A Mixed-Method Assessment of the Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Restraining Order Issuance: Considerations for Policy Development, Intervention Practice, and Violence Prevention
Abstract
The period of separation from a violent intimate relationship is associated with an increased risk for lethality. Restraining orders (ROs) exist in every U.S. state as a legally sanctioned mechanism that is used to prohibit perpetrators from contacting victims in the future. However, IPV fatalities continue to occur at alarming rates, and despite decades of IPV research, no studies have examined relationship separation from the perspectives of perpetrators. This is the first study to examine this high-risk period from IPV perpetrators’ points of view. This dissertation examines IPV policies and practices since the inception of the IPV movement, with attention directed to policies and practices that have been developed to address IPV perpetration, specifically. Following a historical review of these policies and practices, IPV relationship separation is described from a theoretical framework that positions this period as one of crisis, emotional instability, behavioral problems, and socioeconomic downfall for perpetrators. The dissertation study used a cross-sectional, mixed-method (QUANT → qual) design to examine psychological, psychosocial, and behavioral correlates of RO issuance sample of abusive intervention program participants across five east-coast states. A survey examined posttraumatic stress, suicide risk, homicide risk, depression, psychosis risk, alcohol and substance use, psychosocial needs, and risk for future harm with 50 participants (22 RO recipients 28 non-RO recipients). Linear regression analysis was used to examine whether RO issuance was associated with the mental health, psychosocial, and behavioral correlates. Semi-structured interviews were informed by survey findings, conducted with 24 participants, and examined using interpretive phenomenological analysis. The survey findings showed that although RO issuance was not associated with any of the predictor variables. The interview findings indicated that RO recipients often have histories of severe trauma in their childhoods, and tend to experience intense and complicated grief following RO issuances, which, in turn, influences violations, mental and physical health problems, socioeconomic challenges, lifestyle changes, and psychosocial needs. For many, the consequences that followed RO issuances also presented opportunities for self-growth and rehabilitation. Implications for future research, practice, and policy are discussed.
Subject Area
Social work|Behavioral Sciences|Public health|Mental health
Recommended Citation
Marsh, Jonathan, "A Mixed-Method Assessment of the Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Restraining Order Issuance: Considerations for Policy Development, Intervention Practice, and Violence Prevention" (2023). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI30634183.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI30634183
