Contributors to assessments of risk in intimate partner violence: How victims and professionals differ

摘要

This article explores what factors contribute to victims' vs. victim advocates' assessments of risk of repeat intimate Partner violence. A sample of 169 court-involved victims and the advocates who conducted intake with them were asked to rate victims' risk of repeat abuse. Significant contributors to victim assessments were her level of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, the batterer's general violence, whether she had been living with the batterer at the time of the offense, and the level of psychological abuse in the relationship. For advocates, significant contributors were the batterer's drug use, whether the batterer and victim had children in common, and the level of physical and psychological abuse in the relationship. Implications of these differences and directions for future study are discussed. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.