service provision, leading to care avoidance and low compliance with the services provided.

Impact of Partner Violence on Female Delinquency

In recent decades there has been an increase of criminal behavior by women, which is due to social rather than individual change. Feminist analysis points to the existence of an androcentric and patriarchal order, which through the practices of subjectification, builds the identity of the subjects. These practices have been shaped by close affective bonds, including couple bounds, who in turn have constructed them as criminals. Ninety-four women were interviewed in six prisons in four countries. Their life stories were analyzed through Atlas.ti. Affective bonds with the partner and gender violence are the two main categories of analysis. It was found that the affective bonds with the partner that included violent behavior can be a factor leading these women towards crime. The findings suggest that the women were imprisoned, before entering prison, in violent relationships that held them, configuring their subjectivity. The violent partner bonds and female delinquency associated with them are the product of a patriarchal society that does not see a difference between being a victim or being criminal.

The Individual Career Counseling Needs and Experiences of Female Survivors of Partner Violence

The impact of partner violence on women's employment and career development is profound. Career counselors may contribute substantially to these women's rehabilitation. This study examined employment and career counseling needs, barriers experienced, and counseling satisfaction of female survivors of partner violence (N = 71). The women participated in community‐ and research‐based individual career counseling services designed to promote their short‐ and long‐term career development. The authors conducted correlational, t‐test, and logistic regression analyses and found that barriers differed by race/ethnicity, age, number of children, and career service needs. Results provide important information about survivors' career counseling service access and needs.

Is Perceived Need for Action Among Women in Violent Relationships Nonlinear and, If So, Why?

Despite the prevalence and impact of partner violence, we understand little about women's action taking except that it seems an unpredictable, nonlinear process. This article determines the degree of nonlinearity in perceived need for help, legal action, or leaving among women in violent relationships. The participants included 143 women who experienced violence in the previous month, enrolled from six primary care clinics. Baseline surveys assessed background characteristics and factors which may affect perceived need for action. Multiple times series assessments of violence and need for action were collected daily for 8 weeks via telephone Interactive Voice Response. Measures of nonlinearity of violence, perceived need for help, legal action, and leaving were computed. Repeated measures ANOVA assessed differences across measures of nonlinearity. To identify factors contributing to nonlinearity, staged multiple regression assessed the relationship between nonlinearity measures and outcomes. Ninety-three women completed sufficient time series for nonlinearity assessment. Measures of nonlinearity were lower for need for legal action compared with needs for help and leaving. Regression analysis suggested that isolation, social networks, and lack of awareness contribute to nonlinearity. Women's perceived need for legal action and its level of nonlinearity were lowest compared with those of help seeking and leaving. Although its relative linearity suggests that the need for legal action may be the most predictable, its lower mean rating suggests that legal action is a low priority. Although need for help and leaving are of higher priorities, their nonlinearity suggests that intervention will not yield predictable results.

Are There Differences in the Impact of Partner Violence on Reproductive Health Between Postpartum Women and Women Who Had an Elective Abortion?

The aim of this study was to determine if the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the previous 12 months (current IPV) on newborn's health, pregnancy outcomes and couple's reproductive behaviours were different for postpartum (PP) women as compared to women who had undergone an elective abortion (EA) in Trieste (Italy). This study is part of an unmatched case-control study. The major findings are that current IPV was positively associated with previous stillbirth among both groups of women, but the association was only marginally significant. Among EA women only, current IPV was significantly associated with previous miscarriages (adjusted odds ratio, 2.41; 95 %CI, 1.13-5.14). In both groups of women, current IPV was associated with a lack of joint couple decision making about contraception; however, the magnitude of this effect was higher among PP women. This study reveals that IPV was associated with poor obstetrical history among both groups of women. But the associations of current IPV with previous EA and couple reproductive behaviours were stronger among PP women.

Engaging the Clergy in Addressing the Impact of Partner Violence in their Faith Communities

ABSTRACT. Researchers assembled three clergy focus groups in Upstate New York in order to expand on the results of an earlier study (Horwitz, 2002) regarding community professionals' attitudes and beliefs about PV. The purpose of this study was to (1) identify how clergy address partner violence (PV), (2) assist in defining the clergy's scope of practice, and (3) understand the dynamics behind clergy reluctance to participate with community providers in ending PV. Participant responses to a series of questions were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using ATLAS.ti. Findings elucidated (a) competing value systems that clergy experience, (b) their responsibilities for addressing PV in their congregations, (c) limitations and barriers to identifying and intervening in PV, and (d) helpful strategies for dealing with PV.

Assessing and Addressing Domestic Violence Experienced by Incarcerated Women

A significant percentage of incarcerated women are victims of domestic violence, forced to be involved in illegal activity orchestrated by their abusive partners. Because intimate partner violence is not routinely assessed in prisons, the impact of partner violence is not always recognized or addressed.

A Psychosocial Resource Impairment Model Explaining Partner Violence and Distress: Moderating Role of Income

This study examines the role of income in a psychosocial resource impairment model that explains partner violence and distress. Using data from a nationally representative sample, we test whether psychosocial resources of social support and self-esteem operate differently in four income groups (poor, "working"-poor, middle and upper-income). Structural equation modeling shows that among women considered working-poor, low self-esteem is relevant for the process through which violence becomes linked to distress. Women of upper-income appear distinct with negative interactions serving as sole mediator of violence and distress. Other findings indicate impaired support may mediate the violence and distress relation for women, regardless of income. Overall, income partially moderates the impact of partner violence on distress, suggesting social contexts should be considered when examining the effects of violence.

Adult outcomes in women who experienced parental violence during childhood

Objective: The aims of this work are to analyze the associations between violence suffered at the hands of fathers and mothers in childhood and adolescence and three outcomes in adulthood—having or not having children, marital status, and occupational status—controlling for the possible impact of partner violence. Method: This cross-sectional study examined a sample of 510 women, attending various health care and social services facilities in a Northern Italian city. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Results: Almost one quarter of the respondents reported some kind of abuse by one or both parents, and 18.2% had experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a partner or ex-partner; women abused by parents were more likely to experience partner violence. Irrespective of whether they experienced partner violence, women abused by parents were more likely to be childless, divorced or never married, and in a precarious occupational situation. Conclusions: This study is the first one carried out in Italy on this subject: results largely confirmed the trends found in studies in other countries. However, two of the associations which emerged, namely between parents’ abuse and being divorced or never married and between parents’ abuse and being childless, are worth noting, since they could be interpreted as failures or, on the contrary, as active and positive choices made by abused women in a difficult context. Qualitative data from case histories provided insights into the violence some women have suffered and its consequences, but also into women’s great resilience and strengths.

Domestic Violence and the Jewish Woman

This study was designed to examine associations among Jewish religious identifications, beliefs and traditions, and women's experiences of domestic violence in several Jewish sub-populations (Reform, Orthodox, or former Soviet emigre) who had sought help for domestic violence in the New York City area. Women were recruited through agencies affiliated with UJA-Federation Task Force on Family Violence and through Reform rabbis throughout the New York City metropolitan area. An in-depth interview was developed which focused on subjects' definitions of domestic violence, perceptions of social support, help-seeking within the religious and professional communities, and decision-making about their relationships. Women also provided demographic information and completed survey questions related to religiosity, denominational affiliation, and connection to Judaism. Standard measures addressed the types and severity of violence expereinced by the subject, the impact of partner violence, depression, and mental health functioning. Findings from this pilot study were limited by small sample size (N = 12) and the heterogeneity of experiences among participants. However, the investigators identified several critical issues related to conducting research on partner violence within the Jewish community.

Domestic Violence, Children's Safety and Family Court Welfare Practice

Anne Ashworth, Court Welfare Officer with Greater Manchester Probation Service, reviews contemporary research findings about the impact of partner violence on family life, with powerful implications for safeguarding the welfare of children in private family law proceedings following parental separation.