TY - JOUR
T1 - Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Women
T2 - Factors That Predict Leaving an Abusive Relationship
AU - Amanor-Boadu, Yvonne
AU - Messing, Jill
AU - Stith, Sandra M.
AU - Anderson, Jared R.
AU - O'Sullivan, Chris S.
AU - Campbell, Jacquelyn C.
N1 - Funding Information:
The findings of this study indicated that women considered a wide range of factors in separating from a violent partner, and immigrant women may have considered these factors differently than nonimmigrant women. As immigration rates rise and advocates find themselves working with more immigrant women, they might find the need to pay more attention to the specific areas of partner employment status, marital status, fear, and education level, as well as legal immigration status, and the ways in which these factors affect immigrant women’s decision making. In addition, recognizing that immigrant women were not more likely to leave when their perceived risk of personal physical harm was higher is important and may indicate that more safety planning, or a different type of safety planning, is required in advocacy with them. Findings also indicated that both immigrant and nonimmigrant women left their relationships despite facing high levels of barriers. These findings suggest the need for an expanded view of what women may need once they leave. In addition to needing space that allows them physical safety, women would also benefit from job training programs and employment search assistance; for immigrant women, English language services and immigration help are also important. Both groups of women appeared strongly motivated by an increased risk of harm to others. Women who leave and those who chose to stay would benefit from service providers who were keenly aware of women’s concerns about their children and the way these concerns inform their decisions about leaving their relationship. Although this research found differences between immigrant and nonimmigrant women in regard to some factors, it also points to areas of similarity, and for both groups, it highlights the complexity of the issues involved in the process of separating from a violent partner. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: National Institute of Justice (NIJ 2000WTVX0011).
PY - 2012/5
Y1 - 2012/5
N2 - This research used logistic regression to test components of Choice and Lamke's (1997) two-part decision-making model and Hamby's (2008) holistic risk assessment as predictors of the decision to separate from an abusive partner, comparing significant predictors for immigrant (n = 497) and nonimmigrant (n = 808) women. Findings demonstrated that immigrant women reported higher levels of perceived risks/barriers to leaving, provided some support for the use of a holistic risk assessment in understanding women's decisions to leave, and demonstrated that immigrant and nonimmigrant women have both similarities and differences in the factors that predict leaving. Clinical and policy implications are addressed.
AB - This research used logistic regression to test components of Choice and Lamke's (1997) two-part decision-making model and Hamby's (2008) holistic risk assessment as predictors of the decision to separate from an abusive partner, comparing significant predictors for immigrant (n = 497) and nonimmigrant (n = 808) women. Findings demonstrated that immigrant women reported higher levels of perceived risks/barriers to leaving, provided some support for the use of a holistic risk assessment in understanding women's decisions to leave, and demonstrated that immigrant and nonimmigrant women have both similarities and differences in the factors that predict leaving. Clinical and policy implications are addressed.
KW - immigration
KW - intimate partner violence
KW - stay/leave decision
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84865165884&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1177/1077801212453139
DO - 10.1177/1077801212453139
M3 - Article
C2 - 22807500
AN - SCOPUS:84865165884
SN - 1077-8012
VL - 18
SP - 611
EP - 633
JO - Violence Against Women
JF - Violence Against Women
IS - 5
ER -