Sociodemographic and Victimization Factors Predicting Service Use at Community-Based Domestic Violence Agencies

Background and purpose: Domestic violence (DV) victimization contributes to myriad negative outcomes, including mental health distress, disability and chronic health issues, homelessness, substance abuse, and heightened risk of future violence. Community-based DV agencies help to alleviate negative outcomes by providing supportive advocacy, counseling, emergency shelter and housing resources, legal guidance, and more. Existing literature has identified disparities in formal helpseeking (e.g., contacting police, court services) based on sociodemographic and victimization factors; however, less is known about patterns of service use through community-based DV agencies specifically.

Methods: Data (n = 446) were drawn from an online quantitative survey fielded from December 2020-January 2021. Recruitment occurred through 20 non-profit organizations in the greater Houston area. Participants had to be 18 or older, living in Harris County, had a romantic relationship in the last year, and experienced past year DV victimization, which was assessed with a behaviorally specific screener (Conflict Tactics Scale Revised- Short Version; Straus & Douglas, 2004). The survey was offered in both English and Spanish.

Our outcome variable was past year service use at a DV focused community agency (e.g., emergency shelter, hotlines, counseling). Independent variables included sociodemographic factors, mental health, and DV victimization characteristics. We performed logistic regression modeling to predict past year helpseeking using 15 variables of interest (discussed below).

Results: About one-third of participants (29%) reported past year service use at DV agencies. Our logistic regression model was significant, χ² (16) = 170.038, p < .001, with a Nagelkerke R² value of .524. Service use was significantly predicted by: gender, race/ethnicity (one group), children, income level, sexual DV, physical DV, coercive control, and recent gun threats. Age, sexual identity, disability status, recent homelessness, level of social support, economic DV, and probable PTSD were not associated with service use.

Men were 5.5 times less likely (p = .002) and Hispanic participants were 3 times less likely (p = .013) to seek DV services compared to women and white (non-Hispanics), respectively. Victims of physical DV were unexpectedly 3 times less likely to use services (p = .009) compared to those not experiencing physical violence.

Survivors were more likely to use services if they had children (OR = 3.00, p = .002), lower income (B = -.355, p = .01), or experienced sexual DV (OR = 4.16, p < .001), coercive control (OR = 3.17, p = .001), or recent gun threats (OR = 2.46, p = .048).

Conclusions and Implications: Service use at DV agencies is impacted by certain sociodemographic and victimization factors. Agencies should expand outreach and ensure services are tailored to address unique helpseeking barriers faced by men (e.g., deconstructing belief that DV is only a “women’s issue”) and Hispanic survivors (e.g., bilingual services, addressing concerns over immigration status). Given high rates of service use among people with children and victims of sexual DV, identification, universal education, and referrals should be happening in primary care settings, such as pediatric and obstetric clinics.