Psychology of Violence, Vol 14(4), Jul 2024, 250-259; doi:10.1037/vio0000518
Objective: This study examined factors considered to influence service engagement among intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors. Specifically, it (a) investigated patterns of cultural beliefs, stigma related to attitudes about seeking formal help, and IPV experiences among service-engaged survivors and (b) explored their association with sociodemographic characteristics. Method: Mixture modeling was conducted using the Testing and Validating Financial Measures with IPV Survivors data set of a racially and ethnically diverse sample (N = 415). Sociodemographic variables were entered as covariates in the model using Vermunt’s three-step approach to predict group membership. Results: A four-profile model (i.e., latent profile analysis) fit the data the best. The profiles were classified as low, moderate, or high based on attitudes/beliefs followed by IPV experiences to indicate their potential risk for service discontinuation. The profiles are moderate risk (Profile 1), moderately low risk (Profile 2), high risk (Profile 3), and extremely high risk (Profile 4). Education was the most predictive of profile membership. Being born in the United States (includes Puerto Rico) predicted an 84% decrease in the likelihood of membership in Profile 2 than Profile 4; having employment predicted a 42% increase in the likelihood of membership in Profile 1 compared to Profile 4. Anticipated stigma was consistently scored lower than other attitudes across profiles. Conclusions: Findings accentuate the need for further research to better understand the groups that might be at higher risk for discontinuing service and to develop innovative intervention strategies to support them. A key takeaway is the imperative to explore whether and how education may influence service engagement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)