Top

Published in:

01-08-2006

Intimate Partner Violence in Extremely Poor Women: Longitudinal Patterns and Risk Markers

Authors: Ellen Bassuk, Ree Dawson, Nicholas Huntington

Published in: Journal of Family Violence | Issue 6/2006

Abstract

Despite high revalence rates of intimate partner violence in the lives of extremely poor women with dependent children, few studies have investigated the patterns of violence that occur over time, and the characteristics of women that serve as risk markers for partner violence. This paper describes patterns of domestic violence longitudinally and uses multivariate analyses to delineate childhood and adult risk markers for recent intimate partner violence in this population of women. Analyses draw upon a sample of 436 homeless and extremely poor housed mothers receiving welfare, in a mid-sized city in Massachusetts with a large Hispanic population of Puerto Rican descent and relatively fewer Blacks. We found that among women with complete longitudinal data (N=280), almost two-thirds experienced intimate partner violence at some point during their adult life by the end of study follow-up, and that the abuse before and after the baseline interview was episodic and limited over time. To examine the role of individual women's factors, while controlling for partner characteristics, we used baseline data on women who had been partnered during the past year (N=336). Among childhood predictors, we found that sexual molestation contributed most significantly to adult intimate partner violence that occurred during the past year prior to the baseline interview. Adult risk markers included inadequate emotional support from non-professionals, poor self-esteem, and a partner with substance abuse problems. Having a partner with poor work history was another independent predictor of recent abuse. Ethnicity did not significantly predict whether women were abused or not during the past year, contrary to other findings reported in the literature.

Allard, M. A., Albelda, R., Colten, M. E., & Cosenza, C. (1997). In Harm's way. Domestic violence, AFDC receipt and welfare reform in Massachusetts. Boston: University of Massachusetts.

Barnett, O. W., Martinez, T. E., & Keyson, M. (1996). The relationship between violence, social support, and self-blame in battered women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 11(2), 221–233.CrossRef

Barrow, S., Hellman, F., Lovell, A. et al. (1985). Personal history form. New York: New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Bassuk, E. L., Perloff, J., & Coll, C. G. (1998). The plight of extremely poor Puerto Rican and non-Hispanic white single mothers. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 33, 326–336.PubMedCrossRef

Bassuk, E. L., Perloff, J., & Dawson, R. (2001). Multiply homeless families: The insidious impact of violence. Housing Policy Debate (in press).

Bassuk, E. L., Weinreb, L., Buckner, J., Browne, A., Salomon, A., & Bassuk, S. S. (1996). The characteristics and needs of sheltered homeless and low-income housed mothers. JAMA, 276, 640–646.PubMedCrossRef

Benson, M. L., Fox, G. L., DeMaris, A., & Van Wyk, J. (2000). Violence in families: The intersection of race, poverty, and community context. In: Fox, G. L., & Benson, M. L. (Eds.), Families, crime and criminal justice, Vol. 2 (pp. 91–109). New York: JAI.

Breslau, N., Davis, G. C., Andreski, P., & Peterson, E. (1991). Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder in an urban population of young adults. Archives of General Psychiatry, 48, 216–222.PubMed

Browne, A., & Bassuk, S. (1997). Intimate violence in the lives of homeless and poor housed women: Prevalence and patterns in an ethnically diverse sample. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67, 26–278.CrossRef

Browne, A., Salomon, S., & Bassuk, S. (1999). The impact of recent partner violence on poor women's capacity to maintain work. Violence Against Women, 5(4), 393–426.CrossRef

Campbell, J. C., & Soeken, K. L. (1999). Women's response to battering over time. Journal of Interpersonal violence, 14(1), 21–40.CrossRef

Campbell, J. C., Miller, P., Cardwell, M., & Belknap, R. A. (1994). Relationship status of battered women over time. Journal of Family Violence, 9, 99–111.CrossRef

Cappell, C., & Heiner, R. B. (1990). The intergenerational transmission of family aggression. Journal of Family Violence, 5, 135–152.CrossRef

Cazenave, N. A., & Straus, M. A. (1990). Race, class, network embeddedness, and family violence: A search for potent support systems. In: Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (Eds.), Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8, 145 families (pp. 321–339). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Cohen, & Willis (1985). Stress, social support and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310–357.PubMedCrossRef

Coker, A. L., Smith, P. H., Mckeown, R. E., & King, M. J. (2000). Frequency and correlates of intimate partner violence by type: Physical, sexual, and psychological battering. American Journal of Public Health, 90(4), 553–559.PubMedCrossRef

Dibble, U., & Straus, M. A. (1990). Some social structure determinants of inconsistency between attitudes and behavior: The case of family violence. In: Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (Eds.), Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8, 145 families (pp. 167–180). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Dunford, F. W., Huizinga, D., & Eliot, D. S. (1990). The role of arrest in domestic assault: The Omaha police experiment. Criminology, 28: 183–206.CrossRef

Dunst, C. J., & Trivette, C. M. (1988). Personal Assessment of Social Support Scale. Morganton, NC: Family Infant and Preschool Program, Western Carolina Center.

Dunst, C. J., Trivette, C. M., & Cross, A. (1988). Social support networks of families with handicapped children. In: Keefe, S. E. (Ed.), Appalachian mental health (pp. 101–121). Lexington, KT: University of Kentucky Press.

Eagle, R. (1994). The separation experience of children in long-term care: Theory, research, and implications for practice. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 64(3), 421–434.PubMedCrossRef

Fagan, J., & Browne, A. (1994). Violence between spouses and intimates: Physical aggression between women and men in intimate relationships. In: Reiss, A. J., & Roth, J. A. (Eds.), Understanding and preventing violence, Vol. 3 (pp. 115–292). Washington, DC: National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences.

Feld, S. L., & Straus, M. A. (1990). Escalation and desistance from wife assault in marriage. In: Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (Eds.), Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8, 145 families (pp. 489–506). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Feldman, C. M. (1997). Childhood precursors of adult interpartner violence. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 4, 307–334.

Feldman, C. M., & Ridley, C. A. (1995). The etiology and treatment of domestic violence between adult partners. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 2, 317–348.CrossRef

Fleming, J., Mullen, P. E., Sibthorpe, B., & Bammer, G. (1999). The long-term impact of childhood sexual abuse in Australian women. Child Abuse and Neglect, 23(2), 145–159.PubMedCrossRef

Gondolf, E. W., Fisher, E. R., & McFerron, R. (1988). Racial differences among shelter residents. Journal of Family Violence, 3, 39–51.CrossRef

Greenfeld, L. A. et al. (1998). Violence by intimates: Analysis of data on crimes by current or former spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.

Hotaling, G. T., & Sugarman, D. B. (1986). An analysis of risk markers in husband to wife violence: The current state of knowledge. Violence and Victims, 1(2), 101–124.PubMed

Hotaling, G. T., & Sugarman, D. B. (1990). A risk marker analysis of assaulted wives. Journal of Family Violence, 5(1), 1–13.CrossRef

Kaufman Kantor, G., & Asdigian, N. L. (1996). When women are under the influence: Does drinking or drug use by women provoke beatings by men? In: Galanter, M. (Ed.), Recent developments in alcoholism. New York: Plenum.

Kaufman Kantor, G., Jasinski, J. L., & Aldarondo, E. (1994). Sociocultural status and incidence of marital violence in Hispanic families. Violence and Victims, 9(3), 207–222.

Kaufman Kantor, G., & Jasinski, J. (1998). Dynamics and risk factors in partner violence. In: Jasinski, J., & Williams, L. (Eds.), Partner violence. A comprehensive review of 20 Years of research (pp. 1–43). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Kaufman Kantor, G., & Straus, M. A. (1990). The “drunken bum” theory of wife beating. In: Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (Eds.), Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8, 145 families (pp. 203–226). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Kendall-Tackett, K. A., Williams, L. M., & Finkelhor, D. (1993). Impact of sexual abuse on children: A review and synthesis of recent empirical studies. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 164–180.PubMedCrossRef

Kenney, C. T., & Brown, K. R. (1996). Report from the front lines: The impact of violence on poor women. New York: NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Kyriacou, M. D. et al. (1999). Risk factors for injury to women from domestic violence. New England Journal of Medicine, 341, 1892–1898.PubMedCrossRef

Lenton, R. (1995). Power versus feminist theories of wife abuse. Canadian Journal of Criminiology, 37(3), 305–330.

Lipsey, M. W., Wilson, D. B., Cohen, M. A., & Derzon, J. H. (1997). Is there a causal relationship between alcohol use and violence? In: Galanter, M. (Ed.), Recent developments in alcoholism, Vol. 13. New York: Plenum Press.

McCauley, J., Kern, D. E., Kolodner, K., Dill, L., Schroeder, A. F., DeChant, H. K., Ryden, J., Bass, E. B., & Derogatis, L. R. (1995). The “battering syndrome”: prevalence and clinical characteristics of domestic violence in primary care internal medicine practices. Archives of Internal Medicine, 123(10), 774–781.

Messman, T., & Long, P. (1996). Child sexual abuse and its relationship to revictimization in adult women: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 16(5), 397–420.CrossRef

Miller, B. A., Downs, W. R., & Gondoli, D. M. (1989). Spousal violence among alcoholic women as compared to a random household sample of women. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 50(6), 533–540.PubMed

Nagelkerke, N. J. D., Moses, S., Plummer, F. A., & Fish, D. (1995) Logistic regression in case-control studies: the effect of using independent as dependent variables. Statistics in Medicine, 14, 769–775.PubMedCrossRef

North, C. S., Thompson, S. J., Smith, E. M., & Kyburz, L. M. (1996). Violence in the lives of homeless mothers in a substance abuse treatment program: A descriptive study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 11, 234–249.CrossRef

Parker, G. (1994). Parental bonding and depressive disorders. In: Sperling, M. B., & Berman, W. H. (Eds.), Attachment in adults: Clinical and developmental perspectives (pp. 299–312). New York: Guilford Press.

Parker, G., Tupling, J., & Brown, L. B. (1979). A Parental Bonding Instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 1–10.

Robinson, J. P., & Shaver, P. R. (1973). Measures of social psychological attitudes. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.

Robinson, J. P., Shaver, P. R., & Wrightsman, L. S. (1991). Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Salomon, A., Bassuk, S. S., & Huntington, N. (2000). The relationship between intimate partner violence and the use of addictive substances in poor and homeless single mothers. Manuscript in preparation. Newton, MA: The Better Homes Fund.

Sorenson, S. B., & Telles, C. A. (1991). Self-reports of spousal violence in a Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white population. Violence and Victims, 6(1), 3–15.PubMed

Sherman, L. W. (1992). Policing domestic violence: Experiments and dilemmas. New York: Free Press.

Steinman, M. (1988). Evaluating a system-wide response to domestic violence: Some initial findings. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 4, 172–186.CrossRef

Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: the conflict tactics (CT) Scales. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 14, 75–88.CrossRef

Straus, M. A. (1990a). The Conflict Tactics Scales and its critics. In: Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (Eds.), Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8, 145 families (pp. 49–74). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Straus, M. A. (1990b). Social stress and marital violence in a national sample of American families. In: Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (Eds.), Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8, 145 families (pp. 181–201). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Steinmetz, S. K. (1980). Behind closed doors: Violence in the American Family. New York: Anchor/Doubleday.

Straus, M. A., & Kaufman Kantor, G. (1994). Corporal punishment of adolescents by parents: A risk factor in the epidemiology of depression, suicide, alcohol abuse, child abuse, and wife beating. Adolescence, 29, 543–562.PubMed

Straus, M. A., & Smith, C. (1990). Violence in Hispanic families in the United States: Incidence rates and structural interpretations. In: Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (Eds.), Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families (pp. 341–368). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.

Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (2000). Extent, nature, and consequences of intimate partner violence. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.

Urquiza, A. J., & Goodlin-Jones, B. L. (1994). Child sexual abuse and adult revictimization with women of color. Violence and Victims, 9, 223–232.PubMed

Walker, L. E. (1984). The battered woman syndrome. New York: Springer.

Widom, C. (1989). Does violence beget violence? A critical examination of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 106(1), 3–28.PubMedCrossRef

Widom, C. (2000). Understanding the consequences of childhood victimization. In: Peace, R. M. (Ed.), Treatment of child abuse: Common ground for mental health, medical, and legal practitioners (pp. 339–361). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Woffordt, S., Mihalic, D. E., & Menard, S. (1994). Continuities in marital violence. Journal of Family Violence, 9(3), 195–225.CrossRef

Wyatt, G. E., Guthrie, D., & Notgrass, C. M. (1992). Differential effects of women's child sexual abuse and subsequent sexual revicitmization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 167–173.PubMedCrossRef

Title: Intimate Partner Violence in Extremely Poor Women: Longitudinal Patterns and Risk Markers
Authors: Ellen Bassuk
Ree Dawson
Nicholas Huntington
Publication date: 01-08-2006
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Family Violence / Issue 6/2006
Print ISSN: 0885-7482
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2851
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-006-9035-1

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Intimate Partner Violence in Extremely Poor Women: Longitudinal Patterns and Risk Markers

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 6/2006

Victim or Offender? Heterogeneity Among Women Arrested for Intimate Partner Violence

The Discourse of Sibling Violence

Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence Among Married Women in the Military: Type, Level, Directionality and Consequences

Knowledge is Power: A Theory-Based Approach to Reducing School Violence

Parental Representations in the Play of Preschool Aged Witnesses of Marital Violence

Alcoholism Level Differences between Vietnamese Batterers and Non-Batterers