DOI: 10.3886/icpsr03414.v1
title: Evaluation of Violence Against Women With Physical Disabilities in Michigan, 2000-2001
title: Version 1

description: In the past few years it has become alarmingly clear that
 women with disabilities are at an extremely high risk for emotional,
 sexual, and physical assault. The Developmental Disabilities Institute
 at Wayne State University, in collaboration with the United Cerebral
 Palsy Association in Michigan, conducted a one-year study to
 investigate the prevalence and correlates of, and service system
 capacity related to, domestic abuse among women with physical
 disabilities in Michigan. The study aimed to address the following
 research questions: (1) What is the prevalence of domestic violence
 among a sample of women with physical disabilities? (2) What potential
 factors for domestic violence exist among women with physical
 disabilities? and (3) What is the capacity of existing support
 programs (e.g., safe houses, shelters, and service agencies) to assist
 women with physical disabilities? The population for this study was
 women over the age of 18 who had physical disabilities. Consistent
 with the work of other researchers, physical disabilities in this
 study were defined as those disabilities that result in functional
 impairment, such as cerebral palsy, post-polio syndrome, spina bifida,
 amputation, rheumatic conditions, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord
 injury, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment, hearing impairment,
 and stroke. A sample of 177 women was recruited through several
 mechanisms. To address the question of domestic abuse prevalence, the
 women participating in the study were first asked to complete a brief
 questionnaire addressing demographic characteristics and their
 experience with domestic violence (Part 1, Screening Interview
 Data). Fifty-six percent (100) of the 177 women interviewed indicated
 a positive history of abuse at their initial screening. In order to
 address the second research question about the correlates of abuse,
 this subsample of 100 women was invited and encouraged to participate
 in the second phase of the research, which involved a more extensive
 interview (Part 2, Abuse Interview Data). The interview used was based
 on a protocol developed by Nosek (1995) that addressed demographic
 characteristics, social networks, and abuse history. Variables in
 Parts 1 and 2 include type of disability, type of personal assistance
 needed, and whether the respondent was ever physically, emotionally,
 or sexually abused. Part 2 also contains variables on sources of monthly
 income, who perpetrated the abuse, the abuser's gender, how long the
 victim knew the abuser, whether the victim sought assistance from a
 domestic violence program or shelter, and a description of the worst
 incident of physical abuse. Demographic variables in Parts 1 and 2
include ethnicity, age, employment status, and marital status.
description: In the past few years it has become alarmingly
 clear that women with disabilities are at an extremely high risk for
 emotional, sexual, and physical assault. The Developmental
 Disabilities Institute at Wayne State University, in collaboration
 with the United Cerebral Palsy Association in Michigan, conducted a
 one-year study to investigate the prevalence and correlates of, and
 service system capacity related to, domestic abuse among women with
 physical disabilities in Michigan. The study aimed to address the
 following research questions: (1) What is the prevalence of domestic
 violence among a sample of women with physical disabilities? (2) What
 potential factors for domestic violence exist among women with
 physical disabilities? and (3) What is the capacity of existing
 support programs (e.g., safe houses, shelters, and service agencies)
to assist women with physical disabilities?
description: The population studied was women over the age of
 18 who had physical disabilities. Consistent with the work of other
 researchers, physical disabilities in this study were defined as those
 disabilities that result in functional impairment, such as cerebral
 palsy, post-polio syndrome, spina bifida, amputation, rheumatic
 conditions, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain
 injury, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and stroke. A sample of
 177 women was recruited through several mechanisms. To address the
 question of domestic abuse prevalence, the women participating in the
 study were first asked to complete a brief questionnaire addressing
 demographic characteristics and their experience with domestic
 violence (Part 1). Women were given the choice of whether they wanted
 to complete the screen over the phone, by mail, by fax, or online.
 Fifty-six percent (100) of the 177 women interviewed indicated a
 positive history of abuse at their initial screening. In order to
 address the second research question about correlates of abuse, this
 subsample of 100 women was invited and encouraged to participate in
 the second phase of the research, which involved a more extensive
 interview (Part 2). Interviews were confidential and women were given
 the choice of whether they wanted to complete the interview over the
 phone, online, by mail, or in person. The interview used was based on
 a protocol developed by Nosek (1995) which addressed demographic
 characteristics, social networks, and abuse history. In addition,
 several questions were asked regarding characteristics of the abuser,
 such as gender, age, relationship to the study participant, and length
 of the relationship. All interviewers were specifically trained in
 issues of domestic violence prior to initiating the interviews to
 assure that sensitivity and awareness with regard to safety and
 support were provided to the participants. Each participant was paid
$50 at the completion of the interview.
description: Variables in Parts 1 and 2 include type of
 disability, type of personal assistance needed, and whether the
 respondent was ever physically, emotionally, or sexually abused. Part
 2 also has variables on sources of monthly income, who perpetrated the
 abuse, the abuser's gender, how long the victim knew the abuser,
 whether the victim sought assistance from a domestic violence program
 or shelter, and a description of the worst incident of physical
 abuse. Demographic variables in Parts 1 and 2 include ethnicity, age,
employment status, and marital status.
description: Response Rates: Part 1: Not applicable. Part 2: 85 percent.
description: Presence of Common Scales: None.
description: Convenience sampling.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Screening Interview Data
DS2: Abuse Interview Data
description: Women with physical disabilities in Michigan in
2000-2001.
description: The user guide, codebook, and data collection
 instruments are provided by ICPSR as a Portable Document Format (PDF)
 file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated
 and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe
 Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat
Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.