University of Cincinnati Date: 3/16/2011 I, Megan C Stewart , hereby submit this original work as part of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice. It is entitled: The Effect of Victimization on Women’s Health: Does the Victim-Offender Relationship Matter? Student's name: Megan C Stewart This work and its defense approved by: Committee chair: Bonnie Sue Fisher, PhD Committee member: Leah Daigle, PhD Committee member: Francis Cullen, PhD Committee member: Pamela Wilcox, PhD 1403 Last Printed:4/12/2011 Document Of Defense Form The Effect of Victimization on Women’s Health: Does the Victim-Offender Relationship Matter? A Dissertation Submitted to the: Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) In the School of Criminal Justice of the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services 2011 By Megan C. Stewart BA, Miami University, 2002 MS, University of Cincinnati, 2003 Dissertation Committee: Bonnie S. Fisher, Ph.D. (chair) Francis T. Cullen, Ph.D. Pamela Wilcox, Ph.D. Leah E. Daigle, Ph.D. ABSTRACT The study of violence against women has slowly begun to gain momentum in the last two decades. Empirical research from various disciplines such as criminology, sociology, psychology, and medicine has demonstrated that violence against women is a pervasive social problem affecting women of all ages, races, and socioeconomic statuses. Despite criticism of the field for a lack of national-level data and problems with differing terminology and definitions, the violence against women research has made great progress towards demonstrating the scope and extent of violence women experience. Using the National Violence Against Women Study (NVAWS), the present research seeks to expand what is known about violence against women by exploring the impact of the victim-offender relationship on psychological and physical health and wellbeing for the crimes of rape, stalking, and physical assault. Specifically, this research hypothesizes that using a general strain theory (GST) lens would lead one to expect differences in health outcomes depending on the perpetrator committing the violence. Two research questions are tested in this current study: 1) what is the prevalence of violence against women by victim-offender relationship? and 2) what is the effect of the victim-offender relationship on a woman’s psychological and physical health, and overall wellbeing? Findings indicate that across three types of violence against women, a variety of perpetrator types are responsible for violence against women, and that no single group can be ignored. Additionally, it appears that while victimization is related to negative health outcomes, the victim-offender relationship does not significantly contribute to increasing the odds of experiencing negative health outcomes. These findings are discussed in relation to previous empirical research and the future of violence against women research. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my late grandparents, William “Bill” Stewart, Phyllis Stewart, and George Krozier. You may be gone, but you are definitely not forgotten. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First I would like to thank God, for without him none of this would have been possible. I must thank my parents who have supported me through this entire process. I know for a fact I would not have succeeded in my education without their unfailing financial support, love, and patience. Thank you to the members of my dissertation committee, Dr. Bonnie Fisher, Dr. Francis Cullen, Dr. Pamela Wilcox, and Dr. Leah Daigle, for their helpful advice and suggestions. I would like to thank Dr. Daigle for all of the hard work she put into writing comments on my dissertation that helped make this research even better. Thanks to Dr. Wilcox for all of the crime prevention classes she taught… I have saved every single handout and paper and they have come in handy every step of the way! Also, the comments you offered while reading rough drafts of the dissertation were extremely helpful! (Go Redhawks!) Dr. Cullen, thank you for helping guide my research and writing with your insightful comments and guiding outlines, in Research Practicum, and throughout the dissertation process. I would be remiss to not also thank you for your advice along the way and motivating comments that have helped me push through those moments of panic and frustration. Dr. Fisher, thank you so much for being not only the chair of my dissertation committee, but for being my mentor throughout my years in this Criminal Justice program. The victimology class you taught inspired me to pursue victimization research, a field which I find so incredibly interesting and challenging. Your survey design class, relentless pursuit of understanding measurement issues, and writing advice have also helped me to become a more informed and questioning researcher. Also, thank you for all of the opportunities you have given me in the form of research collaborations and projects such as being the managing editor of the Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention and the Security Journal. Finally, thank you for your patience and for not only being a professor, but for going above and beyond to make sure I had a good foundation for which to build the rest of my professional career. A big thank you needs to go to Dr. Brad Reyns and Wendy Perkins Gilbert. Brad, you answered questions I had, no matter how busy you were, and it was so very much appreciated. I hope we can collaborate on future papers. Wendy, you have been such a huge help to me throughout all my years in Cincinnati. From the very beginning of the Ph.D. program, you were there to help me when I was struggling, and since then have gone out of your way to help me when I have questions or just need to vent. I am very thankful for everything, and I know we will remain friends and hopefully collaborate on papers in the future. It would be hard to imagine getting through my years in the Ph.D. program without the help of Jean Gary and Janice Miller. Jean, you have always taken time to answer my questions when you are incredibly busy yourself, and I thank you. Janice, you were always a friendly face who I could go to for help or with questions, no matter how crazy things were in the office. Your efforts were much appreciated, and I will miss stopping by your office! iv Dr. Ann Coker also deserves my gratitude for all of the help she has provided me during this dissertation process. Every time I had a question about coding issues, you always took the time to respond to my emails and dig through your old syntax to find me the coding I requested. Thank you so much for taking the time, I would have been lost without your help. To my best friends, Anne, Molly, Kristina and Melissa, thank you for always offering your support, letting me vent, and for providing me sanity during all of the rough times. It is rare that a person has such an amazing core group of friends to stand by them during the ups and downs of life, and I am so blessed to have you all in my life. Thank you to Waffle House (Monroe) for letting my friends and I take up a booth and study for long periods of time over the last decade. Oh! And for those delicious grilled cheese sandwiches, chocolate silk pie, and chocolate chip/pecan waffles you sold me, which helped me gain 50lbs during the entire stressful process! Finally, THANK YOU to all of the professors I have had the privilege of studying under at the University of Cincinnati. The education I received was beyond excellent in preparing me for the future. I would like to mention Dr. John Wright, because he has always been supportive in answering questions and offering advice when I was not sure if this was the path I wanted to take. Also, I would like to thank Dr. John Wooldredge, whose statistics courses have given me a foundation that I never fully appreciated until it came time to conduct my own research. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: EXTENT OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, PHYSICAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING…....1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………...….…1 Contribution of Research…………………………………………………………………………..……….2 Prevalence Rates………………………………………………………………………………………........6 Rape/Sexual Assault in Adult Samples……………………………………………………………........7 Uniform Crime Reports……………………………………………………..…….………................7 National Crime Victimization Survey………………………………………………………………..8 National Women’s Study………………………………………………………………...............…..8 National Violence Against Women Survey…………………………………………………...…......9 Second Injury Control and Risk Survey…………………………………………..…………..……10 Drug-Facilitated, Incapacitated, and Forcible Rape Study…………………………………..…..…10 Rape/Sexual Assault in College Student Samples……………………………………………….….…13 Sexual Experiences Survey…………………………………………………………..…………..…13 National College Women Sexual Victimization Survey……………………………………...….…14 Drug-Facilitated, Incapacitated, and Forcible Rape Study…………………………………………14 Campus Sexual Assault Study……………………………………………………….……….….…15 Stalking in Adult Samples………………………………………………………………..……...…….16 National Violence Against Women Survey………………………………….………………...…...16 Second Injury Control and Risk Survey……………………………………………………………18 NCVS Supplemental Victimization Survey………………………………………………….…….18 Stalking in College Student Samples……………………………………………………………..……19 National College Women Sexual Victimization Study……………………………...........……...…19 Physical Assault in Adult Samples……………………………………………………..……………...19