TABLE 1.
Metrics and Descriptive Statistics of Individual, Household, and Neighborhood Characteristics, and Hypothesized Effect on Being Victimized: Perinatal Emphasis Research Center Project, Jefferson County, Alabama, 1997–2001
| Descriptive Statistics |
|||
| Variables | Mean (SD) or % | Range | Expected Effect |
| Dependent variable: intimate partner violencea | 7.4 | 0–1 | |
| Explanatory variables: individual or household level | |||
| Age entering study, y | 21.825 (4.542) | 14–44 | +/− |
| Age at first vaginal intercourse,b y | 15.726 (2.082) | 3–35b | – |
| Years of education | 11.489 (1.621) | 6–18 | – |
| Self-esteem, score | 26.863 (3.383) | 10–30 | – |
| Mastery,c score | 14.539 (4.042) | 4–20 | – |
| No paying joba | 28.9 | 0–1 | + |
| Use of alcohola | 5.0 | 0–1 | + |
| African Americana | 84.8 | 0–1 | +/− |
| Performed most of houseworka | 41.2 | 0–1 | + |
| No money from partnera | 48.8 | 0–1 | + |
| Unmarrieda | 86.1 | 0–1 | + |
| Not living with partnera | 79.7 | 0–1 | + |
| Unplanned pregnancya | 85.6 | 0–1 | + |
| Lack of car ownershipa | 12.6 | 0–1 | + |
| Use of welfarea | 28.0 | 0–1 | + |
| Explanatory variables: neighborhood level | |||
| Concentrated disadvantaged | 0 (0.860) | –1.218 to 2.561 | + |
| Unemployment, proportion | 0.092 (0.086) | 0.012–0.608 | |
| Under the poverty line,e proportion | 0.200 (0.129) | 0.033–0.586 | |
| Receiving public assistance, proportion | 0.031 (0.028) | 0–0.147 | |
| African American, proportion | 0.558 (0.344) | 0–1.000 | |
| Single-parent household, proportion | 0.136 (0.074) | 0.025–0.370 | |
| Median household income, $ | 30783 (11480) | 7610–60058 | |
| Residential stability | |||
| Same residence,f proportion | 0.551 (0.136) | 0.129–0.810 | + |
| Owner-occupied housing, proportion | 0.630 (0.216) | 0.007–0.950 | + |
| Neighborhood violent crime, proportion | 0.030 (0.028) | 0.0001–0.149 | + |
Coded 0 = no; 1 = yes.
Age at first vaginal intercourse was 3 or 5 years for a single case each. Though ages at first vaginal intercourse were exceptionally low, cases have been reported of sexual abuse of children aged as young as 3 years. As only 2 cases are involved, the impact of these 2 cases is negligible.
Mastery is the perception of oneself as an effective person and was assessed by women's responses to “I have little control over the things that happen to me. There is little I can do to change many of the important things in my life. I often feel helpless in dealing with the problems of life. There is really no way I can solve some of the problems I have.”
Concentrated disadvantage is based on summation of equally weighted z-scores (minus the mean of each variable and divided by its standard deviation) divided by the number of items.
Poverty line as defined by the 2000 US Census.45
Same residence is the proportion of the households living in the same residence for at least 5 years.