Effects of IPV and Economic Abuse on Life Outcomes for Survivors

Background & Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) including economic abuse on women's economic empowerment, economic self sufficiency, quality of life, PTSD, and depression. . Although economic abuse has been identified as a common tool used by perpetrators to maintain coercive control over victims, until recently this issue has not received significant attention. This presentation includes results from an evaluation of a financial literacy curriculum, “Moving Ahead Through Money Management,” created by The Allstate Foundation in collaboration with the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV).

Methods: This presentation is based on first of three scheduled rounds of interviews with 121 IPV survivors participating in a longitudinal survey design from 15 sites across ten states. The survey included a number of standardized or modified scales including the Abusive Behavior Inventory, the Scale of Economic Abuse, an adapted version of the Family Empowerment Scale, Domestic Violence Financial Issues Scale, WEN Economic Self-Sufficiency Survey, the Scale of Well-Being, the PTSD portion of the National Comorbidity Survey, and the CES-D. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVA) were conducted.

Results: Four MANCOVAs were performed to test the mean differences between the frequencies (high vs. low) of four different independent variables with the dependent variables. The four independent variables include the: 1) physical IPV; 2) psychological IPV; 3) economic control; and 4) economic exploitation. The six dependent variables include: 1) economic empowerment; 2) economic self-sufficiency; 3) economic self-efficacy; 4) quality of life; 5) depression; and 6) PTSD. Income, race and age were introduced as covariates.

MANCOVA results indicated statistically significant main effects for economic exploitation [Wilks' Lambda = .700, F= 3.217, p<.01]. Individuals with higher levels of economic exploitation reported low levels of quality of life (F= 5.209, p<.05) and higher levels of physical (F= 7.406, p<.01) and psychological IPV (F= 23.646, p<.01). MANCOVA results indicated statistically significant main effects for economic control [Wilks' Lambda = .580, F= 5.429, p<.01]. Those with higher levels of economic control indicated lower levels of economic self sufficiency (F= 4.526, p<.05) and higher levels of physical (F= 28.177, p<.01) and psychological IPV (F= 47.199, p<.01). MANCOVA results indicated statistically significant main effects for physical IPV [Wilks' Lambda = .674, F= 4.168, p<.01]. Those with higher frequency rates of physical IPV indicate lower levels of economic self sufficiency (F= 5.083, p<.05) and higher levels of economic control (F= 23.200, p<.01) and exploitation (F= 13.641, p<.01). There are no significant effects in frequency rates of psychological abuse.

Conclusion & Implications: This study demonstrates the need to bring greater awareness of the impact of economic abuse as well as the need to further educate practitioners and survivors on the different forms of abuse. Incorporating financial and economic resources and education during the intervention process can further empower clients who are victims of IPV. This knowledge will increase a survivors' perceived sense of economic empowerment and self-sufficiency and provide them will tools to identify financial abuse in their lives.