Citation

Cattaneo LB. Am. J. Community Psychol. 2010; 45(3-4): 247-258.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MSN 3F5, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA, (lcattane@gmu.edu).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1007/s10464-010-9297-x

PMID

20232246

Abstract

Using a national dataset of 820 women who had called the police for an incident of intimate partner violence, this study explored the relationship between several components of socioeconomic status (education, income, and employment), race, and the nature of interactions with police. Over and above the effects of control variables (the presence of an advocate on the scene, the severity of violence in the relationship, and prior calls to police), victims with higher education reported less positive interactions, less control during the interactions, and lower effectiveness of police. Race did not moderate these relationships, and the other components of socioeconomic status were not significantly related to any of the outcomes. Exploratory tests of mediation found that the relationship between education and the quality of interactions with police was explained by the fact that more educated victims felt they had less control in these incidents and were less likely to see the offender arrested. Results also provide evidence for the positive impact of advocates on interactions with police. Implications for research and policy are discussed.

Language: en