Friday, 14 January 2005 - 12:00 PM

This presentation is part of: Poster Session I

Domestic Violence: Risk Factors for being Victimized with a Weapon

The aim of this poster presentation is to discuss the results of an analysis that predicts weapon use during a domestic violence incident that was reported to the police. Much is known about how weapons can change the course of a domestic violence incident. What are unknown are the factors that influence weapon use in a violent encounter between partners. I used a dataset titled “Evaluation of a Centralized Response to Domestic Violence by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Domestic Violence Unit, 1998–1999”. The dataset is available through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan and the National Institute of Justice. Random domestic violence cases chosen from the San Diego County Sheriff’s department comprised the study sample (N=338). The sample was racially diverse with only 57% of the victims being White. The mean age for the victim was 33 years and the mean age for the suspect was 34 years. The dependent variable is a dichotomous variable, weapon use or no weapon use. Included in the weapon category were gun, knife, telephone, other property, other weapon and unknown weapon. If the assault included assault with body parts (such as fists or feet), threats or verbal abuse the weapon variable was coded as no weapon used. If a weapon was used in conjunction with threats, verbal abuse or the body of the perpetrator, it was coded as weapon use. The predictor variables included relationship type, relationship length, suspect drug or alcohol use, and restraining order status at the time of the attack. Victim sex and race are included as control variables. A logistic regression showed that victims who had restraining orders against the perpetrator were more likely to have a weapon used against them in a domestic violence incident. This analysis showed those with restraining orders had almost three and one-half times greater odds of having a weapon used against him/her as compared to those who did not posses a restraining order against the perpetrator (p < .003). The only control variable found to be significant was victim sex, again in the unanticipated direction, with male victims more likely to have weapons used against them during an incident. The odds of having a weapon used against a male were 3.4 times as great as the odds of a weapon being used against a female (p<.000). The pseudo-r for the entire logistic regression was almost .10 (p<.000). This study provides practical information for social work practitioners. Advocates and counselors for victims of partner violence can teach about the risk factors for being a victim of a weapon. All information will allow victims to make more informed decisions in how to best protect themselves. Additionally, this can affect policy by further demonstrating that weapons, such as firearms, need to be seized quickly when a restraining order is issued.

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