Ecological Model of Battered Women's Experience Over Time

Project summary for 2001-WT-BX-0001

The goals of the study are: (1) to describe and predict longitudinal patterns of battered women's experiences over time, and specifically the maintenance, escalation and diminuation of levels of physical, sexual and psychological abuse and battered women's subjective appraisal of current risks; (2) to test a model for predicting average level and change in physical, sexual and psychological abuse, and battered women's subjective appraisal of current risks from a set of factors that are relevant for interventions, and an additional set of ecological or contextually relevant factors. Secondarily, longitudinal patterns of battered women's help-seeking and their risk reduction strategies, social support and emotional well-being will also be examined. The proposed study uses a convenience sample of 4000 battered women recruited from a battered women's shelter, a domestic violence criminal court, and civil protection order intake office, to examine their violence-related experiences over time. Trained interviewers will recruit and conduct initial interviews at the time prospective participants contact one of the three study sites for help. Follow-up phone interviews will be completed at 3-month intervals over a 12-month period for a total of 5 data collection waves.