Toward Needs Profiles of Shelter-Based Abused Women

Abstract

Shelter-based abused women report a variety of needs across different domains (e.g., housing, finances, relationships, health, safety, and empowerment). This diversity of needs underscores the necessity for different types of services. In the current study, the authors constructed profiles of Dutch shelter-based abused women ( N = 218) based on their reported needs. Further, the authors compared their needs profiles with respect to sociodemographic and social–economic characteristics, abuse type, symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), general life satisfaction, social support, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and the attuning of the shelter services to the needs reported. Latent class analysis (LCA) identified four needs profiles: a High Needs class, a Practical Needs class, an Empowerment Needs class, and a Low Needs class. The classes differed with respect to migration, mental health, well-being variables, and the attuning of care needs. The results of this study underline the necessity for specifically tailored interventions for these four subgroups in women’s shelters.