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Leaving an abusive partner reduces the odds of recurrent intimate partner violence

Source: Sonis, J. & Langer, M. (2008). Risk and protective factors for recurrent intimate partner violence in a cohort of low-income inner-city women. Journal of Family Violence, 23(7), 529-538.

Reviewed by: Tara Black

Studies using police reports and emergency room visit data have documented an alarming association between leaving an abusive partner and increased risk of future abuse. Interpretation of these statistics, however, is complicated by the fact that these statistics do not take into consideration the dynamics that lead to the decision to leave an abusive relationship, and in particular fail to consider the extent to which an escalation in the severity of abuse may be both precipitate the decision to leave as well as increase the risk of severe recurrence.聽

Using longitudinal data from the Chicago Women鈥檚 Health Risk Study, Sonis and Langer examine the predictors of recurrence and severity of interpersonal violence (IPV) in order to better understand the dynamics underlying associated with leaving an abusive partner and recurrence to abuse. Contrary to conventional thinking, the study found that after controlling for a number of several risk and protective factors, leaving an abusive partner reduced the odds of recurrent IPV by about two-thirds (OR = 0.30) compared to not leaving. In contrast, pregnancy, frequency of IPV in the previous year, and the partner鈥檚 use of power and control tactics increased the odds of recurrent IPV. In addition, ethnicity and partner violence outside the home predicted severity of recurrent IPV.聽

This study provides important evidence that because women often leave abusive partners because of escalating abuse, these women would in fact be at higher risk if they remained in the relationship. However, it is important to note that whether women leave or stay, escalating frequency of abuse increases the risk of severe abuse.

Methodological Notes:

This study used data from the Chicago Women鈥檚 Health Risk Study, a study of 492 low-income inner-city women who had previously been abused by their partners. The sample was assembled by screening and interviewing women who were seeking health care at one of four medical sites in inner-city Chicago. Of the original sample of 492, 321 (66%) completed a follow-up interview. The women who were lost at follow-up had no differences from those not lost on 34 of 36 factors assessed. The 2 items that were significantly different were homelessness and unemployment: women who were lost to follow-up were more likely to be homeless, and/or unemployed compared to women who completed the study. However, there was no association between these 2 factors and recurrence of IPV. Follow-up ranged from 3 to 23 months; however there was no association between duration of follow-up and recurrence. The generalizability of the the study is limited to the study recruitment strategy that focused on low-income women seeking health care.


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