The Context, Motives and Meaning of Partner Violence

PROJECT SUMMARY FOR 2001-WT-BX-0504 This project will involve an analysis of data from project HoW: Health Outcomes of Women to test M.P. Johnson's model of intimate partner violence (IPV). The goal is to study IPV from the perspective of low-income owmen in three ethnic groups-African-American, Euro-American and Mexican American. Investigators will interview women who participated in that project (initiated in 1995), shifting the study focus from men to women. This study will address 5 gaps in the literature: 1) the context of IPV; 2) motives for IVP, 3) the meaning of IPV; 4) how these factors function to affect women's health and use of the criminal justice system; and, 5) the perceived mutuality of control, threats of violence, acts of violence and sexual aggression between partners will be used to evaluate whether Johnson's (1995-2000) typology (common couple violence, violent resistance, mutual violent control, intimate terrorism) effectively represents women's experiences. By disseminating the results, this project will achieve the objective of impacting research and developing the knowledge necessary to enhance prevention and intervention efforts through victim asistance services and the justice system.