NCJ Number
209387
Journal
Trauma, Violence, & Abuse Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2005 Pages: 141-175
Date Published
April 2005
Length
35 pages
Annotation
This cross-disciplinary literature review focuses on studies of risk factors for reabuse in intimate partner violence (IPV).
Abstract
The review's general conclusion is that methodological differences among studies were too significant to permit a grouping of their findings. Thus, the review only highlights what the bulk of evidence suggests thus far. Regarding individual-level variables related to the risk for reabuse in IPV, there was no support for the batterer's ethnicity, the victim's age, the batterer's history of abuse in his family of origin, or his beliefs about his abuse. Stake-in-conformity variables were not important predictors of reabuse when included as interaction terms. The victim's socioeconomic status was negatively related to reabuse. Regarding interpersonal-level variables, marital status was not a predictor of reabuse; however, the amount of time the batterer and victim had lived together apparently predicted reabuse, but the direction of the relationship was unclear. There was a positive relationship between the couple's history of physical abuse and reabuse, but there was no supportive evidence for the predictive power of the severity of the offense that initially brought the batterer into contact with the criminal justice system. Regarding system-level variables, research findings have not supported criminal-case outcome as a predictor of reabuse; however, the process of prosecution was apparently a predictor of reabuse for both victims and perpetrators. The link between batterer treatment and reabuse depended on how reabuse was measured; when measured through victim reports, there was no relationship; but when measured through official reports, there was a negative relationship. The type of batterer treatment may be important to include in future research as an interaction term. Guidelines are provided for the standardization of future research methodology in examining risk factors for IPV reabuse. 7 tables, 4 notes, and 92 references