Appendix a Research Methods

Appendix A Research Methods Domestic violence victims in some domestic courts are now given an opportunity to formally complain about different types of partner abuse and request court protection against these forms of abuse. As part of the Stalking and Violence Project, a new interpersonal domestic violence and stalking protocol was constructed to code self-report data on different forms of domestic violence based on newly filed domestic orders of protection. Sample A random sample of 519 newly filed orders of protection (also known as restraining orders or protective orders) was drawn from new domestic court case listings that were published in legal news papers in two cities (Midwest and West regions) between 1997 and 1999. The sample of orders of protection consisted of 519 self reported victims and 519 accused persons. Twenty five of the women reported that they were pregnant when they were abused. Measures An interpersonal stalking and domestic violence protocol was constructed to code self-report data obtained from a content anal ysis of the newly filed domestic orders of protection. The protocol 209 210 APPENDIX A was pre-tested using 25 randomly selected new domestic orders of protection. The final protocol consisted of 154 variables. One section of the protocol consisted of 29 residential, demo graphic, and family variables and 20 census tract measures of so cioeconomic status for both the self-reported victims and accused individuals. The self-reported victims are the persons who are fil ing orders of protection to bar the accused persons from contacting them. Socioeconomic status variables for both victims and accused persons could be coded directly from the orders of protection. There fore, 20 census tract measures of socioeconomic status for both vic tims and accused individuals were obtained by matching known residential addresses of victims and accused persons with the 1990 U.S. Census Bureau Census Tract database. Information about the incidents or problems that led the alleged victims to file orders of protection against the accused persons is contained in the second part of the protocol. This section contains 89 variables concerning the type of relationship between the victims and the accused individuals, the victims' self-report narrative of what reportedly transpired, and the victims' reasons for filing the orders of protection. Three stalking variables were constructed from the victims' self report narratives. If the victims' narratives contained allegations that the accused individuals followed or stalked them, kept them un der surveillance, or lay in wait for them, then these behaviors were coded as positive for the first stalking variable, "stalking." Before filing the orders of protection, victims were notified that stalking is illegal. The first stalking variable under-reports stalking since it may not include other behaviors such as receiving unwanted tele phone calls and letters at home and at work that also are considered part of the stalking phenomenon. Thus, this variable only measures the victims' perception of stalking as a following or surveillance phenomenon. The second stalking variable, "multiple stalking," was con structed to be as comprehensive as possible. If the victims' nar ratives contained allegations about any type of repeated and un wanted communication and intrusion, e.g., threatening the victims in their homes or at work and making threatening calls to the vic tims at work, then the data were coded on a scale from 1 (one form of stalking) to 7 (seven forms of stalking). RESEARCH METHODS 211 The third stalking variable, "stalking distance," was con structed based on data from the multiple stalking variable. The stalking distance variable measures the proximity of stalkers to the victims. Alleged perpetrators who stalked victims were ranked on a scale from 1 (sending a letter-least close) to 7 (being followed most close). The stalking distance variable, like the multiple stalking variable, does not rely on the victims' perception of stalking. The last section of the protocol consists of 16 variables related to the self-reported victims' request for domestic court protection and the courts' approval or disapproval of their requests. Victims indicated whether they sought court protection for a variety of com plaints, including physical abuse, stalking, and intimidation of de pendents. This section also contains information on whether the court approved the victims' request for court protection in these specific problem areas. Data Analysis Data entry and cleaning were performed using the Systat com puter data analysis program. One-way and two-way cross tabu lations were performed for the variables under investigation. Pear son Chi-Square procedures tested the statistical significance of these cross-tabulations. A p value of .05 or lower was chosen as the level of statistical significance. It is important to note that some of the statistical analysis involved small sub-samples, and, therefore, the statistical signficance of these results may be suspect. Additional re search with larger samples of pregnant women should be conducted to corroborate these results. Appendix B Study Results Characteristics of the Victims of Domestic Violence Table 1 contains selected Stalking and Violence Project data on the demographic and socioeconomic status characteristics of the vic tims of all forms of domestic violence. Eighty-three percent of the self-reported victims in the sample were female and 17% male. Sixty seven percent of the victims in the sample reported that they were married to the accused persons, 2% indicated they were formerly married to the accused individuals, 9% formerly lived with the ac cused persons, 3% reported currently living with the accused per sons, 26% indicated that they were dating or have dated the accused individuals, and 8% reported being a relative of the accused persons. Sixty-five percent of the victims indicated that they were the parents of at least one child. Of these victims, 46% reported having 1 child, 40% had 2-3 children and 9% reported having 4 or more children. Forty-one percent of the victims lived in census tracts with less than 20% Whites, 48% of the victims lived in census tracts with less than 20% African-Americans, and 72% of the victims lived in census tracts with less than 20% Hispanics. Forty percent of the victims in the sample resided in census tracts with a median income of less than $20,000, and 50% of the vic tims resided in census tracts with median income between $20,000 and 39,999. Only 9% of the victims in the sample lived in census tracts with a median income between $40,000 and $59,999, and 1% 213 214 APPENDIX B Table 1. Characteristics of the Victims of Domestic Violence (N = 519) Variable Classification % Gender Female 83 Male 17 Racial/Ethnic White 21 African-American 56 Hispanic 20 Asian and Other 3 Age (unknown) Marital/Relation Status Married 67 Dating 26 Parents of at least 1 Child 53 % Living in Census Tracts with a Median Income: <$20,000 40 $20,000-$39,999 50 $40,000-$59,999 9 $60,000-$79,999 1 lived in census tracts with a median income between $60,000 and $79,999. Demographic and Socioeconomic Status Characteristics of All Offenders Demographic and socioeconomic status information on the sample of individuals accused of all forms of domestic violence and stalking are presented in Table 2. Eighty percent of all those accused of domestic violence and stalking were male and 20% were female. Twenty-one percent of the reported perpetrators were White, 53% were African-American, and 20% were Hispanic. Three percent of the alleged offenders were Asian and one percent were members of other ethnic and racial groups. Because of the limited numbers in these two latter groups, they were not used in subsequent analysis. Sixteen percent of the accused were between 18 and 25 years old, 53% were in the 26-40 age group, 23% were in the 41-60 age group, and 2% were over the age of 60. A majority of the offenders (67%) were married and 26% were in a dating relationship. Forty percent of the alleged perpetrators lived in census tracts with a median income of less than $20,000, 52% resided in census STUDY RESULTS 215 Table 2. Characteristics of the Individuals Accused of Domestic Violence (N = 519) Variable Classification % Gender Female 20 Male 80 Racial/Ethnic Background White 21 African-American 53 Hispanic 20 Asian and Other 4 Age (unknown) Marital/Relation Status Married 67 Dating 26 % Living in Census Tracts with a Median Income: <$20,000 40 $20,000-$39,999 52 $40,000-$59,999 7 $60,000-$79,999 1 tracts with a median income between $20,000 and $39,999, and 7% lived in census tracts with a median income between $40,000 and $59,999. In addition to the results contained in Table 2, census tract based income characteristics of different ethnic groups were analyzed. Accused Whites, African-Americans, and Hispanics dif fered significantly in terms of their census tract-based median income. As in the case of the self-reported victims, alleged His panic perpetrators lived in census tracts with the lowest median income. Sixty-three percent of the accused Hispanics lived in cen sus tracts with a median income less than $20,000, compared to 24% of the accused African-Americans and 6% of the accused Whites. Seventy-four percent of the alleged White perpetrators and 48% of the accused African-Americans resided in census tracts with a me dian income between $20,000 and $39,999. Demographic and Socioeconomic Status Characteristics of Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Women In Table 3, the demographic and socioeconomic status char acteristics of the pregnant (N = 25) and non-pregnant women (N = 399) were presented. A majority of the pregnant (63%) and non-pregnant women (57%) were African-American.

Load more