Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Injuries: An Integrated Social Ecological Systems and Social Disorganization Theoretical Framework

• In Event: Theoretical Advancements in Victimization Research

Abstract

Survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) often experience several adverse mental and physical health outcomes related to their victimization, including victim physical injury. While several established factors increase IPV risk, such as perpetrator substance use and history of mental illness, it is less clear whether these factors contribute to the victim experiencing a physical injury in these incidents. Using an integrated theoretical framework that combines social ecological systems theory and social disorganization theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the risk of victim injury in IPV cases using a multilevel model to explore the role of both individual and community characteristics. The data for this project were collected between 2018 and 2021 as part of the Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT) partnership in Cincinnati. Individual-level variables examined in this analysis include victim and offender demographics, histories of abuse, perpetrator history of domestic violence, substance use, and mental illness. While community-level predictors include social disorganization variables such as concentrated disadvantage, residential instability, and neighborhood violent crime. Finally, implications for this research include reducing injury in IPV cases and providing justification for the continued funding of second-responder violence intervention programs such as DVERT.

Authors

• Destinee Starcher, University of Cincinnati

• Valerie Anderson, University of Cincinnati

• Bonnie S. Fisher, University of Cincinnati

• Cory P. Haberman, University of Cincinnati