Racial Disparities in Intimate Partner Violence Examined Through the Multiple Disadvantage Model

Abstract

This research adopted the perspective of the multiple disadvantage model to explore racial disparities in intimate partner violence (IPV) against women and IPV’s links to social structural factors, social relationships, substance use, and health/mental health and access to related services. The study used data from 6,588 women who completed the National Violence Against Women Survey; linear regression was conducted separately for four ethnic groups. Results consistently showed physical assaults to increase with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. For African Americans, increases in assaults were linked to injury, disclosing IPV to friends/family as well as medical professionals, Medicaid use, and drug use; decreases, in turn, were linked to past assault by ex-partners. For Latinas, increases in assaults were associated with eight factors: being married, number of ex-partners, depression, disclosing IPV to friends/family and disclosing to mental-health professionals, drug use, alcohol abstinence, and partner’s frequent alcohol use. For European Americans, increases in assaults were linked to number of ex-partners, injury, low income, Medicaid use, disclosing IPV to friends/family as well as mental-health professionals, and alcohol abstinence; decreases were associated with age and with other health insurance coverages. For women of other ethnicity, increases were linked to number of ex-partners, disclosing IPV to mental-health professionals, Medicaid use, drug use, and woman’s own as well as partner’s alcohol abstinence; decreases in this ethnicity category were linked to past assault by ex-partners. Intervention and policy implications are discussed.