Impact of Executive Function on Efficacy Obtaining Resources Following Intimate Partner Violence

• NCJ Number: 252303
• Author(s): Michelle S. Lee, Anne P. Deprince
• Date Published: January 2017
• Length: 8 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Award: The Effectiveness of Coordinated Outreach in Intimate Partner Violence Cases: A Randomized, Longitudinal Design

Annotation

In order to identify potential points of community intervention for assisting victims of domestic violence, the current study examined the role of executive function (EF) in women's efficacy in obtaining financial and material support following their victimization.

Abstract

Following intimate partner violence (IPV), women risk losing resources needed to meet their basic needs, such as food and housing. Study participants were 199 women from diverse, urban, and largely lower-income backgrounds. As predicted, greater physical abuse was associated with worse executive function with less efficacy in obtaining resources 1 year later. Greater physical abuse was indirectly related to less efficacy in obtaining resources, even when controlling for income. Results provide information regarding executive function as a potential link in the relationship between domestic violence and obtaining resources among women of lower-income backgrounds. In the context of limited resources, preparing community service professionals to use EF-focused interventions (e.g., to structure tasks, repeat instructions) may support women's efforts to access resources. (Publisher abstract modified)