The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S.

Department of Justice and prepared the following final report:

Document Title: Using a Longitudinal Data Set to Further Our

Understanding of the Trajectory of Intimate

Violence Over Time

Author(s): Cris M. Sullivan Ph.D., Deborah I. Bybee Ph.D.

Document No.: 185728

Date Received: December 11, 2000

Award Number: 98-WT-VX-0013

This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice.

To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federallyfunded grant final report available electronically in addition to

traditional paper copies.

Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect

the official position or policies of the U.S.

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 1 

18s 728 

Using a Longitudinal Data Set to Further Our Understanding of 

the Trajectory of Intimate Violence Over Time 

Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 

Final Report 

FINAL REPORT d’w b-- 

Approved By: -- /?LCris M. Sullivan, Ph.D. 

Deborah I. Bybee, Ph.D. 

Ecological Psychology 

Michigan State University 

East Lansing, MI 48824- 1 1 17 

517-353-8867 

/- L/X/c% Date: 

’ I .- . ‘.A ! 

Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the 

official postion or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The authors wish to 

acknowledge the dedication of all past and present staff members of the Community 

Advocacy Project, as well as the input from all participants, without whom this research 

would not have been possible. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 2 

Using a Longitudinal Data Set to Further Our Understanding of 

the Trajectory of Intimate Violence Over Time 

Although a great deal of research has been conducted in the past two decades 

regarding intimate male violence against women, we still know very little about the process 

through which women go as they work to free themselves from the violence of partners and 

ex-partners. We do know woman abuse is pervasive in our society (Browne & Williams, 

1993; Straus & Gelles, 1986), domestic violence often increases in intensity and frequency 

over time (Hilbert & Hilbert, 1984; Oh, 1986), there are numerous barriers preventing 

women from living free of their assailants' violence (Barnett & LaViolette, 1993; Gondolf, 

1990; Horton, Simonidis, & Simonidis, 1987; Jones, 1994), and our communities must 

become more active in preventing intimate male violence against women (Crowell & 

Burgess, 1996; Gamache, Edleson, & Schock, 1988; Sullivan, 1997). 

The National Research Council's Panel on Research on Violence Against Women 

made a number of recommendations to further our understanding of the antecedents of 

intimate male violence against women (Crowell & Burgess, 1996). The current research 

responded to a number of these recommendations, including: "All research on violence 

against women should take into account the context within which women live their lives and 

in which the violence occurs" (p. 47); "Longitudinal research, with particular attention to 

developmental and life-span perspectives, should be undertaken to study the developmental 

trajectory of violence against women" (p. 90); and "Studies that describe current services for 

victims of violence and evaluate their effectiveness are needed. Studies to investigate the 

factors associated with victims' service-seeking behavior ... are also needed" (p. 139). 

Theoretical base for the research. Many individuals still hold the myth that "battered 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 3 

women could simply leave if they want to.” This assumption not only ignores the many 

structural obstacles preventing women from leaving abusive partners, it also ignores the fact 

that many women do in fact leave their assailants -- sometimes only to be beaten even more 

severely or killed (Jones, 1994; Mahoney, 199 1 ; Stark & Flitcraft, 1988). This myth also 

presumes that the one and only option for all women with abusive partners is to leave the 

relationship -- a view that not only ignores the agency of battered women themselves in 

deciding what is best for them, but also ignores the religious and/or cultural proscriptions 

many women face when making relationship decisions. The process of becoming violencefree -- whether or not by leaving an abusive partner -- is complex, and it is something about 

which we still know very little. Prior research has found that social isolation and an 

ineffective community response to domestic violence each contribute to a woman’s 

increased risk of abuse by partners and ex-partners (Aguirre, 1985; Barnett & LaViolette, 

1993; Crowell & Burgess, 1996; Greaves, Heapy, & Wylie, 1988). 

An effective means of controlling women and assaulting them with less fear of 

detection is to first socially isolate them (Browne, 1987; Hoff, 1990). Women with abusive 

partners often report that their contact with family and friends had been cut off or severely 

curtailed, and that they had no one to turn to for help with the abuse. Conversely, women 

who have reported receiving help and support from family or friends have rated it as being 

very helpful in their ability to leave their assailants (Bowker, 1984; Donato & Bowker, 

1984). 

In addition to social support, many women need a variety of community resources as 

well. For example, when describing reasons for remaining with or returning to abusive men, 

many women have mentioned lack of employment (Hofeller, 1982; Strube & Barbour, 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 4 

.- 

1983) or economic dependence on the abuser (Aguirre, 1985; Johnson, 1988; Rumptz & 

Sullivan, 1996). Other resources needed by at least some women with abusive partners 

include proper medical attention (Dobash, Dobash, & Cavanagh, 1985; McFarlane, Parker, 

& Soeken, 1995), childcare (Gondolf, 1988), affordable and safe housing (Sullivan, Basta, 

Tan, & Davidson, 1992), and help from social service agencies (Dobash et al., 1985). 

Although some communities have worked to improve their response to domestic 

violence, many women still do not receive the services they need to end the violence they 

are experiencing. Arrest for domestic assault continues to be a rare event (Hirschel, 

Hutchison, Dean, & Mills, 1992), and prosecution is even more infrequent (Buzawa & 

Buzawa, 1990). Restraining orders are not always enforced (Buzawa & Buzawa, 1990; 

Youngstrom, 1992), and many women have reported fearing for their lives and the lives of 

their children if they were to try to escape their assailants (Barnett & LaViolette, 1993; 

Browne, 1987; Jones, 1994). Although communities with coordinated responses to 

domestic violence have reported some successes (see, for example, Gamache, Edleson, & 

Schock, 1988; Steinman, 1990), such a collaborative, structured response continues to be 

absent in most women's communities. 

Contrary to one prevailing view of battered women as dependent victims, there is 

ample empirical evidence that many women with abusive partners are active helpseekers, 

fighting for their survival in the face of numerous obstacles. One comprehensive study of 

over 6,000 women from 50 different shelters found that the women had made an average of 

six prior helpseeking efforts (Gondolf, 1988). Wauchope's (1 988) nationally representative 

sample of 3,665 women found that two-thirds of those battered had sought help at least once 

from friends, relatives, andor formal agencies within their communities. Three factors 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 5 

appear to influence the decision of women to seek outside help to end the violence they are 

experiencing: the severity of the abuse, the number of resources a woman possesses, and the 

belief that such efforts will be successful (Sullivan, 199 1 a). 

The current analyses built on findings from a community-based advocacy 

intervention designed to increase battered women's access to needed community resources 

and support. A randomized field trial showed significant positive intervention effects 

persisting across 2-year follow-up on social support, difficulty accessing resources, quality 

of life, and physical violence by a partner or ex-partner (Sullivan & Bybee, 1999). Although 

earlier analysis confirmed more positive outcomes for women who worked with advocates, 

it did not examine (1) the mediational process through which the intervention resulted in 

decreased abuse; (2) whether positive outcomes persisted across three years; (3) whether 

some interventions were more effective than others in reducing abuse; (4) what antecedents 

explained differences in victimization over time; or (5) what antecedents explained 

differences in victimization specifically by ex-partners over time. The current analyses were 

conducted to explore these important issues. 

The research data. Data were gathered from 1989 through 1996, with funding to 

Cris Sullivan and colleagues from the National Institute of Mental Health (RO1 MH44849). 

Data were available for 278 women who had been residents of a domestic violence shelter 

program. Women were interviewed immediately upon exit from the shelter, 10 weeks later 

(post experimental intervention), and at 5 additional time periods over the next 3 years (6 

months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 months). 

The data set was originally assembled for two purposes: (1) to experimentally 

examine the effects of providing a community-based advocacy intervention to battered 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 6 

-- 

women; and (2) to provide descriptive information about women's lives over the first two 

years post-shelter. Although NIMH funding only covered data collection through two year 

followup, three year followup data were collected independently on the first half of the 

sample (n=124). 

The 1 0-week post-shelter intervention involved randomly assigning trained 

advocates to work one-on-one with women, helping women generate and mobilize 

community resources they needed to reduce their risk of repeated victimization. Such 

resources included but were not limited to legal assistance, employment, education, housing, 

and medical care. The data set is unique in a number of ways: (1) it contains information 

about the process and outcomes of an intervention provided to a random half of the research 

participants, in a true experimental design; (2) it contains ecological variables -- often 

missing in data sets [e.g., police response, availability of community resources] -- that have 

been hypothesized to influence rate of re-victimization; (3) it contains rates of abuse not 

only in the "original" relationship but across new relationships as well; (4) due to a retention 

rate of 95% or higher through two-year followup (96% have near-complete data), and an 

88% retention rate at three-year followup, it contains very little missing data; and (5) it 

includes seven data points spanning three years. 

Constructs measured. The data set contains self-report information about women's 

(1) experience of intimate violence (including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse as 

well as harassment and stalking) over time by both the "original" assailant as well as in any 

new relationship; (2) psycho-emotional well-being [depression, self esteem, quality of life, 

fear and anxiety, emotional attachment to assailant]; (3) amount and quality of social 

support; (4) physical health concerns and symptoms; (5) need for, access to, and satisfaction 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 7 

with community resources plus self-rated efficacy; and (6) need for, use of, and satisfaction 

with law enforcement and criminal justice resources. Women also provided information 

about their assailants, including (1) whether the assailant abused alcohol andor drugs, (2) 

whether the assailant was in substance abuse andor batterer treatment, (3) living situation 

across time (e.g., whether he still lived in the area, different state, incarcerated, etc.), and (4) 

whether the assailant was economically supporting the respondent. 

The following in y, ents were used in the study to measure the constructs of 

interest: 

Experience of violence by partners and ex-partners. A modified version of the 

Conflict Tactics Scale (Straw, 1979) was used to assess the violence women experienced by 

partners and ex-partners since the previous interview. During the initial interview women 

were asked about the six months prior to their entering the shelter. The post-intervention 

interview referred to the prior 10 weeks, and all followup interviews referred to the six 

months since the prior interview. Women were asked how often [l=never to 6=more than 4 

times a week] they had experienced each of the types of violence listed (e. g., choking, 

beating up). All women were asked these questions about their original assailants; women 

who reported being in new relationships were also asked these items in regard to the new 

partner. Following the rationale of Downs, Miller, & Panek (1993), responses were 

combined to create a fiequency/severity scale of violence, with 0 = no violence, 1= less 

severe abuse only (tore clothing, pushed, grabbed, shoved, slapped, threw something at), 2 = 

lower frequency [once a month or less] severe abuse (kicked, hit with fist, hit or tried to hit 

with object, beat up, choked, tied up, raped, threatened andor used a gun or knife), and 3 = 

high frequency severe abuse. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 8 

Injuries sustained. At each interview, women who experienced any violence were 

asked (yesho) if they had suffered each of twelve types of injuries, such as cuts, bruises, 

broken bones, andor permanent scarring, as a result of the violence. Cronbach's alpha for 

this scale was .69, with item-total correlations ranging from .22 to .48. Additionally, a 2- 

item scale recorded the number of times women had sought or needed medical attention €or 

abuse-related injuries; Cronbach's alpha was .61. 

PsychoZogicaZ abuse. The 33-item Index of Psychological Abuse (Sullivan, Parisian, 

& Davidson, 1991) was used to measure the degree to which assailants used ridicule, 

harassment, criticism, and emotional withdrawal against the women interviewed. Women 

were asked, for example, how often in the last 6 months [ 1 = never to 4 = often] their 

assailants had "called you names" andor "criticized your intelligence." Internal consistency 

of this scale was .97, with item-total correlations ranging from .51 to .90. 

Depression. Depression was assessed by the Center for Epidemiological Studies 

Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977), a self-report checklist of psychological distress 

within the general population (Cronbach's alpha = 38). Women rated how much they had 

experienced each of 20 symptoms on a 0 (rarely or never) to 3 (most or all the time) scale. 

Self esteem. Rosenberg's 1 0-item Self Esteem Index (1 965) was used with women in 

the latter half of the study. Cronbach's alpha = .90, with corrected item-total correlations 

ranging from .60 to .75. 

Quality of life. Women indicated on a 7-point scale (1 = terrible to 7 = extremely 

pleased) how satisfied they were with nine particular areas of their lives, such as the way 

they spent their spare time and how they felt about their level of responsibility. This scale, 

adapted from Andrews & Withey (1 976), displayed high internal consistency (Cronbach's 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 9 

alpha = .88), with corrected item total correlations ranging from .56 to .79. 

Fear and anxiety. Items from the Rape Aftermath Symptom Test (RAST; 

Kilpatrick, 1988) were used to measure fear and anxiety. Item responses ranged fiom 0 (not 

bothered at all) to 4 (bothered very much). Internal consistency was .88, with item total 

correlations ranging from .47 to .75. 

Emotional attachment to assailant. Thirteen true/false items were used to measure 

the degree to which women still felt emotionally attached to their assailants. Cronbach’s 

alpha was 34, with corrected item total correlations ranging fiom .47 to .73. 

Social support. Nine items measured women’s quantity and quality of perceived 

social support (Bogat, Chin, Sabbath, & Schwartz, 1983). Women indicated on a 7-point 

scale how they felt about various types of social support, including emotional support, 

advice, and companionship. Cronbach’s alpha was .92, with corrected item total correlations 

ranging from .71 to 33. 

Physical health concerns and symptoms. The frequency with which women were 

bothered by health problems was assessed through a modified version of the CohenHoberman Inventory of Physical Symptoms (CHIPS; Cohen & Hoberman, 1983). The 

original scale was modified to include physical symptoms frequently reported by women 

with abusive partners, such as choking sensations, high blood pressure, and pelvic pain 

(Abbott et al., 1995; Campbell, 1989; Eby et al., 1995). Participants were asked to rate how 

often in the past 6 months they had been bothered by each of 35 physical health symptoms. 

Responses were rated on a 6-point scale form 1 (never) to 6 (more than 4 times a week). 

Previous research has indicated the CHIPS is both a valid and reliable index of physical 

health symptomatology (Cohen & Hoberman, 1983). Coefficient alpha for the scale was 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 10 

.- 

.92. In addition to the total scale score, three interpretable subscales have been identified: 

Stress (Cronbach's alpha = .88), Fatigue (Cronbach's alpha = .75), and Pain (Cronbach's 

alpha = .80). 

Effectiveness in obtaining resources was assessed, post-intervention only, in eleven 

areas: housing, material goods and services, education, employment, health care, child care, 

transportation, social support, legal assistance, financial issues, and issues regarding the 

children. Response categories ranged from 1 = very ineffective to 4 = very effective, and 

scale scores were created by calculating the mean of self-report effectiveness scores across 

all areas in which a woman worked. Internal consistency of the "Effectiveness in Obtaining 

Resources (EOR)" scale was .64. 

Dzficulty obtaining resources. Eleven items measured womenk perceptions of the 

difficulty they had experienced in obtaining resources in different areas (e.g., employment, 

housing) or, if they had not tried to access resources in a specific area, the difficulty they 

would expect to encounter. Response categories ranged from 1 = not a problem to 4 = very 

much a problem. Cronbach's alpha was .76, with corrected item total correlations from .28 to 

.55. The "Difficulty Obtaining Resources'' scale was measured at the 6- through 36-month 

followup interviews only. 

Police and court contact: victim report. Women who experienced any violence or 

threats from their assailants were asked how many times the police were contacted in the 

past six months (by themselves or anyone else). They were asked what the police did if they 

came to the scene, and whether the assailants had been arrested and/or convicted of 

assaulting them during that time frame. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 1 1 

In addition to interview data, the database includes archival data recorded from a 

thorough review of records from 13 police departments and the court system. These data 

include official reports of domestic violence calls involving any of the 278 women, whether 

arrests were made, what help was offered to the victims, and final disposition. 

Intervention process. From the randomly-assigned 143 women who worked with 

advocates, we obtained specific information about the intervention process: time spent 

working on various efforts, specific helpseeking strategies used to obtain resources 

(telephoning resource providers, going in person to agencies, gathering written materials, 

etc.), effectiveness in obtaining needed resources, and satisfaction with the project. Similar 

information was also obtained from parallel interviews with women in the control group, 

excluding items pertaining specifically to advocates. 

Prior publications. A great deal of information has already been published from this 

study. The data have allowed for the examination of battered women's needs immediately 

upon shelter exit (Sullivan, Basta, Tan, & Davidson, 1992); the community-based obstacles 

overcome by African American women who have used shelter services (Sullivan & Rumptz, 

1995); the role of social support in the lives of battered women (Tan, Basta, Sullivan, & 

Davidson, 1995); a longitudinal analysis of depression in battered women (Campbell, 

Sullivan, & Davidson, 1995); a successful retention protocol developed to track "difficult to 

find" populations (Sullivan, Rumptz, Campbell, Eby, & Davidson, 1996); the discrepancy 

between victim and police reports of domestic violence incidents (Fleury, Sullivan, Bybee, 

& Davidson, 1998); reasons why battered women do not call the police (Fleury, Sullivan, 

Bybee, & Davidson, 1998); the impact of continuing abuse on women's mental and physical 

health (Sutherland, Bybee, & Sullivan, 1998); and the long-term effects of an advocacy 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 12 

-- 

intervention in the lives of women with abusive partners (Sullivan, Campbell, Angelique, 

Eby, & Davidson, 1994; Sullivan & Bybee, 1999). 

A multivariate analysis of covariance involving six time points over two years 

revealed that women who worked with advocates experienced less violence over time, 

reported higher quality of life and social support, and had less difficulty obtaining 

community resources (Sullivan & Bybee, 1999). Survival analysis indicated a significantly 

reduced hazard for repeated incidents of intimate violence in the Advocacy condition. More 

than twice as many women in the Advocacy condition experienced no violence across the 

two years compared to women in the Control condition. Moreover, on several outcome 

measures (difficulty accessing resources, perceived efficacy, intimate violence, and quality 

of life) Advocacy-Control differences increased over the two-year followup, suggesting that 

the Advocacy intervention may have instigated a process of persistent change. These 

encouraging findings raised a number of additional research questions that exceeded the 

scope of the original NIMH funding. Funding from NIJ allowed for additional analyses to 

be conducted, answering the following research questions: (1) What are the mediational 

processes by which the Advocacy intervention affected reduction in victimization? (2) Do 

the promising intervention effects continue to the 36 month time point? (3) Were some 

interventions more effective than others, and if so, what were the components of a 

"successful" intervention, and was the intervention more successful at reducing 

victimization for women in some types of situations than for others? (4) What antecedents 

explain differences in victimization over time? and (5) What antecedents explain differences 

in the context of victimization specifically by ex-partners? 

The following sections describe the intervention, study design, and demographics of 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 13 

the participants in detail. Specific analyses pertaining to the major research questions then 

follow. 

Research Participants 

Recruitment. Participants were recruited from a Midwest shelter program for 

women with abusive partners. Women were eligible for the project if they (1) spent at least 

one night in the shelter, and (2) planned on staying in the general vicinity for the first three 

months post-shelter. Potential participants were informed that all respondents would be 

interviewed six times over a two year period -- immediately upon shelter exit, 10 weeks 

later, and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 month followup. Women were also told that half the women 

being interviewed would be randomly selected to receive free advocacy services for the first 

10 weeks post shelter exit, 4 to 6 hours per week. Ninety-three percent of eligible women 

agreed to participate. Two hundred eighty-four women completed initial interviews. To be 

considered a research participant, women had to be involved in the study a minimum of 

three weeks. This time frame was chosen to give women working with advocates ample 

time to get acquainted and begin working. Of the 284 initial study participants, four women 

ended their participation within the first two weeks and one woman was murdered by an 

intimate partner one week into the intervention. Data presented are based on the 278 

remaining participants. 

p 

Condition assignment. All research participants were interviewed within the first 

week after exiting the shelter program. Most interviews were conducted in women's homes, 

and all were conducted in private rooms with no other adults present. Immediately upon 

completion of the first interview, respondents opened a sealed envelope which informed 

them if they would or would not be working with an advocate. Interviewers did not know to 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 14 

.- 

which group women would be assigned. Group selection was random, stratifying for order 

and for whether or not a woman was involved in an ongoing, intimate relationship with her 

assailant'. One hundred forty three women were assigned to the experimental condition. 

Women selected into this condition began working with trained advocates within a week. 

Women in the control group were not contacted again until their next interview. 

Demographics. Forty-five percent of the participants were African American, and 

42% were European American. Seven percent were Latina, 2% were Asian American, and 

the remainder were Native American, Arab American, or of mixed heritage. Ages ranged 

from 17 to 61 years, with a mean of 29 years. Seventy-four percent had at least one child 

living with them. 

Two-thirds of the sample had completed high school or had obtained GED's, and 

35% had completed at least some college. Most were unemployed before entering the 

shelter (59%), and 76% were receiving some form of governmental assistance. All spoke 

English as their first language. 

The mean length of stay at the shelter had been 19 days (range = 1-76, SD = 16.5). 

Twenty-seven percent of the women were married to the men who had abused them, and an 

additional 42% were living with but not married to their assailants. Seven percent of the 

women had been intimately involved with the men who had abused them but were not living 

together, and 20% were no longer involved with their partners at the time of the last assault 

(either separated, divorced, or no longer dating). 

Violence experienced by the women in the six months prior to entering the shelter 

had been quite severe, ranging from being grabbed, pushed or shoved (92%), to being raped 

~ 

1 As involvement with assailant had the potential for influencing whether a woman would be abused over time, 

it was important to ensure that equal numbers of women in this situation be included in each condition. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 15 

-- 

(48%), kicked (47%), and/or threatened with a gun or knife (40%). Injuries sustained in the 

prior six months included cuts and bruises (85%), broken bones (1 9%), dislocations (1 O%), 

and miscarriages or pregnancy complications due to the abuse (1 1 %). 

The Strengths-Based Advocacy Intervention 

Training of paraprofessional advocates. Advocates were female undergraduate 

students enrolled ‘in a two-semester Community Psychology course. The first semester 

involved extensive training, and consisted of empathy and active listening skills, facts 

surrounding woman abuse, theoretical underpinnings of strengths-based interventions, 

strategies for generating, mobilizing, and accessing community resources, and in-depth 

discussion of dealing with potentially dangerous situations. After training, each advocate 

was required to work 4-6 hours per week with and on behalf of a single client. Advocates 

continued to receive intensive supervision in weekly sessions comprised of 5-7 students and 

2 supervisors. 

It cannot be overemphasized that the intervention focused on making the community 

more responsive in the delivery and distribution of limited andor inaccessible resources. 

Such resources included housing, employment, legal assistance, transportation, education, 

child care, health care, material goods and services, financial assistance, services for the 

children (e.g., tutoring, counseling), and social support (e.g., making new friends, joining 

support groups). One hundred forty three advocates participated in the project over a six 

year time period. 

The intervention process. The strengths-based framework guiding this intervention 

necessitated paraprofessionals adhere to the following guidelines: (1) focusing not on 

deficits within the family, but rather on the woman’s strengths; (2) working on issues the 

r( 

4. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 16 

woman identified as being important to her; (3) focusing on making the community more 

responsive to the woman's needs; and (4) maximizirig the likelihood of long-term change 

occurring for the family by working within the woman's natural setting (Powell, et al., 

1997). 

Each intervention consisted of helping women devise safety plans when needed and 

providing advocacy services. Safety plans were individualized based on each woman's 

history, needs, and circumstances. Advocacy consisted of five distinct phases: assessment, 

implementation, monitoring, secondary implementation, and termination (Davidson & 

Rappaport, 1978; Sullivan, 199 1 b). Assessment consisted of (1) getting to know the client 

and significant others in her life (family, friends, etc.), and (2) gathering important 

information regarding the client's needs and goals. During this stage the client informed the 

advocate what she would like to accomplish during their time together. 

Implementation naturally followed the assessment phase. Specifically, in response to 

each unmet need identified, the advocate actively worked with the client to generate or 

mobilize appropriate community resources. This included brainstorming all possible 

resources, identifying critical individuals in control of those resources, and devising 

strategies to access the resources. This stage involved making phone calls, obtaining written 

information, making personal contacts -- anything that had the potential to create positive 

change. 

The third phase was to monitor the effectiveness of the implemented intervention. 

The advocate and woman with whom she worked assessed whether the resource had 

successfully been obtained, and whether it was satisfactory to meeting the met need. If it 

was not, the advocate initiated a secondary implementation to meet the client's needs more 

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of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 1 7 

effectively. 

Termination began approximately seven weeks into the ten-week intervention. At 

this time, the advocate began removing herself more and more fiom activities. The advocate 

also intensified her efforts to transfer the skills and knowledge she had learned throughout 

the course, to ensure the client would be able to continue implementing advocacy efforts on 

her own. Advocates were told repeatedly that their goal was to "put themselves out of a 

job." 

Although the five phases of advocacy intervention were described here as distinct 

stages for clarification purposes, in reality advocates engaged in various phases 

simultaneously. For instance, assessment was a continuous process, as additional areas of 

unmet need arose throughout the ten weeks. Multiple interventions often occurred at 

various points, such that, for example, the advocate may have been monitoring one 

intervention while initiating another. 

Illustration of a Representative Intervention 

Jane was a twenty-six-year-old woman who had lived with her 

abusive boyfriend for four years. During this time her boyfriend had 

succeeded in isolating Jane from her friends and family. He had forced her 

to quit her job as a receptionist in an office building and had prevented her 

from renewing her driver's license. Jane had two small children, three and 

five years old. Upon leaving the shelter, Jane had moved into a small 

apartment and applied for ADC (Aid for Families with Dependent 

Children). 

During the first few weeks of her involvement in the Community 

Advocacy Project, Jane and her volunteer discussed and prioritized Jane's 

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of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 1 8 

.- 

unmet needs: (I) obtaining a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, (2) 

earning money, (3) finding accessible, affordable childcare, and (4) making 

friends. Because the ex-boyfnend was continuing to stalk and harass Jane, 

the two worked on that issue first. Together they went to the various offices 

necessary to complete the paperwork for a restraining order and stalking 

order, and to collect needed signatures. Once the orders had been served 

they called the police department daily to check whether they had been 

placed on the electronic Law Enforcement Information Network. During 

this time they also began working on obtaining employment. Jane 

expressed an interest in returning to secretarial work, which she had 

enjoyed. They decided that while they were looking for more permanent 

employment, Jane would also apply at a temporary employment agency. 

The volunteer agreed to obtain information from the local community 

college and university regarding free seminars for women returning to the 

workforce, and together they would update and revise Jane's resume. Jane 

and her volunteer then compiled a list of all the daycare centers in the area. 

Also, whenever they were out together, they looked at personal 

advertisements in stores and laundromats. The volunteer agreed to check 

the newspaper as well. In the process of going to the community college, 

the Temporary Services agencies, and daycare centers together, Jane began 

meeting other young mothers with whom she became friends. 

Jane and her advocate were successful in accomplishing each of 

their stated goals within their ten weeks together. Jane obtained a 

temporary job which became permanent, and they found an older woman 

willing to provide childcare in Jane's home in exchange for room and 

board. After Jane had been working for a few weeks she decided she would 

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of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 19 

-- 

like to renew her driver's license, and with the advocate's help was able to 

do so quickly. 

Interviewer Training 

Undergraduate women (separate fiom those students who worked as advocates) 

received course credits in exchange for locating participants and conducting interviews for 

this project. New groups of 5 to 7 interviewers received training every 3 months, in order 

for trained interviewers to be available at any given time. Training consisted of intensive 

course instruction and practice interviews until adequate inter-rater agreement was attained. 

t 

Interrater agreement on answers to closed-ended and brief-response open-ended questions, 

calculated at the completion of the 5-week training period, was consistently high, averaging 

97% agreement. Interviews were conducted in women's homes or at locations convenient 

for them, and lasted approximately one and a half hours. The intensive procedure regarding 

confidentiality issues and safety concerns was identical to that used with advocate training. 

Retention Rate Over Two Years 

An extensive protocol was created and implemented to maximize retention of this 

mobile population over two years. Strategies included making multiple contacts in the 

community, obtaining written Release of Information forms fiom participants, and paying 

women for participating in the research interviews. This protocol resulted in a retention rate 

of 95% at the post interview, 94% at 6- and 12-months, and 95% at 18- and 24-months. 

Retention rates were not significantly different between the advocacy and control conditions 

(x2 (1, = 278) = .56, ns). The specific components of the retention plan can be found in 

Sullivan et. al., (1996). 

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of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 20 

Secondary Data Analysis Major Research Questions 

Question #1. What are the mediational processes by which the Advocacy 

intervention affected reduction in victimization over time? 

The strengths based approach underlying the experimental intervention necessitated 

focusing not just on stopping problems and immediate difficulties but on enhancing 

knowledge, capabilities, and supports that would lead to increased quality of life (Powell et 

al., 1997). The intervention was designed to improve the overall quality of women’s lives 

by increasing their access to community resources and strengthening their available social 

support. Improvement in quality of life was hypothesized to exert a protective effect, 

reducing the likelihood of further victimization by a partner or ex-partner. The hypothesized 

model of intervention process is displayed in Figure 1. 

Figure 1. Hypothesized model of the intervention’s effects on reabuse over time 

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of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 2 1 

Prior research has suggested that social support buffers the negative effects of 

domestic violence (Hoff, 1990; Mitchell & Hodson, 1983) and protects women from abuse 

(Tan et al., 1992). Put simply, women with supportive people in their lives have more 

access to support and information that can protect them from batterers’ violence and threats. 

Similarly, access to community resources can serve to protect women fiom abusive 

partners. Whether those resources include police protection, restraining orders, housing, 

employment, transportation, etc., adequate access to community commodities and 

opportunities have been hypothesized to shield women from domestic violence. 

The construct “quality of life” has been operationalized as including such dimensions 

as self-determination, autonomy, psychological wellbeing, life satisfaction, physical and 

material wellbeing, and personal hlfillment (Hughes et al., 1995; Powell et al., 1997). 

Being supported by one’s community and having adequate social support have been found 

to relate to one’s quality of life. As such, the current intervention was expected to improve 

women’s overall quality of life by increasing their access to community resources and social 

support. Higher quality of life was then expected to serve as a protective factor, minimizing 

the likelihood of further victimization by a partner or ex-partner. 

Longitudinal latent structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the fit of the 

data to the conceptual model in Figure 1. This approach offers several advantages for tests 

of mediation. First, the analysis is dynamic, incorporating time intervals that are logically 

necessary for the hypothesized causal and intervening forces to exert their effects (Gollob & 

Reichardt, 199 1). Second, it allows controls for prior levels of both mediators and outcome 

variables, reducing the impact of variables not included in the model (i.e., spurious factors) 

and increasing power. Third, by organizing observed indicators into latent constructs, the 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 22 

approach reduces the impact of measurement error and provides a way to model correlation 

of measurement errors across time. Fourth, it offers statistical tests of overall model fit as 

well as formal comparisons between alternative models. Finally, the method provides a way 

to model, quantify, and test the significance of indirect effects that operate through complex 

mediational chains of intervening variables. Because women were randomly assigned to 

receive advocacy services, intervention effects identified through SEM can be interpreted 

causally, allowing strong inferences about the mediational process. -- 

Multiple indicators were developed for the constructs in the conceptual model at 

each of three time points: post-intervention, 12-month followup, and 24-month followup. 

Descriptive statistics for each observed indicator are in Table 1. Estimates of the internal 

consistency of each indicator, where applicable, are in Table 2. 

Social support. Nine items measured the quantity and quality of women=s perceived 

social support (Bogat, Chin, Sabbath, & Schwartz, 1983). Women indicated on a 7-point 

scale (1 = terrible to 7 = extremely pleased) how they felt about various types of social 

support, including emotional support, advice, practical assistance, and companionship. 

Three indicators were constructed from these items: Amount of Support (4 items), Quality 

of Support (4 items), and Overall Satisfaction with Support (single item). 

Access to resources. At post-intervention, women rated their Effectiveness in 

Obtaining Resources across eleven areas: housing, material goods and services, education, 

employment, health care, child care, transportation, social support, legal assistance, financial 

issues, and issues regarding their children. Response categories ranged from 1 = very 

ineffective to 4 = very effective, and scale scores were created by calculating the mean of 

self-report effectiveness scores across all domains in which a woman had tried to obtain 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
-- 

Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 23 

Table 1 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 24 

Social support 

Amount of support 

Quality of supporta 

Overall satisfaction 

Resources 

Effectivenessb 

Difficulty 

Satisfactiona 

Quality of life 

Item parcel 1 

Item parcel 2a 

Item parcel 3 

Reabuse 

Conflict tactics 

Frequent ykeverity a 

No. times harmed 

-- 

Post 12-mo. 24-mo. Post 12-mo. 24-mo. 

.77 34 .85 .97 .95 .98 

.78 36 .86 .94 .97 .94 

----- ----- ----- .78 .86 .79 

------ ------ 33 ------ ------ .68 

------ .76 .74 ------ -.63 -.67 

------ .78 -82 ------ .68 .77 

.77 .77 .77 .88 .89 .91 

.74 .69 .78 .90 .83 .88 

.76 .68 .74 .82 .82 .89 

.86 .90 .90 .95 .95 .95 

------ .97 .98 .97 

.90 .83 .84 

------ ------ 

------ ------ ------ 

Table 2 

Longitudinal Measurement Model 

Indicator Reliability 

(Cronbach’s Alpha) 

Standardized Measurement 

Coefficients 

Coefficients for these indicators were set to one to scale the latent variables in the 

In the unstandardized model, the coefficient for this single indicator was set to one and the 

a 

unstandardized solution. 

error variance was fixed at (1-internal consistency) * observed scale variance) or .157, 

following Hayduk (1 996). 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 25 

resources during the previous 10 weeks. Because the measure was individualized, only one 

composite indicator could be derived for resources at this time point. For use in the SEM, 

the coefficient for this single indicator was set to one and the error variance was fixed at (( 1 - 

internal consistency) * observed scale variance), following Hayduk (1 996). 

At 12- and 24-month followup, two variables measured women’s access to 

resources. Difficulty Obtaining Resources was composed of eleven items that assessed 

women’s perceptions of e difficulty they had experienced in obtaining resources in 

different areas (e.g., employment, housing) or, if they had not tried to access resources in a 

specific area, the difficulty they would expect to encounter should the need arise. Response 

categories ranged from 1 = not a problem to 4 = very much a problem. Satisfaction with 

Resources was a 5-item scale assessing satisfaction with living arrangement, educational 

level, transportation, financial situation, and material goods. Because response options were 

not consistent across items, they were standardized before being averaged; higher scores 

indicate greater satisfaction. 

7 

Quality of life. Using items adapted from Andrews and Withey (1 976), women 

indicated how they felt about how their lives were going. Sample items included “How do 

you feel about what you are accomplishing in your life?” and “How do you feel about your 

emotional and psychological well-being?’ (1 = terrible to 7 = extremely pleased; total scale 

a = 38). Because the scale was unidimensional, with no discernible subscale structure, items 

were systematically distributed into 3-item parcels to create three indicators of this construct 

at each time point (see Marsh, Hau, Balla, and Grayson, 1998). 

Reabuse. Each interview assessed the violence women had experienced by partners 

and ex-partners. During the post-intervention interview, women were asked about violence 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 26 

-- 

during the prior 10 weeks; at followup interviews, they were asked about the previous six 

months. Using an expanded version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus, 1979), women 

reported how often [ 1 =never to 6=more than 4 times a week] they had experienced each of 

the types of violence listed (e. g., choking, beating up). All women were asked these 

questions about their original assailants (whether or not they were still involved with them) 

and about new partners. Two indicators were derived from this measure. First was the 

Conflict Tactics Scale score, an average score across all 12 items. Second, following the 

rationale of Downs, Miller, & Panek (1 993), responses were combined to create a 

Frequency/Severity Scale of Violence, with 0 = no violence, 1= less severe abuse only (tore 

clothing, pushed, grabbed, shoved, slapped, threw something at), 2 = lower frequency [once 

a month or less] severe abuse (kicked, hit with fist, hit or tried to hit with object, beat up, 

choked, tied up, raped, threatened andor used a gun or knife), and 3 = high frequency severe 

abuse. Responses to a separate question, the number of times women reported having been 

physically harmed in any way by a partner or ex-partner [ 1 = never to 6 = more than 4 times 

a week], constituted the third indicator of this construct. 

Analysis Plan 

The application of structural equation modeling followed Anderson and Gerbing’s 

(1 988) two-step approach, in which confirmatory factor analysis is used to assess the 

hypothesized measurement model before the structural relationships among latent constructs 

are modeled. The fit of the measurement model is then used as a baseline for testing the fit 

of the hypothesized and alternative structural models. As recommended by Hu and Bentler 

(1 995), maximum likelihood (ML) methods were used to estimate model parameters. With 

two exceptions, indicator distributions appeared adequate for the assumptions of ML 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 27 

estimation; transformations successfully reduced skew for the two nonnormal indicators of 

reabuse (a log transformation for Number of Times Harmed and the reciprocal 

transformation for the Conflict Tactics Scale). Of the original sample of 278 women who 

participated in the research, 11 were excluded because they were missing more than one 

interview. Seventeen of the remaining 267 cases had smaller amounts of missing data 

(totaling less than‘ 1.5% of the data matrix); full information maximum likelihood (FIML) 

estimation, implemented in Amos 4 (Wothke, 1998) allowed these cases to be included in 

the SEM analyses. For bootstrap tests of total and indirect effects and other procedures 

requiring no missing data, expectation maximization (EM) methods were used to impute 

missing values (Little & Rubin, 1990). 

As is widely recommended (see Bollen & Long, 1993), indices of several different 

types were used to assess model fit. The minimum discrepancy hction (chi square) was 

examined, along with its ratio to model degrees of freedom (Bollen, 1989). The incremental 

fit index (IFI; Bollen, 1989) was added to assess improvement in fit per degree of freedom, 

relative to an independence model; for this index, values near one indicate good fit. The root 

mean square error of approximation (RMSEA; Steiger & Lind, 1980), which has a known 

sampling distribution, allowed for statistical tests of “close fit” to the data matrix, indicated 

by values indistinguishable from .05. Power to reject a hypothesis of close fit exceeded .90 

for all models considered here, according to procedures developed by MacCallum, Browne, 

and Sugawara (1 996). Two additional indices were used for comparisons between models. 

For nested models @e., those whose estimated parameters are a subset of the parameters 

estimated in a comparison model), the likelihood ratio (LR) chi square was used. For 

nonnested models, the expected cross validation index (ECVI; Browne & Cudeck, 1989) 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 28 

-- 

was consulted; for ECVI, smaller values indicate better-fitting models, penalizing model 

complexity. Due to possible departures from multiveate normality in the data, overall 

model fit was also confirmed with the robust Bollen-Stine bootstrapped p (Bollen 8z Stine, 

1993). 

In addition to these indices of global model fit, local fit was assessed against the 

hypothesized pattern of coefficients. Hypothesized paths were expected to be significantly 

different from zero; because these hypotheses were directional, one-tailed t-tests were used. 

Paths not hypothesized in the model were expected to have small Lagrange multipliers, 

indicating paths that, if estimated, would not significantly improve model fit. 

After establishing adequate fit of the model to the data, the magnitude and 

significance of modeled intervention effects were examined. Procedures outlined by Baron 

and Kenny (1986), Fox (1980), Bollen (1987) and Brown (1997) were used to test and 

interpret specific mediation effects on outcomes over time. For tests of mediation with one 

intervening variable, power exceeded .90 in most instances, given the sample size, measure 

reliability, degree of collinearity between independent and mediating variables, and the use 

of latent modeling (see Hoyle and Kenny,l999). For tests of longer mediational chains 

involving links among multiple intervening variables, power was undoubtedly lower, 

although its actual level could not be estimated. 

Results 

Measurement Model 

Standardized measurement coefficients linking the observed indicators to each latent 

construct are listed in Table 2. Most coefficients were above 35, revealing that indicators 

were highly saturated measures of their respective constructs. Saturation was lower for 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 29 

.- 

indicators of resources, but even these were acceptable in exceeding .60. In all models, 

errors of measurement for indicators assessed repeatedly were allowed to covary across 

time. Fit of the unconstrained measurement model (with no constraints placed on the error 

correlations) was very good, as can be seen from the indices in Table 3 (Model Ml). 

To test the factorial invariance of the measurement model over time, the 

unconstrained model was compared with a model in which measurement coefficients were 

required to be equal across the three measurement points (Model M2). Table 3 shows that 

this model also provided excellent fit to the data, and the small LR 2 indicates no 

significant difference in fit between the constrained and unconstrained models. This verifies 

the equality of coefficients across time and supports the contention that the indicators 

measured the same phenomena at all three time-points. The unconstrained measurement 

model was used as the basis for all structural models. 

Structural Model 

The hypothesized links between latent constructs were added to the longitudinal 

measurement model and are displayed in Figure 2. The first panel of the longitudinal model 

(post-intervention) shows the hypothesized immediate effects of the intervention; the 

continuing effects of post-intervention quality of life on outcomes at 12-month followup are 

in the second panel; and the continuing effects of 12-month quality of life on 24-month 

outcomes are in the third panel. Structural links were specified according to theoretical 

considerations about the timing of various effects, as suggested by Finkel (1 995). Subjective 

quality of life was thought to respond relatively quickly to changes in objective life 

circumstances, so the direct effects of social support and resources on quality of life were 

modeled as occurring within each one-year period. The process by which improved quality 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 30 

Insert Table 3: Measurement and alternative structural models - Comparisons of fit 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 3 1 

of life would affect reabuse was thought to require more time; consequently, beyond the 

post-intervention point, this effect was modeled as spanning the one-year intervals between 

measures. 

At each time point, social support and difficulty accessing resources were linked 

with directional paths, rather than the bidirectional paths indicated in Figure 1. The 

directions shown in Figur 2 were suggested by results of fitting an initial nonrecursive 

model in which only one directional coefficient at each time point was found to differ 

/" 

significantly from zero2. To simplify the model and facilitate further analysis, the 

nonsignificant paths were constrained to zero, yielding the recursive model shown. 

Nonsignificant paths linking resource effectiveness at post-intervention and difficulty 

accessing resources at 12- and 24-month followup were also deleted from the model. No 

other post hoc modifications were made3. Global indices in Table 2 confirmed that the 

hypothesized model (Model S2) provided a good fit to the data. There was no significant 

decline in fit compared with the baseline unconstrained measurement model (LR z(s 1) = 

64.975, p = .09) and no significant difference in fit from the initial nonrecursive model (Sl). 

For additional confirmation that the hypothesized model optimally represented the 

relationships present in the data, Model S2 was compared with two alternative structural 

models, both of which reversed the direction of the paths between quality of life and 

~ 

2 The direction of the post-intervention path was suggested in a preliminary nonrecursive model with bidirectional paths between social support and resources. Only the path from social support to resource 

effectiveness was significant. This model included pre-intervention measures of social support and quality of 

life, which were necessary to identify the nonrecursive model. Because pre-intervention measures had no 

apparent effect on other relationships, they were omitted to simplify the model. 

3 Not shown in figure 2 are correlations between residuals of quality of life and reabuse, which were estimated 

for 12-month and 24-month followup. Correlations were -.40 at 12-month and -.18 at 24-month, indicating 

that 16% and 3%, respectively, of the unexplained variance in these constructs was shared. 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 32 

Post-intervention 12-mo. follow-up 

Figure 2: Structural model showing the intervention's effects on reabuse over time, as 

mediated through social support, quality of life, and access to resources. 

24-mo. follow-up 

'. 

-.07 

\ 

I 

-.12 

.17 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 33 

reabuse. Model S3 specified a direct effect of the intervention on reabuse at post, and direct 

paths from reabuse at post and 12-month to quality of life at 12- and 24-month followup, 

respectively. Model S4 was similar, except that the influence of reabuse on quality of life 

was synchronous (within-time) at post, 12-month, and 24-month followup. These models 

present plausible alternative conceptualizations, asserting that quality of life is affected by 

reabuse (at the same or previous time point) and that the influence of the intervention on 

reabuse is through some mechanism that is not reflected in the model. On all indices, the 

alternative models showed poorer fit to the data than the hypothesized model. LR 2 for both 

showed significant degradation of fit compared with the measurement model, and the 

Bollen-Stine robust p was marginally significant, suggesting that the alternatives be rejected 

in favor of the hypothesized model. 

In addition to showing good global fit to the data, the hypothesized model showed 

good local fit, in terms of expected zero and nonzero path coefficients. Structural 

coefficients in the hypothesized model were in the expected direction (with only one 

nonsignificant exception), and 24 of the 29 hypothesized paths were statistically significant. 

At the structural level, the hypothesized model was a good representation of the 

relationships among latent constructs. 

The total effects (both direct and indirect, summed) implied by the hypothesized 

model are summarized in Table 4. Tests of significance using bootstrapped standard errors 

indicated that all effects were significantly different from zero. The advocacy intervention 

had significant effects on all other latent variables in the model; effects were especially 

strong on social support, resources, and quality of life at the post-intervention point, but 

significant effects persisted to 24-month follow-up. Social support and quality of life 

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Table 4 

Social Support 

Structural model - standardized total effects and squared multiple correlations 

Resources Quality of Life Reabuse 

Post 12-mo. 

.26** .17** 

.74** .49** 

.3 1 * 

.12* .06* 

.59** 

.54** 

I I I I I I 

Resources - 24-mo. I SO** I 

24-mo. 

.16** 

.47** 

.28* 

.28** 

.06* 

.35** 

.64** 

.47** 

.47** 

Post 

-.09** 

-.25** 

-.04* 

Reabuse - post 

12-mo. 24-mo. 

-.OS** -.06** 

-.15** -.15** 

-.04 

-.03* -.02* 

-.07* 

-.33** 

.11** 

-.21** -.19** 

-.12* 

.40** .31** 

.35** 

.19** .25** 

Quality of life - post 

Quality of life - 12-mo. 

.J 20** .24** .46** .35** 

.20** .65** 

Note: Significance tests are one-tailed and use bias-corrected bootstrap standard errors. 

t 

p < .IO. *E < .05. **E < .01. 

Reabuse - 12-mo. 

Variance explained by 

node1 (R2) .09** .51** .64** .34** .21** .42** 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 35 

showed substantial stability across time and also had strong effects on each other and on 

resources over time. As expected, effects on reabuse were weaker, but they also remained 

significant through 24-month followup. Post-intervention resource effectiveness showed the 

weakest effects across time, due at least in part to the measurement limitations of the single 

indicator for this post-intervention construct. In contrast, women’s difficulty in accessing 

resources (measured at 12- and 24-month followup) showed strong effects on all subsequent 

constructs in the model. 

The model explained a substantial proportion of variance in most of the constructs. 

As expected, variability in reabuse was less completely explained by the model than were 

differences on social support, resources, and quality of life, but the model accounted for a 

significant proportion of the variability in all constructs at all three time-points. 

Tests of Mediation 

Formal tests confirmed that intervention effects on reabuse were mediated by the 

chain of intervening relationships shown in Figure 2. Significance of the effect of 

intervention on quality of life and of the effect of quality of life on reabuse at postintervention and 24-month intervention confirmed two of Baron and Kenny’s (1 986) four 

conditions for testing mediation. To verify that the intervention had a significant direct 

effect on reabuse in the absence of the mediator, paths from quality of life to abuse at each 

of the three time points were set to zero and replaced with direct paths from the intervention; 

these were significant for post-intervention reabuse (standardized Bpost = -. 12, p < .OS) and 

reabuse at 24-month followup (B24 = -. 1 1, p < .05) but only suggestive for 12-month 

followup (B12 = -.06, p = .17). Testing the final condition, direct paths from intervention to 

reabuse at each time period were added to the model in Figure 2 (with the paths from 

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of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 36 

mediator to abuse not constrained to zero); none of the direct paths from intervention to 

abuse was significant, indicating that the effects of intervention on reabuse at the postintervention and 24-month followup points were completely mediated by the intervening 

variables. 

The same procedures, applied to the mediation of intervention effects on quality of 

life, verified complete mediation of these effects, as well. The intervention had significant 

direct effects on quality of life at all three time points when the intervening effects of social 

support and resources were set to zero (BPst = .21, p < .05; E12 =.12, p < .05; E24 = -.06, p = 

.11). With the mediating effects also estimated, none of the direct effects from intervention 

to quality of life was significant, confirming that all of the effects of intervention on quality 

of life were mediated by social support and resources. 

By using procedures for decomposition of indirect effects (see Fox, 1980; Brown, 

1997), it was possible to disentangle the complex effects of the mediational chain on 

outcomes across time. This involved calculating the specific indirect effect for each 

compound path from intervention to outcome and determining what proportion of the total 

effect was accounted for by paths operating through specific intervening variables. For both 

quality of life and reabuse, the stronger mediator of intervention effects was social support. 

At 24-month followup, 67% of the effect of intervention on reabuse was mediated through 

social support alone (not involving any resource variable); 16% was mediated through 

resources alone, and 17% was mediated through both, at either post-intervention or 12- 

month followup. For quality of life, 78% of the total intervention effect at 24-month 

followup was mediated through social support alone; 14% was mediated through resources 

alone, and 9% was mediated through both social support and resources, 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 37 

Reabuse at Time 2 was an important mediator of the effect of the intervention on 

later reabuse. Half (50%) of the intervention effect on 24-month reabuse could be accounted 

for by reabuse at the post-intervention point. However, 3 8% of the effect of the intervention 

on reabuse was mediated by quality of life at 12-month followup, indicating that substantial 

long-term effects were still being manifested by changes occurring during the first year 

following the intervention. 

Discussion 

As hypothesized, increased social support and access to community resources 

improved the quality of life of women with abusive partners and protected them from further 

victimization over time. Further, women who received the free services of a community 

based, strengths-based intervention were more likely to report increased social support and 

less difficulty accessing community resources, and these factors led to higher quality of life 

and reduced risk of future victimization over time. 

It is relatively uncommon in the social science field for intervention effects to persist 

over time. The fact that group differences continued to exist even two years post 

intervention speaks to the potential for strengths-based programs to instigate long-term 

improvement in participants' lives. We believe that the lasting change was the result of the 

intervention's focus on: (1) enhancing the women's inherent abilities, talents, and strengths; 

(2) mobilizing the community to effectively respond to women's needs for resources, 

services and opportunities; and (3) working collaboratively and respectfully with 

participants, as they guided the focus of the intervention in their own communities. Such 

intervention components were deliberately chosen to maximize the likelihood of change 

continuing over time (Dunst, Trivette, & Thompson, 1994; Fraser & Galinsky, 1997; 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 3 8 

Saleebey, 1997). 

These analyses indicate that community based, strengths-focused interventions can 

have a long lasting impact on the lives of women with abusive partners. While no one 

intervention will serve as a panacea for this complex social problem, continued positive 

change has now been shown to be an effect of a program that respected women’s natural 

strengths and abilities, that was individualized to meet the unique needs of participants, and 

that was guided by the women themselves. 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 39 

Question #2. Do intervention effects continue to the 36 month time point? 

Retention Rate at 3-year follow-up 

Of the original sample of 141 women who were enrolled in the first half of the study, 

124 (88%) were located and interviewed three years after their post-intervention interview. 

Because research resources were not available to support ongoing contact and tracking 

between the 2- and 3-year followup interviews, retention did not reach the level of 95+% 

achieved at previous interviews. However, of women who had been interviewed at 2-year 

followup, 93% were successfully interviewed one year later. Virtually identical proportions 

were interviewed in the experimental (87%) and control conditions (89%). Women who 

were successfully interviewed were not different from those lost to the 3-year followup on 

any of the pre-intervention measures. Additionally, there were no differences on mean levels 

of the major outcome variables at previous followups (F(6, 1 17) = 0.87, p > .50) or on 

outcome trajectories through the 2-year followup interview (F(18, 1089) = 0.66, E > .80). 

Results 

Contact with Assailant 

By 3-year followup, only 19% of the women were involved in relationships with the 

men who had abused them prior to the pre-intervention interview. However, half the women 

(50%) had seen the men in the previous six months. Including those in relationships, more 

than one third (35%) of the sample had contact with their assailants several times a month or 

more. Twenty percent of the women who were not involved reported that the assailant had 

tried to convince her to reunite during the previous six months, and 22% reported that he had 

tried to harass or intimidate her during the same period. There were no significant condition 

effects on these variables. 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 40 

Nineteen percent of the sample reported having been assaulted by their original 

assailants within the prior year. For 65% of these wo.men (n=l5), the abuse occurred while 

they were involved in a relationship with the men. The remaining 35% (n=S) were not 

involved with the men at the time of the violence. 

Involvement in New Relationships 

More than half the women (52%) were involved in new relationships at the time of 

the 3-year followup interview, and 64% had been in a new relationship at some time during .- 

the previous six months. Over the entire three-year followup period, 8 1 % reported having 

been involved in a new relationship at some point. These proportions were not significantly 

different for the two conditions. 

Condition Effects on Primary Outcome Variables at 3-year Followup 

Previous analysis of the first two years of post-intervention followup focused on five 

major outcome variables: physical abuse, psychological abuse, depression, quality of life, 

and social support. Significant condition effects in favor of the advocacy intervention were 

found on three of these outcomes across the two years -- physical abuse, quality of life, and 

social support. Additionally, the experimental condition showed a significant impact over 

time on women’s difficulty in accessing community resources. 

In the current analysis, oneway multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was 

used to determine whether significant between-condition differences seen at 2-year followup 

were maintained through 3-year followup. To preserve statistical power in light of the 50% 

reduction of sample, an alpha of. 10 was set for these analyses. Because the comparisons 

between experimental and control group were inherently directional, one-tailed tests were 

used. 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 41 

-- 

The oneway MANOVA between conditions on four outcome variables (physical 

abuse, quality of life, social support, and difficulty accessing resources) was significant 

(multivariate F(4, 1 19) = 1.57, one-tailed p < . lo), indicating overall differences between the 

advocacy and control conditions at 3-year followup. Multivariate q2 = .05, meaning that 

condition explained 5% of the variability across the four dependent variables. 

To identify effects associated with specific outcome variables, univariate oneway 

ANOVA's were examined for each individual dependent variable. Condition had a 

significant effect on social support (F( 1, 122) = 4.69, one-tailed p < .02), accounting for 4% 

of the variance. Estimated means for social support were 5.48 (Experimental) and 5.09 

(Control), with s.e. = .13. Quality of life also showed a significant condition effect (F( 1, 

122) = 2.51, one-tailed p < .06), accounting for 2% of the variance. Estimated means for 

quality of life were 5.07 (Experimental) and 4.77 (Control), with s.e. = .13. Condition 

effects were not significant for difficulty accessing resources (F( 1, 122) =I .25, one-tailed p 

= .14) or for physical abuse (F( 1, 122) = 0.83, one-tailed p = .18). Mean level across 

conditions for resource difficulty was 2.1 1 (s.e. = .OS) and for physical abuse, 0.75 (s.e. = 

.14). 

Experience of Physical Abuse at 3-year Followup 

Thirty six percent of the women reported having experienced some level of physical 

abuse by a partner or ex-partner during the previous 6 months; 28% had experienced severe 

abuse. Aggregate levels were similar to those seen at 2-year follow-up (36% experiencing 

abuse, 23% severe). However, there was substantial change from 2- to 3-year followup at 

the individual level, with abuse levels at the two time points correlating only .53. Level of 

abuse changed for approximately one third (32%) of the women, with 10% who reported no 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 42 

abuse at 2-year followup experiencing abuse at 3-year followup, and 10% who had reported 

abuse at 2-year followup experiencing no abuse at 3-year followup. 

Covariates of Reabuse at 3-year Followup 

Three years after the advocacy intervention, physical abuse was no longer 

significantly affected by having received advocacy services. However, two important 

mediators of reabuse still showed the significant impact of advocacy: quality of life and 

social support. To see if the association between these mediators and reabuse persisted, we 

used quality of life and social support as predictors of reabuse three years after the 

intervention. Table 5 shows the results of hierarchical logistic regression predicting 

incidence of physical abuse during the six months prior to 3-year followup from 

hypothesized mediator variables measured one year earlier (at 2-year followup). Prior abuse 

was controlled by entering abuse at 2-year followup into the first block of the equation; 

controlling for earlier abuse in this way allowed the remaining coefficients to be interpreted 

as predicting change in reabuse over the intervening year. Experimental condition (receipt of 

advocacy services three years prior) was also entered in the first block as a control for 

possible intervention effects that could emerge once other variables were in the equation. As 

expected, abuse at 2-year followup was strongly predictive of continued abuse at 3-year 

followup (odds ratio (OR) = 15.49), while experimental condition had no significant 

relationship with 3-year reabuse. 

Block 2 entered quality of life at 2-year followup, which was a significant negative 

predictor of reabuse at 3-year followup (OR = 0.63). In block 3, difficulty accessing 

resources at 2-year followup was also a significant predictor; a one-point increase on the 4- 

point resource difficulties scale was associated with nearly doubled odds (OR = 1.89) of 3- 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 43 

Table 5 Hierarchical logistic regression predicting 3-year followup reabuse 

-- 

Block 

0 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Independent variablesa 

Constant 

Control variables 

Experimental condition 

Reabuse at 24-month followup 

(1 = yes; 0 = no 

Quality of life 

) 

Difficulty accessing resources 

Total social support 

Specific material resources 

Monthly income (in dollars) 

Woman contributed 100% of 

household income 

(1 = yes; 0 = no) 

Employed in prior 6 months 

Problems with social services 

agency in prior 6 months 

Specific social supports 

People who gave practical help 

People woman talked with 

about personal matters 

People who made things hard 

Entry block Final block 

B 

-0.59** 

0.63 

2.74*** 

-0.47* 

0.64* 

0.07 

0.00 

-0.16 

-1.64** 

0.42' 

-0.42* 

-0.4 1 * 

0.46* 

Odds 

ratio B 

0.56 3.34*** 

1.87 0.90 

15.49 3.33*** 

0.63 -0.38 

1.89 -0.39 

1.00 0.12 

1.00 0.00 

0.85 -0.53 

0.19 -1.50** 

1-52 0.46' 

0.61 -0.42* 

0.66 -0.41* 

1.50 0.46* 

Odds ratio L.R.2 df 

27.82 

41.11*** 2 

1.45 

27.82 

0.75 4.84* 1 

0.67 2.69' 1 

1.07 0.00 1 

12.62** 4 

1 .oo 

0.63 

0.21 

1.55 

11.22** 3 

0.65 

0.66 

1 SO ......................................................................................................... . ..................................................................................................................................................... 

Full model 2 = 72.49(df=12), p < .001 

N = 123 women with 3-year followup interview; 1 case omitted due to missing covariate 

data. 

dependent variable (i.e., at 2-year followup). 

those for L.R. 2 are 2-tailed. 

Unless otherwise specified, all independent variables were assessed one year prior to the 

p < .lo. * p < .05. * * p < .O 1. * * * p < .OO 1. Significance tests for odds ratios are 1 -tailed; 

a 

t 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 44 

year reabuse, controlling for abuse one year earlier. With resource difficulties in the 

equation, the contribution of quality of life dropped to nonsignificance, signaling that the 

effects of quality of life were completely mediated by difficulties accessing resources. Total 

social support, entered in block 4, had no significant relationship with 3-year reabuse and 

did not serve to mediate the effects of quality of life. Even when entered at block 2, in place 

of resource difficulties, total social support made no significant contribution to predicting 

reabuse. 

Blocks 5 and 6 contained specific material and social resources hypothesized to 

further predict 3-year followup reabuse. Both blocks made significant additional 

contributions to the equation. In block 5 were variables related to major financial resources. 

Neither monthly income nor women’s contribution to the household income were significant 

predictors of reabuse. Having been employed during the six months prior to the 2-year 

followup interview was a significant negative predictor, associated with an 80% reduction in 

the odds of reabuse (OR = 0.19); and having encountered problems with the social services 

(public assistance) agency was a marginally significant positive predictor of reabuse one 

year later (OR = 1 S2). At block 5, with financial resource variables in the equation, 

difficulties accessing resources no longer made a significant contribution to predicting 

reabuse, indicating that the effect of resource difficulty was completely mediated by 

financial resources. In block 6, all three forms of social support reported at 2-year followup 

were predictive of reabuse one year later. The number of people who provided practical help 

and the number with whom the woman had talked about personal matters were both 

negatively predictive of later abuse (OR = 0.61 and 0.66, respectively), while the number of 

people who had made life hard for the woman was positively predictive (OR = 1.50). 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 45 

The combined set of independent variables made significant improvements in 

prediction of reabuse compared to a constants-only model (model LR x2 = 72.49(df=12), p < 

.OOl). According to the Nagelkerk R2, the variables in the equation jointly accounted for 

59% of the variance in reabuse at 3-year followup. Classification accuracy improved to 84% 

for the final equation compared to 64% accurary for the baseline constants-only equation. 

Discussion 

Analyses indicated that the program’s effect on risk of revictimization did not 

continue three years post intervention. Women were experiencing about the same rate of 

victimization at 3-year followup that they were at 2-year followup (36%), although the 

abuse was not always against the same women. However, having worked with an advocate 

three years prior continued to have a positive impact on women’s quality of life and level of 

social support. It appears that the risk of being abused three years post-shelter stay was 

increased by a number of factors present one yearprior, including women’s: (1) having 

been abused; (2) having had problems with the state governmental pubic assistance agency; 

and (3) having people around that made their lives difficult. Women were at less risk of 

abuse if they: (1) were employed one year prior; and (2) had people around one year prior 

who provided practical help andor who were available to talk about personal matters. 

These findings support the hypothesis that access to resources and social support serve as 

protective factors against continued abuse. Women who had been employed and who had 

supportive people in their lives were less likely to have been abused again, while women 

having problems with public services and who had difficult people in their lives were at 

increased risk. Of course, the best predictor of future abuse is past abuse, as factors related 

to the assailant are the best predictors of his continued violence. However, it also appears 

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of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 46 

-- 

that some women may be at increased risk of future intimate partner violence if they are 

having financial difficulties andor lack supportive bdividuals in their lives. 

The link between access to financial resources and risk of future abuse corroborates 

prior studies. Hofeller (1982) found that 58% of her sample felt trapped in their abusive 

relationships because they could not economically support themselves and their children. 

Strube and Barbour (1983) also found that employment contributed heavily to the decision 

of whether to stay or leave an abusive relationship. Similarly, Aguirre (1 985) reported that 

economic dependence on the abuser contributed heavily to women’s remaining in the 

relationship. Women lacking the financial resources to support themselves and their 

children sometimes have to make difficult choices. One of those choices, for some women, 

is to try to stop the violence they are experiencing while remaining involved with the 

abusive men. 

The study’s finding that social support related to risk of reabuse also corrobates prior 

research (Bowker, 1984; Dobash et al., 1985; Donato & Bowker, 1984; Hoff, 1990; Mitchell 

& Hodson, 1983; Tan et al., 1995). A specific strategy of many batterers is to isolate their 

victims from family and fiends, thus cutting off opportunities for help and support. As the 

number of supportive people in a woman’s life increases so too do her options for protection 

and safety. 

These findings support the research study’s underlying strengths-based philosophy, 

that sees the community as a resource as well as a focus of intervention (see Early & 

GlenMaye, 2000). It has been postulated that intimate male violence against women is 

prevalent at least in part because of our society’s (1) failure to provide women with adequate 

economic opportunities, and (2) failure to hold offenders accountable (see Goodman et al., 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 47 

1993; Sullivan, 1997; United Nations, 1989). The results of this analysis support this view. 

Women who lacked financial resources and a supportive social network were more 

vulnerable to being physically assaulted than were women in stronger economic and social 

situations. Although a great deal more research is needed to further explicate these 

relationships, enough is known to support the need to increase community supports for all 

women. Increased economic opportunities for women and increased sanctions for abusers 

will likely prevent and deter intimate partner violence. 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 48 

Question #3. Were some interventions more effective than others, and if 

so, what were the components of a "successful" intervention? Was the 

intervention more successful at reducing victimization for women in some 

types of situations than for others? 

While prior analyses had indicated that the experimental intervention was effective 

in general, analyses comparing group means cannot reveal differences occurring across 

various interventions within the experimental condition. Analyses were conducted to assess 

characteristics of individual interventions in order to explore whether some interventions 

were more effective than others. Intervention components were assessed as they related to 

program outcomes of (1) improved ability to access community resources, (2) improved 

quality of life, (3) higher social support, and (4) decreased risk of abuse. 

Domains in which Women were Initially Interested in Working 

At the pre-intervention interview, each woman regardless of experimental condition 

was asked whether she wanted to work on each of eleven domains (child care, education, 

finances, goods and services, health, housing, employment, child issues, legal, social, and 

transportation). Endorsement frequencies for each domain are presented in Table 6. 

In many instances, areas endorsed by women were associated in understandable 

ways with background or other variables. Wanting to work on housing was strongly related 

to currently staying in someone else's residence (r = .53). Wanting to work on childcare was 

associated with having children under age 5 (r = .48). Requesting help with legal issues was 

correlated with the woman being married to the assailant (r = .27) as well as experiencing 

more threats (r = .23) and psychological abuse (r = .33) from him prior to the intervention. 

Women interested in working on education issues were more likely to be current students 

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Grant Award #98-wT-VX-00 13 Final Report 49 

Table 6 

Advocacy domains women wanted to work on and intervention activity 

_____ ~~~ 

Proportion of Advocacy Intervention Activities 

Women Wanting 

Domain 

Advocacy domains to Work on Mean s.d. Minimum Maximum 

Goods & services .90 

Social support .78 

Health .78 

Education .73 

t 

Transportation 

Finances 

Child issues 

.7 1 

.70 

.60 

Employment .59 

Legal 

Childcare 

.59 

.53 

Housing .44 

Amount of intervention activity a 

In-person contacts with 

advocate per week 

Hours of in-person 

contact with advocate per 

week 

Phone hours with 

advocate per week 

Total hours on advocacy 

activities 

3.68 

1.21 

2.19 

3.20 

1.92 

2.19 

2.04 

3.09 

3.21 

1.73 

2.63 

2.28 

6.38 

2.34 

91.47 

1.92 

1.64 

2.03 

2.20 

1.89 

2.19 

2.15 

2.65 

2.61 

2.06 

2.16 

1.11 

4.70 

4.44 

109.6 1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

6 

6 

6 

7 

6 

6 

6 

8 

8 

5 

6 

7 

25 

40 

774 

a Intervention activity measures were log-transformed for analysis to correct positive skew 

and limit the influence of extreme scores; to facilitate interpretation, means are presented in 

original metric 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 50 

(r = .22), and those wanting to work on acquiring goods and services had less money to live 

on (r = -.25). Finally, wanting to work on health issues was associated with higher levels of 

depression (r = .17) and with having sustained more injuries due to the abuse (r = .16). 

Intervention activity. Total amount of intervention activity was measured at the 

post-intervention interview in several ways. Women were asked how many times a week 

they saw their advocate in person and how much time per week they spent with the 

advocate, both in person and on the phone. They were also asked to estimate how much time 

they had spent working with their advocate on each of the eleven domains over the course of 

the intervention. These were summed for each woman, yielding the total amount of time that 

had been spent actively working on advocacy activities. Distributions of the measures of 

intervention activity are summarized in Table 6. 

Specific intervention activities. Women reported seeing their advocates about twice 

a week over the ten week intervention (M = 2.3; $J = 1.18), and spent on average 6.4 hours 

a week with them (SD = 4.68). The types of community resources women tried to obtain 

included education (84%), legal assistance (72%), employment (72%), services for their 

children (68% of the mothers), housing (67%), child care (63% of the mothers), 

transportation (62%), financial assistance (61%), health care (6O%), and social support 

(47%). Ninety eight percent reported being somewhat or very satisfied with the project 

(87% reporting "very satisfied"). 

Cluster Analysis 

Cluster analysis was used to determine if the advocacy interventions received by 

individual women could be categorized into subtypes that might differ as to content and 

level of activity. Cases were sorted into clusters based on activity scores in the eleven 

advocacy domains. Because ranges differed somewhat across domains, scores were 

standardized to equalize the influence of different domains. The squared Euclidean distance 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 5 1 

.- 

was used as a similarity measure, reflecting not only interindividual profile similarities 

(relative magnitude) but also similarities in absolute magnitude. Thus, clusters reflected 

groupings of individuals who were similar in level of activity as well as relative profile 

pattern across the eleven advocacy domains. 

The cluster analysis was done in several stages, as recommended by Blashfield and 

Aldenderfer (1 988). Initial clusters were derived by Ward's method, a hierarchical 

agglomerative technique minimizing within-cluster variation. The centroids of the initial 

clusters were then submitted to an iterative clustering procedure (K-means) to refine cluster 

membership and reduce the incidence of cluster misassignment common with agglomerative 

methods. 

Scree plots of fusion coefficients were clear in indicating the presence of five distinct 

clusters. To verify that the 5-cluster solution best represented the data, it was compared with 

the 4-cluster solution on several diagnostic statistics (Sneath & Sokal, 1973). The 5-cluster 

solution showed lower cluster dispersion (within-cluster spread), greater cluster distinctness 

(within-cluster spread weighted by distance between clusters), and fewer cases that were 

farther from their own cluster center than the distance between clusters. This solution also 

yielded a reasonably even distribution of cases across clusters. 

Advocacy Clusters 

Cluster means for each of the eleven advocacy domains are illustrated in Figure 3. 

The first section of Table 7 indicates significant results of Tukey paired comparisons among 

clusters for each activity domain. Cluster names and interpretations were derived from these 

comparisons. Interventions in the LegaZ$nanciaZ cluster involved significantly more legal 

activities than any other cluster, plus high levels of activity around finances, housing, and 

employment. Housing interventions had high levels of activity in this domain, as well as 

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Grant Award #98-WT-vX-00 13 Final Report 52 

Figure 3 Standardized cluster means for cluster defining variables 

1 .o 

u 

3 

c 

c E (II -'*Ol 

U 

s -1.5J I I I I 

Job Housing Soc./ed. Low Legallfin. 

Intervention Cluster 

4dvocacy Activities 

Childcare 

Education 

Finances 

Goodskewices 

Health 

Housing 

=Employment 

Child issues 

Legal 

Social support 

(Note: To conserve space, transportation, on which there were no significant cluster 

differences, was omitted from the figure.) 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 53 

Table 7 Advocacy cluster means on activity scores and amount of intervention activity 

-- 

Advocacy cluster means 

Dependent 

variables LegaVfin. Housing Job Sociawed. Low level 

(n = 24) (n = 26) (n = 25) (n = 33) (n = 29) F(4, 132) 

Advocacy domains (cluster-defining variables) 

Legal 1 .09a -0.66bC -0.13b - 0.02 bd ' -0.23b 14.38*** 

Finances 1 .09a -0.56b -0.84b 0.9 1 a -0.62b 59.22 * * * 

Housing 0.73a 0.55a -0.24b -0.40b -0.37b 8.80*** 

Goods & services 

Employment 

Social support 

Education 

Health 

Childcare 

Child issues 

Transportation 

0.1oab 

O.soa 

0.18 

-0.09a 

0.34bC 

0.05 

0.19a 

0.46 

0.5 lab 0.ooa 

-0.76b 0.86a 

-0.29a -0.40a 

-0.4 1 a -0.35a 

0.02aC -0.5 la 

0.04 0.21a 

0.23a 0.33a 

-0.26 -0.17 

0~56~ 

-0.01' 

0.80b 

0.58b 

0.67b 

0.2 1 a 

0.07a 

0.13 

-1.16' 

-0.71b 

-0.34a 

0.02 

-0.50a 

-0.53b 

-0.7Sb 

-0.16 

23.33*** 

29.20*** 

8.50*** 

5.57*** 

8.32*** 

3.10* 

6.56*** 

2.28 

Amount of intervention activity (variables external to cluster solution)e 

In-person contacts 

per week 2.68 2.46 2.16 2.18 2.10 0.85 

In-person hours 

per week 6.67 6.77 5.44 7.36 5.52 1.21 

Phone hours per 

week 3.33 1.54 1.68 3.21 1.76 1.67 

Total hours on 

advocacy 146.25a 85.15 68.00b 82.50 8 1 .93b 3.63** 

Participant-rated effectiveness and satisfaction with intervention 

Effectiveness 3.41a 3.41a 3.09b 3.37 3.30 2.07t 

Satisfaction 3.91a 3 .90a 3 .60b 3.82 3.69 3.21* 

Within each dependent variable, means with different superscript letters are significantly 

different at p < .05, according to Tukey paired comparisons. 

e 

influence of extreme scores; to facilitate interpretation, means presented in original metric. 

For analysis, activity variables were log-transformed to correct positive skew and limit the 

p < .IO. * p < .05. ** p < -01. ***p < .001. t 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 54 

substantial levels of advocacy around goods and services. Job interventions focused 

primarily on employment. Interventions in the Social/education cluster had the highest 

levels of activity around education and social support, as well as high levels of attention to 

finances, goods and services, and health. Low LeveZ cluster interventions had below-average 

levels of activity across all domains. Several domains were not a major focus in any of the 

clusters. Childcare comprised a secondary focus among interventions in the Jobs and 

Social/education clusters, while other child issues were a secondary focus in all except the 

Low Level cluster. Activities focusing on transportation were not significantly different 

among the clusters. 

The second section of Table 7 shows cluster means on several measures of amount 

of intervention activity. There were no significant differences among the clusters on the 

number of times women say their advocates each week or on the amount of time spent with 

them, either in person or on the phone. On average, women in all clusters saw their 

advocates two to three times per week and spent between 5.75 and 7.5 hours with them in 

person plus 1.5 to 3.5 hours on the phone. Although the total amount of time spent with 

advocates did not differ by cluster, there were significant differences on the amount of time 

spent pursuing advocacy activities, with women in the Legal/Jinancial cluster reporting 

significantly more time spent on advocacy tasks than those in the Job or Low Level 

advocacy clusters. 

Cluster means on effectiveness of and satisfaction with the intervention are presented 

in the third section of Table 7. Although ratings were uniformly high, there were significant 

cluster differences on satisfaction: ratings were more positive for interventions in the 

Legal/JinanciaE and Housing clusters compared with the Jobs cluster. Parallel, marginally 

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Grant Award #98-wT-VX-00 13 Final Report 55 

significant differences were found for average ratings of effectiveness across the 

intervention domains. 

Prediction of Advocacy Cluster Membership 

Because the Community Advocacy Project was designed to be client directed, it was 

important to examine the correspondence between areas in which women wanted to work 

and domains addressed in the interventions. To answer this question, multinomial logistic 

regression was used to examine the extent to which membership in individual advocacy 

clusters could be predicted from women’s pre-intervention statements about areas they 

wanted to pursue. Multinomial logistic regression (Hosmer & Lemeshow, 1989) is an 

extension of binomial logistic regression (predicting the log odds of the response category in 

a dichotomous outcome variable) to the case in which several response categories are 

simultaneously contrasted with a single comparison category. In the current analysis, the 

LegaZ/JinanciaZ category was taken as the comparison category for the other four clusters. 

The odds ratios that constitute the typical results from logistic regression indicate changes in 

odds ratios that are associated with a unit increase in an independent variable. In the 

multinomial case, odds ratios are limited to comparisons with a single designated category. 

However, derivative probabilities can be calculated to indicate shifts in absolute probability 

of membership in each cluster, without reference to a comparison category, given a one-unit 

change in a given independent variable (Long, 1997). Table 8 contains these derivative 

results. Each cell entry indicates the shift in probability of cluster membership that is 

associated with an affirmative response to the question of whether a given domain was an 

area in which the woman wanted to work. Collectively, use of the eleven desired advocacy 

domain variables made a significant improvement in model fit relative to a constants-only 

.p 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 56 

model: LR X2 (,jf=q = 65.53, p < .02. 

Many of the associations between women’s pre-intervention interests and the 

intervention focus were easily interpretable. As can be seen in Table 8, if a woman stated at 

her pre- intervention interview that she wanted to work on legal issues, the probability that 

the intervention she received would be categorized in the LegaZ/financial cluster increased 

by .2, while the probability that she would receive an intervention classified in the Housing 

cluster declined by .13. Wanting to work on financial issues increased the probability of a 

Legal4nanciaE cluster intervention by .12 while reducing the probability of a Low Level 

cluster intervention by .13. Mention of wanting to work on housing issues was associated 

with an increase of. 14 in the probability of an intervention in the LegalBnancial cluster and 

.09 in the Housing cluster; this is contrasted with a .23 reduction in the probability of a 

Social/education cluster intervention. Similarly, wanting to work on social support issues 

was associated with a .16 increase in the probability of a Social/education cluster 

intervention. 

Less intuitively interpretable associations were noted in the employment domain. 

Wanting to work on employment was associated with a .14 decrease in probability of 

receiving a Job cluster intervention but an increase of. 14 in the probability of a 

Legal4nancial intervention. Wanting to work on education was associated with an equal 

increase of .07 in the probability of both a Social/education cluster intervention and a Job 

intervention. Finally, wanting to work on childcare was linked with a .18 increase in 

probability of a Job cluster intervention. 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 57 

Table 8 

Multinomial logistic regression predicting cluster membership 

~____ 

Effect on probability of cluster membership (derivatives)a 

Independent variables LegaV Social/ Low 

financial Housing Job education Level 

(n = 24) (n = 26) (n = 25) (n = 33) (n = 29) 

Advocacy domains in which women wanted to work 

Legal .20 -.13 -.04 -.oo -.02 

Finances .12 '. -.03 .02 .02 -. 13 

Housing .14 .09 .05 -.23 -.05 

Goods services .11 -.07 -.I4 .20 -.lo 

Employment .14 -.I2 -.14 .02 .10 

Social support -.OS -.09 .os .16 -.07 

Education -.18 .oo .07 .07 .04 

Health .04 .03 -.01 .01 -.07 

Childcare .06 .05 .18 -.05 -.22 

Child issues .o 1 .02 -.09 -.06 .I3 

Transportation -.07 .02 -.05 .ll -.01 

Constant -.3 1 .19 .09 -.27 .30 

2 Fit compared with a constants-only model: LR x (df=44) = 65.53* 

Additional bivariate predictors (pre-intervention measures) 

LR 2 

(df = 4) 

Have own residence -.I7 -.03 -.01 .2 1 .oo 1 1 .os* 

Currently a student -.18 .12 .20 -.04 -.lo 8.71' 

Injuries due to abuse in 

prior 6 months .04 -.03 -.02 -.01 .o 1 8.96' 

Quality of life -.09 .04 .o 1 .14 -.01 12.80* 

Each cell entry indicates the probability of cluster membership that is associated with an a 

affirmative response to the question of whether each domain was an area that the woman wanted to 

work on. 

t 

p < .lo. * p < .05. 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 58 

-- 

The bottom section of Table 8 indicates the changes in cluster membership 

probability associated with other measures of women’s pre-intervention situations and 

needs. Women who already had residences of their own were more likely to receive 

SociaZ/education interventions and less likely to have LegaZ4nanciaZ interventions. Those 

who were students were more likely to receive Job or Housing cluster interventions and less 

likely to have interventions in the LegaZBnanciaZ cluster. Having had more injuries fiom 

abuse increased the probability of a LegaZBnanciaZ intervention: each point increase on the 

1 0-point injury scale was associated with an increase of .04 in the probability of being in this 

cluster. For quality of life, each point increase on the 7-point scale was associated with a .09 

reduction in the probability of having a LegaZJnanciaZ intervention and a .14 increase in the 

probability that the intervention would be in the SociaZ/education cluster. Only quality of 

life made a significant additional contribution to understanding cluster membership once the 

domains in which women wanted to work were accounted for: LR x2(d-) = 9.32, p = .05. 

The effects of having a residence, being a student, and the impact of injuries due to preintervention abuse were completely mediated by the domains in which women wanted to 

work. No other differences were found among clusters as to women’s demographics, life 

circumstances, previous abuse experience, or other pre-intervention measures. 

Outcome Differences Among Clusters 

Another important question was whether variations across interventions were 

associated with differences in outcome. Hierarchical regression methods were used to 

address this question -- ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regression to predict continuous 

outcomes and binomial logistic regression to predict dichotomous outcomes. For each 

analysis, all significant multivariate predictors of cluster membership (questions about 

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Grant Award #98-wT-VX-00 13 Final Report 59 

whether women wanted to work on each of the eleven advocacy domains plus preintervention quality of life) were entered into the regression in a fvst block, to control for 

pre-existing differences among women in the clusters. Advocacy cluster was entered in the 

second block, as four dummy variables; the Low Level intervention cluster was used as the 

omitted comparative category. 

Controlling for pre-intervention variables that were predictive of cluster 

membership, significant differences were found for two outcomes -- post-intervention 

employment and housing (see Table 9). Women in the LegaZ4nanciaZ cluster were 

significantly more likely to be employed post-intervention compared with women in the 

Low Level intervention cluster (odds ratio = 1 1.5 1). Women in the Jobs cluster were no 

more likely to be employed at post than were women in the Low Level cluster. Having one’s 

own residence post-intervention was more likely for women in the Housing cluster (odds 

ratio = 8.19). No significant cluster differences were found for other post-intervention 

outcomes that were examined: social support, quality of life, physical abuse, depression, 

difficulties obtaining resources, income, or student status. 

Discussion 

As intended, the advocacy interventions could generally be categorized as being 

unique to the individual needs of the women participating. With few exceptions, women 

reported working in areas they had intended to work in, and interventions matched women’s 

stated needs and goals. A notable exception to this related to women wanting employment 

pre-intervention. Wanting to get a job was actually associated with a .14 decrease in 

probability of membership in the Job cluster. The fact that women wanting employment 

were more likely to end up in the LegaZ/$nanciaZ cluster likely speaks to two issues. First, 

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of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

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Grant Award #98-wT-VX-0013 Final Report 60 

Table 9 

Prediction of post-intervention outcome from advocacy cluster (hierarchical logistic 

regression) 

LR2 forblock 

Outcome 

Variable Independent Variables Coefficient Odds Ratio LR 2 df E! ~ ~~ 

Employment 

Block 1 Control variablesa -- -- -- -- 44.4 1 13 .oo 1 

Block 2b LegaVfinancial cluster 2.44 11.51** 

Housing cluster 1.61 5.00 

Job cluster 0.96 2.60 

Social/education cluster -0.05 0.95 1 1.26 4 .02 

Housing (having one’s own residence) 

Block 1 Control variablesa - -- -- -- 26.16 13 .02 

Block 2b Legal/financial cluster 0.09 1.09 

Housing cluster 2.10 8.19* 

Job cluster -0.44 0.65 

SociaVeducation cluster 1.12 3.08 8.55 4 .02 

a Block one of each logistic regression equation included 13 control variables: pre-intervention 

quality of life, eleven variables indicating whether women had wanted to work on each advocacy 

domain, and pre-intervention status on the outcome variable. 

comparison category. 

* p< .05. ** .01. 

For Block 2 of each regression, the Low Level intervention cluster was used as the omitted 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 61 

.- 

at the time this intervention was occurring in Michigan, state welfare reform policies were in 

effect that made obtaining employment for women on welfare very difficult. Women often 

lost their health benefits and food stamps immediately upon or shortly after gaining 

employment, which left them and their children in a precarious situation. Finding 

employment that paid well enough to lose welfare benefits and to handle increased 

transportation and child care costs was quite difficult and often resulted in women seeking 

other means of financial assistance. This could have led some women toward interventions 

representative of the Legal@nancial cluster. 

Another reason some women wanting employment may have actually ended up in 

the Legal/financial cluster might have been related to safety concerns. Membership in the 

Legal/financial cluster was associated with having sustained injuries from their assailants 

(indicating severe abuse), not having their own residences, and reporting lower quality of 

life. These women appear to have been in higher crisis than women in other clusters, which 

explains their need for legal and financial assistance and also explains why they spent more 

time on advocacy activities compared to women in the Jobs cluster. Women having 

immediate housing andor safety concerns may have wanted to work on obtaining 

employment and yet later realized they had other priorities that had to be handled first. It is 

interesting that, even though women reporting wanting employment were more likely to end 

up in the Legal/financial cluster, women in the Legal&nancial cluster were more likely to 

be employed post-intervention than women in either the Jobs or Low Level clusters. 

As expected, no cluster differences were found for the major outcome variables of 

social support, quality of life, physical abuse, depression, or difficulties obtaining resources. 

Because the interventions were intended to be flexible to women’s individual changing 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 62 

needs over time, there was no reason to believe that one intervention would be more 

“effective” than another in resulting in positive change. 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 63 

Question #4: What other antecedents account for differences in 

victimization over time? 

Due to the lack of longitudinal studies examining intimate partner violence over 

time, little is known about risk factors for continued victimization by a partner or ex-partner. 

While prior studies have determined that ongoing abuse is common (Sherman, 1992; Straus, 

Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980) and that abuse often becomes moresevere with time (Hilbert & 

Hilbert, 1984; Okun, 1986) we also know that some women are successful in ending the 

violence they are experiencing, and the more we can discover about these successes the 

better able we will be to assist other survivors of domestic violence. 

The National Research Council’s Panel on Violence Against Women recommended 

that “all research on violence against women should take into account the context within 

which women live their lives and in which the violence occurs” (p. 47) and “Longitudinal 

research . . .should be undertaken to study the developmental trajectory of violence against 

women (p. 90). This data set allowed for the examination of the trajectory of domestic 

violence over time. It was expected that, by examining variables that predict later violence, 

light could be shed on issues that might be amenable to intervention. 

The current analyses examined a number of variables, including severity of recent 

abuse, number of previous separations, duration of relationship, whether they were married 

pre-intervention, time from the beginning of the relationship to the first incident of abuse, 

extent of psychological abuse, duration of woman’s shelter stay pre-intervention, the 

woman’s intention to remain in or leave the relationship, the batterer‘s substance abuse, the 

woman’s level of resources, the woman’s depression, and the woman’s sense of selfefficacy. Variables were selected based in part on lethality research (e.g., Campbell, 1986; 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 64 

-- 

Cazenave & Zahn, 1992; Wilson & Daly, 1993), and on theories of power and control (e.g., 

Sev'er, 1997; Wilson & Daly, 1992). 

Method of Analysis 

Mixed effects logistic regression (Hedeker & Gibbons, 1994) was used to identify 

baseline characteristics, situations, and circumstances that were related to reabuse by a 

partner or ex-partner during the 2-year followup period. Mixed effects regression (also 

known as multilevel modeling or hierarchical linear modeling) is an extension of multiple 

regression that allows one to predict not only a single variable at one point in time, but also 

the trajectory of the variable as it is measured over time. The trajectory can be linear or it 

can incorporate nonlinear features modeled through polynomials or explicit piecewise 

segments. The technique has a number of advantages over other strategies for longitudinal 

data, including the ability to include partially missing cases in the model and to incorporate 

data from mistimed measures. Therefore it is widely recommended for analyzing change 

trajectories and the covariates of change over time. 

A necessary first step to identifying covariates of reabuse over time was developing a 

model that would adequately reflect the observed trajectory of reabuse over the 2-year 

followup period. Graphical methods (Stoolmiller, 1995) were used to visualize the trajectory 

and identify an appropriate statistical form for the model. Because the pattern of reabuse had 

been found to differ significantly for women randomly assigned to work with advocates 

compared with those in the control group (Sullivan & Bybee, 1999), experimental condition 

was incorporated into the graphical representations and considered in the specification of the 

baseline trajectory. 

The proportion of women in each condition who reported reabuse at each followup 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 65 

-- 

measurement point is shown graphically in Figure 4. The figure shows that the two 

conditions start out at different points at the post-intervention point. The groups then show a 

clear divergence in slope in the first segment of the trajectory, with the advocacy group 

increasing and the control group declining. This has previously been interpreted as a shortterm increase in reabuse for the advocacy group following the departure .of the advocate, 

whose presence may have afforded some protection from the assailant during the 

intervention (Sullivan & Bybee, 1999). After the 6-month followup, the curves for the two 

groups are not as dramatically different in form, although they appear to differ in slope and 

endpoint. 

To adequately reflect the form of the trajectories, a piecewise model was developed 

that included separate parameters for the intercept (post-intervention), the first slope 

segment (to 6-month followup), and the remaining slope segment (6- to 24-month 

followup). Piecewise modeling is useful in modeling phenomena where trajectory shifts are 

expected at specific points in time (Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992). This strategy has been 

recommended especially for intervention research, where trajectory changes are predicted at 

specific times surrounding the intervention (see Osgood & Smith, 1995; Wang, Siegal, 

Falck, Carlson, & Rahman, 1999.) Because the outcome variable being modeled over time - 

incidence of reabuse - was dichotomous, logistic regression was applied, using MIXOR 

sohare (Hedeker & Gibbons, 1996), which specifically accommodates ordinal and 

dichotomous dependent variables. Two of the model’s three parameters were specified as 

random - the intercept and the 6-to 24-month slope; the remaining parameter - the slope 

from post-intervention to 6-month followup, which was strongly related to experimental 

condition - was specified as a fixed parameter. Including random parameters dramatically 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-O0 13 Final Report 66 

- ~ 

Post 6-mo. f.u. 12-mo. f.u. 18-mo. f.u. 24-mo. 

Figure 4 

Observed proportion of women reabused by a partner or ex-partner at each followup 

f.u. 

measurement, by experimental condition 

.6 

.5 

.4 

U 

3 

4 

% 

2 .3 

c 

0 

r 

0 

Q 

0 

.- 

a' .2 

Condition 

II 

No advocate 

Advocate 

- 

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Grant Award #98-WT-Vx-00 13 Final Report 67 

-- 

improved model fit to the data compared to a fixed-parameter model (LR x2 = 2 17.3 1). 

Results of Random Regression 

Table 10 summarizes the coefficients of baseline variables found to have significant 

unique relationships with reabuse over time. Advocacy intervention had a significant effect 

on all three parameters. Advocacy had a negative effect on the intercept term, indicating that 

women who worked wi 

intervention time-point. The effect of intervention on post to 6-month slope was positive, 

reflecting the temporary increase in reabuse for the advocacy group shown in Figure 4. 

Intervention had a significant negative effect on the second slope term, from 6- to 24-month 

followup, indicating a significantly faster decline in reabuse during this period for the 

advocacy group compared with the control group. 

advocates were less likely to report reabuse at the post- 9 

Elements of the abuse the woman had experienced and her relationship with the 

abuser were entered into the model following intervention. Controlling for the effects of 

condition and other variables in the model, severity of recent abuse, operationalized as the 

extent of injuries due to abuse in the six months prior to the intervention, had a marginally 

significant relationship (p < .IO) with increased odds of reabuse from post-intervention to 6- 

month followup. Number of previous separations from the assailant had a significant 

positive effect only on the change in reabuse from 6- to 24-month followup; more 

separations were predictive of increased likelihood of reabuse during this time-period. 

Duration of the woman’s relationship with the assailant showed a similar but weaker 

relationship to long-term reabuse trajectory; collinearity between relationship duration and 

previous separations prevented both fiom being included in the equation. Other aspects of 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 68 

Table 10 

.- 

Piecewise random regression predicting log-odds of reabuse across 24-month postintervention followup 

Parameter estimates Sequential 

improvement 

in model fit Post to 6-mo. 

Intercept slope 6- to 24-mo. slope 

Independent Variable Estimate p Estimate p Estimate p LR xL P 

Constant -1.03 .18 -0.93 .24 -1.07 .51 ----- --- 

Advocacy intervention 

-1.02, .02 2.87 .01 - 1.09 .01 14.42 .01 

Injuries in 6 mo. prior 

to intervention 0.13 .26 0.47 .09 -0.14 .30 13.91 .o 1 

Previous separations 

from assailant 0.34 .14 -0.45 .39 0.40 .05 10.47 .o 1 

Duration of shelter 

stay (pre-intervention) -0.21 .25 -0.01 .98 0.36 .04 13.14 .01 

Continuing 

relationship with 

assailant (post-shelter) 2.49 .001 0.63 .64 -0.79 .09 34.13 .001 

Need to work on 

obtaining housing 1.05 .02 -1.42 .17 0.38 .33 9.30 .03 

Random effects ..................................................................................................................................... . ............................................................................. " ................................................................................................................. 

Standard deviations 1.94 .001 ---- --- 1.12 .001 

Note: Correlation between random intercept and random slope (6-mo. to 24-mo. slope) = - 

.36, p = 15. 

N - = 270. 

a Previous separations and duration of shelter stay were log-transformed to reduce positive 

skew and limit the influence of extreme scores. 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 69 

the abuse and the relationship with the assailant were not related to reabuse over time - 

whether they were married, time from the beginning of the relationship to the first incident 

of physical abuse, whether the violence had escalated prior to the shelter stay, the extent of 

psychological abuse, and whether the assailant had a substance abuse problem. 

Duration of the woman’s most recent domestic violence shelter stay was positively 

related to change in reabuse from 6-to 24-month followup, with longer stays predicting 

increased likelihood of reabuse during this time-period. The woman’s intention to continue 

her relationship with the assailant was strongly predictive of reabuse during the intervention. 

However, pre-intervention intentions to continue the relationship were predictive of 

declining likelihood of reabuse from 6- to 24-month followup. Although these two variables 

were associated - women who intended to continue the relationship had shorter shelter stays 

- the effect of intention on longer-term change in reabuse was not the result of suppression; 

the zero-order association between long-term reabuse and pre-intervention intention to 

continue the relationship was also negative and significantly greater than zero. Controlling 

for both duration of shelter stay and intention to continue the relationship, as well as other 

variables in the equation, one fmal variable was predictive of increased likelihood of reabuse 

during the intervention. Women who indicated, pre-intervention, a need to work on 

obtaining housing had increased risk of reabuse during this time. No other resource needs 

were predictive of reabuse, including needs for legal help, financial assistance, employment, 

social support, or goods and services. 

Other variables were examined for associations with the likelihood of reabuse and 

were found to be unrelated: demographics, including raceiethnicity , age, number of children 

in specific age groups; pre-intervention level of resources, including employment, income, 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 70 

-- 

social support, or having one’s own residence. Reabuse likelihood also was not related to 

women’s pre-intervention depression or sense of efficacy. 

Figure 5 illustrates the estimated probability of reabuse across time for four groups 

formed by the intersection of the two largest predictors - advocacy intervention and 

intention to continue the relationship with the assailant. The predicted response probabilities 

were calculated from the parameter estimates listed in Table 10. The figure clearly shows 

the temporary increase in reabuse (positive slope) from post to 6-month followup for women 

receiving advocacy services. For women continuing their relationships, reabuse risk is 

clearly higher across the initial portion of the time span from post (intercept) to 6-month 

followup. From 6- to 24-month followup, the reabuse risk declines for women receiving 

advocacy services, and by 24-month followup, distinctions between those who were 

continuing vs. ending their relationships at pre are substantially attenuated, at least for those 

who received advocacy. 

Discussion 

This analysis examined a number of antecedents, in addition to the advocacy 

intervention, that may have accounted for differences in women’s revictimization over time. 

After controlling for the effects of the intervention, the variables best predicting violence 

within the first 10 weeks after exiting a domestic violence shelter were women’s intentions 

to remain in the relationship and women’s need for housing. The severity of assailants’ 

prior violence predicted a reoccurrence of violence within the first six months postintervention, and the best predictors of violence occurring after that time point were the 

number of prior separations women had from their assailants and the length of their last 

shelter stay. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
-- 

I I 

Post 6-mo. 12-mo. 18-mo. 24-mo. 

Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 7 1 

Figure 5 

Estimated probability of reabuse over 24 month followup by pre-intervention intention to 

continue or end relationship: Random effects logistic regression 

1.0 1 

-"7 

4 t 0 

4 

.2 

0.0 

Cond. x Intention 

-- 

Control continuing 

Advocacy continuing 

Control ending 

Advocacy ending 

II 

- 

- 

Time in months 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 72 

The - best predictors of continued victimization over time were intention to remain in 

the relationship (positive), and receipt of advocacy services (negative). While the group 

least likely to experience revictimization over time were the women intending to leave the 

relationship who also were in the experimental condition, working with advocates reduced 

the risk of reabuse after the 6-month followup time point even for women remaining in 

relationships with their abusers. The intervention, then, appears to be useful to women 

regardless of whether they intended to remain in or leave their relationships with the men 

abusing them. 

One counter-intuitive finding was that alcohol and drug use by batterers was not 

related to risk of further violence. This finding supports the contention that, although 

batterers may abuse alcohol and other drugs, their drug use does not cause their violent 

behavior (Limandri & Sheridan, 1995; Miller & Wellford, 1998). On the other hand, other 

research has found at least a correlational relationship between assailant substance use and 

domestic violence (Saunders, 1992; Tolman & Bennett, 1990). The current study only 

asked if the batterers had an alcohol andor drug problem, and did not ask about frequency 

of use or whether batterers were using substances during assaults. Seventy three percent of 

the men in this sample were described at the first interview as having an active substance 

abuse problem, so the sample lacks optimal variability to adequately address this question. 

There are no simple or straightforward explanations for why some men stop their 

abuse while others continue over time. Like all research studies, this study provides only 

partial answers to this question. The findings refute the contention by some psychologists 

that women’s depression levels andor impaired self esteem prevent them from acting to end 

the violence they are experiencing. No psychological factors within survivors contributed to 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 73 

.- 

further increased or decreased risk of abuse. Rather, risk factors were found to be related to 

the assailant and his behavior, as well as to contextual variables such as remaining in the 

relationship and lack of housing. As neither depression nor self esteem related to women’s 

decisions to remain in or leave the relationship, this decision was likely attributed to whether 

women deliberately determined they (and their children, where applicable) would be better 

off with or without the assailant in their lives. 

A great deal more-research is needed to understand the complex trajectory of 

intimate male partner violence over time. Multiple, interrelated answers to this phenomenon 

will be found, at multiple levels of analysis. This study represents just a first step in that 

exploration. 

f 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #9&WT-VX-0013 Final Report 74 

Question #5. What are the antecedents of assault and psychological abuse 

by an ex-partner? 

Melanie Edwards left her abusive husband Carlton in October, 

taking their two year old daughter and going to a local shelter. She 

obtained a restraining order against him, and bought a car that her 

estranged husband would not recognize. Visitation was arranged so 

that each would drop off and pick up their daughter at a supervised 

site through a local social service agency. On December 9, Carlton 

dropped his daughter off after an overnight visit. About half an hour 

later, Melanie arrived to pick her up. As mother and daughter got in 

the car to leave, Carlton shot and killed both of them. He killed 

himself a few days later. As one of Melanie’s friends said, reacting to 

the murder, “She was trying to get out of this, doing all the right 

things. And then this happened” (Barker, December 23, 1998). 

It is commonly assumed that women with abusive partners should end their 

relationships in order to stay safe; women who do not separate from abusive men are often 

labeled as helpless or as tolerating violence (Browne, 1993). However, the link between 

separation and violence is multi-directional and complex. Some women with abusive 

partners may not end relationships because they have been threatened with increased 

violence if they leave. Others fear for the safety of their children, family, or friends. 

Although some women stay in relationships because they believe their partners will change, 

others stay for fear that the violence will escalate against themselves or their loved ones 

should they leave. 

It should be remembered that many women with abusive partners do end their 

relationships. For instance, the majority of women who seek separation or divorce include 

physical violence as one reason for their decision (Kurz, 1996). In some cases, ending the 

relationship does result in an end to the abuse. For other women, the end of a relationship 

may be the first time that violence occurs (Kurz, 1996). 

In spite of the widespread misconception that “ending the relationship will end the 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 75 

-- 

violence,” it is quite common for batterers to continue or even escalate their violence after 

the relationship ends (American Psychological Association, 1996; Browne & Bassuk, 1997, 

Mahoney, 199 1). Mahoney (1 99 1) defines separation assault as “the attack on the woman’s 

body and volition in which her partner seeks to prevent her from leaving, retaliate for the 

separation, or force her to re turn... It is an attempt to gain, retain, or regain power in a 

relationship, or to punish the woman for ending the relationship” (p. 65-66). Leaving 

represents a threat to the batterer’s control; violence is a way to attempt to regain or maintain 

that control. 

Sev’er (1 997) suggests that violence by an ex-partner takes much the same form and 

has many of the same dynamics as violence by a current partner. Just as batterers use 

violence to control their current partners, batterers may also use violence after a separation 

to reassert control over their former partners. The power and control model (Pence & 

Paymar, 1993) was modified by Sev’er to include the four components most relevant to 

abuse after a separation: use of economic and legal abuse, use of children and other loved 

ones, escalated intimidation, and coercion and explosive violence. 

Research has shown that separation assault is not uncommon. The majority of 

domestic assaults reported to law enforcement agencies occurred after the couples had 

separated (U.S. Department of Justice, 1983). A recent survey found that nearly one in five 

separated wives were assaulted while they were separated. Of those women who were 

assaulted, 35% reported that their husbands became more violent after the separation 

(Johnson & Sacco, 1995). 

The most extreme case of separation assault is separation homicide. A study of 

homicides in three locations (Chicago, Canada, and New South Wales, Australia) 

demonstrated that estranged wives were more likely to be killed by their husbands than were 

still-married women (Wilson & Daly, 1993). Research supports the idea that re-establishing 

control is often the motive behind these crimes. In one study of intimate partner homicide in 

Philadelphia and Chicago, the woman’s leaving the relationship was the motive in more than 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 76 

1 in 4 cases in which a woman was killed by a male ex-partner. Similarly, Campbell (1 992) 

found that attempts to re-assert control over the ex-partner were the underlying cause of 

murders of women by estranged partners. In the majority of these killings, there was a 

documented history of abuse. It is not uncommon for women to report their batterers telling 

them, “If I can’t have you, nobody can.” Homicide, then, becomes the ultimate final 

control. 

Although we are beginning to understand more about the prevalence of homicide 

against female ex-partners, less is’known about women’s experiences of non-lethal abuse 

after they end abusive relationships. This is in spite of the fact that homicide is rare relative 

to ex-partner sublethal assaults. Research has begun to explore certain predictive factors 

that may be associated with intimate partner homicide. Documenting factors associated with 

sublethal ex-partner assaults is also needed to protect women from abusive ex-partners. 

The Danger Assessment instrument (Campbell, 1995) is one list of factors found to 

be related to intimate partner homicide. These factors include the frequency and severity of 

previous abuse, threats, violent jealousy, and drug and alcohol use. Research on non-lethal 

intimate partner violence also suggests that drug and alcohol use by batterers tends to 

co-occur with violent behavior (e.g., Kantor & Straus, 1987). However, although alcohol 

and other drug use may co-occur with intimate partner violence, it is not necessarily a cause 

of the violence (Limandri & Sheridan, 1995; Miller & Wellford, 1998). While research has 

examined factors related to lethal violence and to intimate partner violence in general, 

research has not examined these factors as they may relate to violence against ex-partners. 

The current analyses examined a number of variables related to the likelihood of 

assaults against an ex-partner, including prior violence and threats, timing of initial abuse 

within the relationship, batterer’s substance abuse, batterer’s level of sexual suspicion, 

whether the survivor was in a new relationship, and the batterer’s access to the survivor 

(geographic proximity). Variables were selected based in part on lethality research (e.g., 

Campbell, 1986; Cazenave & Zahn, 1992; Wilson & Daly, 1993), and on theories of power 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 77 

and control (e.g., Sev’er, 1997; Wilson & Daly, 1992). The variables examined formed three 

blocks: batterer characteristics and behaviors, survivor characteristics and behaviors, and 

system response. 

Statistical Analysis Plan 

Initial inspection of the data revealed the complexities of attempting to study 

women’s various experiences across time. Numerous unique patterns of uninvolvement, 

reinvolvement, and violence emerged. Some women were assaulted by their ex-partners 

only afier multiple breakups; other women were assaulted by their ex-partners after the first 

breakup. Still other women were only assaulted while they were involved with their 

batterers. To facilitate a more straightforward description of factors related to violence by 

ex-partners across time, a subsample of women was selected. The analyses reported here 

were conducted using the group of women who were involved with their batterers when they 

came to the shelter, but who were no longer involved with them ten weeks after shelter exit 

(N = 135). The remaining women were either not involved with their batterers prior to 

shelter entry (N = 5 1) or were involved with them ten weeks after shelter exit (N = 92). 

Limiting the analysis to women who had been involved with their batterers prior to shelter 

entry held constant the time since the relationship ended, and including only women still 

separated from their batterers ten weeks after shelter exit ensured that all had some period at 

risk for abuse by an ex-partner. 

Even within this sample, numerous patterns of uninvolvement, reinvolvement, and 

violence across the five time periods were evident. To cope with the complexities in the 

data, the decision was made to examine only the time to either (1) the first incident of 

violence by an ex-partner, (2) the first reinvolvement with the batterer, or (3) the end of the 

study. 

Event history analysis was used to examine factors related to women’s different 

experiences of ex-partner violence. Because we did not know exactly when an assault had 

occurred within each time interval, we used a discrete rather than continuous time model 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-Vx-00 13 Final Report 78 

(Allison, 1984). A logistic regression model was used, with a separate case created for each 

time a woman was known to be at risk of violence by her ex-partner. Cases were then 

censored at the time of violence by the ex-partner, at the time of reinvolvement, or at the end 

of the study period. For example, if a woman was not reinvolved with her ex-partner at the 

six month interview and reported an assault by the ex-partner at the twelve month interview, 

she would be represented by three cases: ten weeks after shelter exit, six months, and one 

year. If a woman reported being reinvolved with her assailant at the six month interview, 

then she would have two cases: ten weeks and six months. Factors about the batterers, about 

the women, and about the system were then entered into the logistic regression model, and 

their association with abuse by the ex-partner was examined. 

Results 

Experience of Violence by an Ex-Partner Over Time 

The time period of the first event (an assault by an ex-partner, reinvolvement with 

the ex-partner, or the end of the study) was examined for each participant. One in three 

women (36%) were assaulted by an ex-partner at least once prior to either reuniting or the 

end of the study. The majority of the initial assaults by an ex-partner took place soon after 

the end of the relationship; 5 1% took place within ten weeks of shelter exit. While the risk 

of a - first assault by an ex-partner decreased over time, it did not go away; 8% of first 

assaults by an ex-partner occurred between 18 months and two years after the relationship 

ended. For 11% of the women, reinvolvement with their batterers was the first event prior 

to the end of the study. The majority of participants (53%) were not assaulted by their 

ex-partners and did not become reinvolved with them. The number of women who were 

assaulted by an ex-partner and the number who were reinvolved with their batterer at each 

time period are shown in Figure 6. 

Many of the incidents of violence by ex-partners were severe in nature. Nearly three 

quarters of the 49 women assaulted by their ex-partners (72%) were the victims of at least 

one form of severe or potentially lethal violence (see Straus, 1979), such as being kicked, 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 79 

I' 

Figure 6 Women's experiences of ex-partner violence and reinvolvement over time 

10 weeks 6 months 

24 women 

assaulted by 

their ex-partners 

N=135 / 

\ 1 1 women \ /I

IO women assaulted 

by their ex-partners / 

10 women re-involved 

with their ex-partners 

\9i women 1 

\ 

12 months 

6 women assaulted / by their ex-partners 

- 4women 

re-involved with 

their ex-partners 

\ 

18 months 

5 men ulted / by their ex-partner: 

- 1 woman re-involv 

with her ex-partnei 

\/ 75 women - 

24 months 

4 women assaulted 

by their ex-partners / 

0 women re- 

-involved with their 

ex-partners 

17 1 women 

Total 

49 women 

assaulted by their 

ex-partners ( 3 6 % ) 

15 women re-involved 

with their ex-partners 

(11%) 

7 1 women neither 

assaulted by nor 

re-involved with 

their ex-partners 

(53%) 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 80 

.- 

raped, choked, stabbed or shot (see Table 11). Violence by an ex-partner was not an isolated 

attack; one in four survivors experienced at least one form of severe or potentially lethal 

violence more than once a month. 

Almost half of the women assaulted by ex-partners (45%) experienced some sort of 

injury. One third experienced cuts or bruises, one in five experienced sprains or strains, and 

8% had broken bones. One in five women sought medical treatment for the injuries they 

experienced (2 1 %). Of those who did seek medical treatment, the majority (70%) sought it 

more than once. Table 11 presents the level of violence and injuries experienced by women 

during initial reassaults by ex-partners. 

Women who were assaulted by their ex-partners sought help from both informal and 

formal help sources. Nearly three quarters (71%) told someone about the violence by their 

ex-partners. More than half (55%) told at least one informal source of help, such as friends 

or family members, about the violence. About half of the women (49%) assaulted by their 

ex-partners told at least one formal source of help, such as shelter personnel, medical 

personnel, or the police. 

Half of the women who were assaulted by their ex-partners called the police at least 

once, and of the 25 women who contacted the police, frequency of contact ranged from once 

to 30 times (M = 2.86, SD = 5.98). Overall, women who called the police at least once were 

“neither satisfied nor dissatisfied” with the general police response (M = 2.41, SD = 1.3 1). 

If the police were contacted, about two in five of the perpetrators (40%; n = 10) were 

arrested. 

A Model of Ex-Partner Violence Over Time 

To explore some of the variables that may be related to violence by an ex-partner, 

event history analysis was used. A discrete time method was selected, due to the six month 

time lags between interviews. This method of analysis employs a logistic regression model 

where a separate case is created for each time that an individual was known to be at risk of 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
-- 

Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 8 1 

Table 11 

Types of Violence and Injuries Perpetrated Against Women by Ex-Partners at Time of First 

Re-Assault (N = 49) 

Violence 

Grabbed 

Pushed or shoved 

Object thrown at 

Slapped 

Tore clothing 

Choked 

Punched 

Threatened with gun or knife 

Kicked 

Raped 

Hit with an object 

Shot or stabbed 

Iniuries 

Soreness without bruising 

Cuts or bruises 

Sprains or strains 

Broken bones 

Dislocated joints 

Internal injuries 

Gun or knife wound 

% of Women 

73% 

55% 

35% 

33% 

33% 

29% 

29% 

27% 

27% 

20% 

16% 

8% 

37% 

33% 

18% 

8% 

8% 

4% 

4% 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 82 

.- 

violence by an ex-partner. In this instance, there were 469 “cases” (risk periods) where a 

survivor was at risk of assault by her ex-partner; in 48 of these cases such an assault 

occurred. Those cases where survivors became reinvolved with their batterers were 

censored at that time; this occurred in 15 instances. This method of analysis allowed for the 

use of predictors that are either constant (Le., true for each woman at all time points) or 

varying over time (i.e., taking on different values for the same woman at different time 

periods; see Allison, 1991). Both types of variables were used in this analysis. Variables 

constant for each woman across time periods included frequency of violence prior to shelter 

entry, frequency of threats against her family or friends prior to shelter entry, the length of 

the relationship prior to the first assault, the batterer’s sexual suspicion prior to shelter entry, 

the number of separations prior to shelter entry, the number of times the police were called 

prior to shelter entry, and whether the batterer was arrested prior to shelter entry. These 

constant variables were assessed immediately following shelter exit. Variables that varied 

over time were the batterer’s residence (same city as woman or not), whether the batterer 

currently had an alcohol andor drug problem, and whether the woman was currently in 

another relationship. Prior threats against the woman was a lagged predictor, measured at 

the interview prior to each risk period (e.g., threats reported at the six month interview was 

used as a predictor of violence at twelve months). Other time-varying predictors were 

measured over the same interval as each period of risk (e.g., whether the woman was 

involved in a new relationship at six months was used as a predictor of ex-partner violence 

at six months). 

A logistic regression model was created in three steps. First, the frequency of 

partner violence prior to shelter entry was entered. Previous violence did not significantly 

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has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 83 

-- 

improve model fit, but the decision was made to leave this predictor in the model because it 

was expected that prior violence would be related to subsequent violence, and because the 

odds ratio was in the predicted direction. Survivors who had been assaulted more frequently 

prior to shelter entry appeared slightly, but not significantly, more likely to be assaulted by 

their ex-partner (odds ratio = 1.20). 

Six assailant characteristics and behaviors were entered as the second block. These 

characteristics were threats against the woman, threats against her family or friends prior to 

shelter entry, the length of the relationship prior to the fust assault, the batterer’s sexual 

suspicion prior to shelter entry, whether the batterer currently lived in the same city as the 

woman, and the batterer’s current alcohol and other drug use. As expected, this block of 

variables about the batterer was significantly related to whether violence occurred after the 

relationship ended (chi square = 47.4, p < .001). Each of these variables, as well as the wald 

statistics and odds ratios for each factor in the final model, are listed in Table 12. 

Threats by the perpetrator at the previous interview time point were related to the 

likelihood of assault (odds ratio = 1.40). Women who were threatened more fiequently at 

the previous time period were more likely to be assaulted by their ex-partners. A second 

measure of threats - how often prior to shelter entry the batterer threatened her friends or 

family - was not significant (odds ratio = 1.13). 

The longer the batterer and the woman had been involved before he first assaulted 

her, the more likely the batterer was to assault her after the relationship had ended (odds 

ratio = 1.16). Batterers who were more sexually suspicious were also more likely to assault 

their ex-partners (odds ratio = 1.65). 

If the batterer and the woman no longer lived in the same city, she was less likely to 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 84 

.- 

Table 12 Variables Related to Violence by an Ex-Partner* 

Wald Significance Odds Ratio 

Frequency of Violence .55 NS 

Prior to Shelter Entry 

Batterer Variables 

Threats Against Woman 10.40 p < .01 

Prior to Assault 

Threats Against her 1.12 NS 

FamilyEriends Prior 

to Shelter Entry 

Length of Relationship 

Prior to First Assault 

Batterer’s Extreme 

Sexual Suspicion 

Prior to Shelter Entry 

Batterer’s Residence 

(Same city or not) 

Batterer Currently Has 

Alcohol/Drug Problem? 

Survivor Variables 

Number of Separations 

Prior to Shelter Entry 

Times Police Called 

Is Survivor Currently 

in Another Relationship? 

Criminal Justice System Factor 

Batterer Ever Arrested 

Prior to Shelter Entry? 

5.52 p < .05 

7.85 p < .05 

18.20 p < .001 

.37 NS 

3.01 

.52 

5.91 

NS 

NS 

p < .02 

1.69 NS 

1.19 

1.36 

1.18 

1.15 

1.85 

4.64 

1.28 

1 .oo 

.98 

.42 

1.66 

* Logistic regression model chi-square = 57.32, p < .001 

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Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 85 

be assaulted by her ex-partner (odds ratio = 4.37). It should be noted that the majority of 

women stayed in the same city; the difference seems to be whether batterers moved out of 

the area. 

The remaining variable in this block was not a significant predictor of ex-partner 

violence. Whether the batterer currently had an alcohol and/or drug problem was not related 

to whether he was assaultive after the relationship ended (odds ratio = 1.02). 

The third block of variables entered were at least partially under the control of the 

.p’ 

woman: the number of separations prior to shelter entry, the number of times the police had 

been contacted prior to shelter entry, and whether the woman was currently involved in 

another relationship. This block was also significantly related to violence by an ex-partner 

(chi square = 8.22, p < .OS). The first factor in this b€ock, the number of previous 

separations from the assailant, was not significant (odds ratio = 1 .OO). The second factor, 

the number of times the police had been called prior to shelter entry, was also not significant 

(odds ratio = .99). The only significant factor in this block was whether the woman was 

currently involved in a new relationship (odds ratio = .42). Women who were involved in a 

new relationship were less likely to be assaulted by their ex-partners. 

The final block entered consisted of a single variable representing the criminal 

justice system’s response to the batterer. Whether the batterer had been arrested for an 

assault against her before the woman went to the shelter was not related to violence after the 

relationship ended (odds ratio = 1.66). 

Overall, the full model did significantly improve prediction (chi square = 57.3, p < 

.001). However, the model only accounted for a small proportion (12%) of the variance (see 

Menard, 1995). 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 86 

Discussion 

For more than a third of the women in the sample, ending the relationship did not 

mean an end to the violence against them. Several variables were found to be related to 

violence by their ex-partners. Not surprisingly, most of the related variables were 

characteristics or behaviors of the batterers, With one exception, variables related to the 

survivors’ behavior were not related to ex-partner violence against them. 

Contrary to expectations, the frequency of violence prior to shelter entry, when a 

woman was involved with her batterer, was not related to the odds that she would be 

assaulted by him after the relationship ended. This absence of a relationship may be due to a 

ceiling effect; the participants had all gone to a shelter for women with abusive partners, and 

thus all had experienced frequent and severe violence during the relationship. While this 

predictor was not significant, it was in the expected direction; women who were assaulted 

more frequently prior to shelter entry were slightly, but not significantly, more likely to be 

assaulted after the end of the relationship. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, the frequency of threats against the survivor during the 

prior time period was related to an increased risk of violence by the ex-partner during the 

subsequent time. This finding is consistent with the predominant theory of battering, which 

is that domestic violence is about the batterer controlling his partner (e.g., Dobash & 

Dobash, 1998; Pence, 1999; Pence & Paymar, 1993). The batterer uses threats as a way to 

manipulate or control his partner. When the threats are not enough, the batterer uses 

violence. In order to keep women safe, criminal justice personnel and other service 

providers need to be aware of threats against the survivor and to take those threats seriously. 

On the other hand, the baseline (prior to shelter entry) frequency of threats against women’s 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 87 

family or friends was not related to subsequent violence by ex-partners. 

An interesting finding was that those women who had been in a relationship longer 

before the first incident of violence were more likely to be assaulted after the end of the 

relationship. If the relationship had lasted longer before the violence started, batterers may 

have had more invested in maintaining control over their partners. Thus, the violence may 

have started as a way to continue that control. Once the survivors ended the relationships, 

these batterers may have continued to use violence in order to re-exert control. In contrast, 

if the relationship was shorter before the violence started, the batterers may have been more 

comfortable with the end of that relationship. They may have had less investment in that 

particular relationship and were thus less invested in maintaining control over that particular 

woman. 

The more often batterers had accused survivors of having or of wanting other sexual 

relationships before they went to the shelter, the more likely they were to continue to be 

violent after the end of the relationship. Consistent with prior research (Sev’er, 1997; 

Wilson & Daly, 1992), this sexual suspicion may be another part of a pattern of control. 

Service providers and criminal justice system personnel need to also be aware that extreme 

sexual suspicion is not the same as ordinary jealousy or insecurity. Instead, it may be a 

warning sign of increased violence. Whether the survivors and the batterers lived in the 

same area was also related to the likelihood of violence by an ex-partner. Perhaps not 

surprisingly, if they did live in the same area, batterers were more likely to assault their 

ex-partners. Interestingly, nearly all of the survivors stayed in the area; the difference 

appears to be whether the batterers stayed, as well. However, this may well be a spurious 

relationship: those batterers who for other reasons are more likely to assault their ex-partners 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 88 

-- 

may also be less likely to move away. 

Whether a batterer had ever been arrested for an assault against the woman (before 

she went to the shelter) was not related to whether he assaulted her after the relationship 

ended. Unfortunately, the current research could not address batterers' entire previous arrest 

histories for assaults against other partners andor for other violent crimes. To the extent 

that some batterers are violent across relationships, only addressing arrests for violence 

against a current partner may not be enough. Research which used a more inclusive 

measure of criminal history does suggest that men with prior arrests are more violent toward 

their partners (Browne, 1988; Campbell, 1995). Moreover, prior research on the police 

response to woman battering (e.g., Stalans & Finn, 1995, Worden & Pollitz, 1984) suggests 

that factors besides the violence also affect police officers' decisions to arrest. Future 

research needs to address whether batterers' history of violence and/or criminal records are 

related to violence against their ex-partners. 

Alcohol and drug use by batterers during the current time period was not related to 

violence against ex-partners. This finding is consistent with the feminist position that, 

although batterers may abuse alcohol and other drugs, their drug use does not cause their 

violent behavior (Limandri & Sheridan, 1995; Miller & Wellford, 1998). However, the 

current research only asked if the batterers had an alcohol and/or drug problem. Frequency 

of use and whether batterers were using alcohol or other drugs during assaults was not 

asked. A more refined measure of alcohol or drug use may have led to different findings. 

Three variables that were at least partially under the control of survivors were also 

examined as possible correlates of ex-partner violence. Two of these variables - the number 

of previous separations and the number of times the police had been called prior to shelter 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 89 

-- 

entry - were not related to violence by ex-partners. The number of separations prior to 

shelter entry is an interesting variable. Women who feared retaliation for separating may 

have had fewer separations prior to going to the shelter. In contrast, those women who 

experienced more frequent and/or more severe violence may have had more separations. 

Other issues, such as economic dependence, may well affect the number and length of 

separations from violent partners. Unfortunately, the current research did not examine why 

these separations occurred. 

The number of times the police had been contacted before women went to the shelter 

also was not related to violence by their ex-partners. Common sense might argue that the 

more frequent or severe the violence, the more likely the police would be contacted. This 

frequent and/or severe violence, however, might also prevent women from getting to a 

phone. Women may also be threatened with increased violence should they contact police. 

Given the number of other reasons that affect women’s decisions to call the police (see, for 

example, Fleury, Sullivan, Bybee, & Davidson, 1998), it is not surprising that calls to the 

police were not related to violence by an ex-partner. In contrast, if survivors actually were 

involved in another intimate relationship at a given risk period, their ex-partner was less 

likely to assault them. These new relationships may be acting as a protective factor. It may 

be harder for batterers to find survivors alone, or they may be avoiding a confrontation with 

new partners. Even this variable, which is under partial control of the survivor, is likely 

protective because of the way it affects batterers’ decisions and behavior. Clearly, it is the 

batterers’ behaviors - not the womens’ - which need to be addressed if we are to end 

intimate partner violence. 

Overall, of the subsample of survivors who ended the relationship after leaving the 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 90 

shelter, more than half were not later assaulted. For some women, then, ending the 

relationship did lead to increased safety. Also, some of those women who were assaulted by 

an ex-partner may still have been safer than they were while in the relationship, even though 

the violence continued. Some of the women who were not assaulted by their ex-partners 

may have experienced greater fear of them, because they knew their leaving could trigger 

more severe violence. Additional research needs to explore these complex and difficult 

issues. -- 

Ultimately, the survivors themselves are in the best position to determine whether 

staying OF ending the relationship is the best decision for their lives. We as a community 

need to ensure that women have the resources and support they need in order to make that 

decision. Ultimately, survivors of intimate partner violence are not in control of whether 

they are assaulted again. They will only be safe when we as a community hold batterers 

accountable for their behavior. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 91 

Overall Conclusions 

-- 

There are a number of conclusions one can draw from the secondary analyses of this 

data set. Overall, analyses supported the contention that a short-term, strengths-based, 

client-driven community advocacy project can set into motion a trajectory of positive 

change in the lives of women with abusive partners. As hypothesized, the advocacy 

intervention resulted in immediate positive change occurring in women’s lives, as they 

successfully obtained resources they needed from their communities. Increased access to 

resources, coupled with increased social support, resulted in women reporting higher 

“quality of life,” operationalized as including self-determination, psychological wellbeing, 

life satisfaction, physical and material wellbeing, and personal fulfillment (Hughes et al., 

1995; Powell et al., 1997). Over time, women reporting having more control over and 

satisfaction with their lives also reported a decrease in violence. Structural equation 

modeling determined that it was quality of life predicting risk of reabuse, as opposed to risk 

of reabuse predicting quality of life. This finding speaks to the importance of viewing 

intimate male violence against women as a societal problem, and for increasing women’s 

opportunities for self-determination and autonomy in order to decrease their risk for intimate 

partner violence. Analyses examining women’s risk of abuse across three years also 

supported the contention that society’s treatment of women impacts their risk of intimate 

partner violence. Women lacking financial resources and social support were at greater risk 

of being abused between two and three years post-intervention compared to women who 

were economically better off and who had stronger support systems. 

[ 

In examining which antecedents accounted for differences in revictimization over 

time, it became clear that women who received the intervention and/or who intended to 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-00 13 Final Report 92 

leave the relationship were at decreased risk of further abuse. The group of women most 

likely to experience abuse across any time point were the women who intended to stay in the 

relationship and who did not work with advocates. While the group least likely to experience 

abuse were the women intending to leave the relationship who also were in the experimental 

condition, working with advocates reduced the risk of reabuse after the 6-month followup 

time point even for women remaining in relationships with their abusers. 

While remaining in the relationship increased women’s risk of being reabused over 

time, leaving the relationship did not guarantee safety from violence. Over a third of the 

women who ended their relationships also experienced abuse over time. Predictors of abuse 

by an ex-partner included (1) length of their relationship before breakup, (2) his prior 

threats, (3) his sexual jealousy, (4) his geographical proximity to the woman, and (5) 

whether she was involved in a new relationship. These findings lend support to the 

argument that domestic abuse is a means of gaining power and control over one’s partner. 

The men who expressed greater threats and sexual jealousy, and who remained in the same 

area as the woman after their breakup, were more likely to continue harassing, threatening, 

and abusing their ex-partners over time. When women started new relationships their risk of 

violence decreased. Many assailants likely viewed the new partners as protectors of the 

women, making it more difficult to continue abusing them. 

A limitation of this data set was that all participants had once been residents of a 

shelter program for women with abusive partners. Most had low incomes, and all had 

sought help from their community to deal with the abuse they were experiencing. The 

majority of participants were African-American or non-Hispanic white, and none of the 

women were residing in a rural community. The extent to which these findings can be 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 93 

-- 

generalized to women experiencing abuse in other communities is unknown. It is also 

critical to remember that, although the provision of advocates reduced the risk of further 

violence by a partner or ex-partner, many women (76% in the experimental group; 89% in 

the control group) were abused at least once over the two year time span. No one 

intervention will be a panacea for this immense and complex social problem. Advocacy 

should be viewed 'm one important component of an overall comprehensive community 

approach to ending violence against women. Future efforts are needed to build upon the 

successes of this program, to examine its effectiveness with a more diverse population of 

survivors, and to develop additional innovative programs designed to end intimate male 

violence against women. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report

has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S

Department of Justice.
Grant Award #98-WT-VX-0013 Final Report 94 

.- 

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