The Process Through Which an Advocacy Intervention Resulted in Positive Change for Battered Women Over Time

A prior experimental evaluation of a community‐based advocacy program for women with abusive partners demonstrated positive change in the lives of women even 2 years postintervention (C. M. Sullivan & D. I. Bybee, 1999). The current study explored the complex mediational process through which th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of community psychology 2002-02, Vol.30 (1), p.103-132
Main Authors: Bybee, Deborah I., Sullivan, Cris M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advocacy
Battered Women
Battered Women - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Community psychology
Community Services
Consumer Advocacy
Domestic violence
Domestic Violence - prevention & control
Domestic Violence - psychology
Family Violence
Female
Humans
Intervention
Interviews as Topic
longitudinal structural equation modeling
Mediation
Medical sciences
Models, Psychological
Negotiating
Program Evaluation
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Quality of Life
Social Support
Social work
tests of mediation
Treatments
United States
Women
Women's Health
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Summary:A prior experimental evaluation of a community‐based advocacy program for women with abusive partners demonstrated positive change in the lives of women even 2 years postintervention (C. M. Sullivan & D. I. Bybee, 1999). The current study explored the complex mediational process through which this change occurred, using longitudinal structural equation modeling and formal tests of mediation. As hypothesized, the advocacy intervention first resulted in women successfully obtaining desired community resources and increasing their social support, which enhanced their overall quality of life. This improvement in well‐being appeared to serve as a protective factor from subsequent abuse, as women who received the intervention were significantly less likely to be abused at 2‐year follow‐up compared with women in the control condition. Increased quality of life completely mediated the impact of the advocacy intervention on later reabuse. Discussion places advocacy for women in the context of other efforts that are needed to build an effective community response to preventing intimate violence against women.
ISSN:0091-0562
1573-2770
DOI:10.1023/A:1014376202459