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Social Capital Effects on the Relation between Neighborhood Characteristics and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization among Women

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Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) remains a public health issue plaguing families and communities in the USA. Despite considerable research devoted to individual-level factors affecting IPV and a smaller body of ecological IPV research, few studies explore the interaction between individual-level protective factors and neighborhood- or community-level factors in predicting the incidents of IPV among women. Moreover, most IPV studies utilize a unidimensional approach for social capital, despite strong empirical and theoretical support for a multi-dimensional conceptualization. In a sample of heterosexual women in the USA (N = 1884), we found that concentrated disadvantage, social and physical disorder, and community violence together significantly predicted increased rates of IPV victimization. Concentrated disadvantage and higher scores on the social capital index independently predicted a lower probability of victimization. Moderating effects were found for social capital: the protective effects of social capital on the probability of IPV were attenuated for those reporting community violence compared with women who did not report it. These findings enhance the field’s understanding of the synergistic relationship between individual- and neighborhood-level factors, providing important implications for community-based IPV interventions.

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Acknowledgements

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This resaerch was conducted with no funding support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA

    Laura A. Voith

  2. School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, USA

    Razia Azen

  3. Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA

    Weidi Qin

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  1. Laura A. Voith
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Voith, L.A., Azen, R. & Qin, W. Social Capital Effects on the Relation between Neighborhood Characteristics and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization among Women. J Urban Health 98, 91–100 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-020-00475-1

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