Table 5.
Triangulation Matrix of Quantitative and Qualitative Results
| NCVS Data (National) | Focus Groups (Baltimore, MD) | Level of Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Race | ||
| Black women are more likely than White women to self-report IPV to police (adj.) | Reporting by race/ethnicity is influenced by socio-structural and incident-level factors | +/− |
| . | A lack of confidence in the justice system discourages Black women from self-reporting IPV | . |
| . | Social norms among Black women support disbanding the family unit and reporting IPV to police | . |
| Gender | ||
| . | Minimization of abuse based on gender discourages reporting to police for incidents of IPV | . |
| Age | ||
| Overall, self-report of IPV to police increases with increasing age between 18 and <35 years (unadj.) | . | . |
| Self-report of IPV to police increases with increasing age between 18 and <35 years among Black women (adj.) | . | . |
| Education | ||
| Education has no effect on reporting, overall (unadj.) | Individuals with greater education or esteemed careers (e.g., doctors, lawyers) are less likely to report IPV to police. | -- |
| Among Hispanic women, those with less than a high school education were significantly less likely to self-report IPV to police (adj.) | . | |
| Income/ Socioeconomic Status (SES) | ||
| Income has no effect on reporting, overall (unadj.) | Women with low income and fewer resources are more likely to report IPV to police than women with larger income. | -- |
| Black women who did not report their income during the survey were significantly more likely to report IPV to police (adj.) | . | . |
| . | Individuals of greater SES, needing to protect their social/professional reputation, are less likely to self-report IP to police | . |
| . | Individuals living in poverty rely on police support for IPV due to a lack of resources | |
| . | Fear of losing financial support from the IPV offender may discourage self-reporting IPV to police | . |
| Public Housing | ||
| Living in public housing has no effect on reporting (unadj) | Police presence in high crime/drug areas such as public housing facilitates passive reporting (e.g., police overhear violence). A culture of silence in urban areas impedes reporting IPV to police. | -- |
| . | Living in a high-crime neighborhood discourages self-reporting for fear of being labeled “snitch” | . |
| Abuse Type | ||
| Sexual IPV is associated with greater likelihood of self-reporting, overall (unadj.) | Survivors of sexual IPV are less likely to report it to police unless a weapon is present. | +/− |
| . | The burden of proving IPV, especially sexual IPV, discourages self-reporting to police | . |
| Relationship with Offender | ||
| Relationship with offender had no effect on reporting, overall (unadj) | . | . |
| Offender’s Substance Use | ||
| Offender’s substance use has no effect on reporting, overall (unadj) | Offender’s substance use heightened women’s fear of harm and led to reporting | -- |
| Weapon Presence | ||
| Weapon presence has no effect on reporting, overall (unadj) | Weapon presence was related to reporting IPV to police due to fear of injury and hope that the incidenct would be more believeable by police. | -- |
| Injury | ||
| Injury and injury requiring medical attention has no effect on reporting, overall (unadj) | IPV severity (injury) is related to reporting among Black women for fear of intimate partner homicide | -- |
| Among Black women, those with injury were significantly more likely to self-report IPV to police (adj.) | IPV severity (injury) is related to reporting among Black women for fear of intimate partner homicide | ++ |
| Among Hispanic women, those with injury were significantly more likely to self-report (adj.) | . | . |
| Justice System | ||
| . | Policies that allow for rapid release of offenders discourages self-reporting IPV to police | . |
| . | Victims’ fear of being arrested along with the offender discourages self-reporting IPV to police | . |
Note: Triangulation findings are based on unadjusted (unadj.) and adjusted (adj.) logistic regression models (NCVS data) and focus groups (Baltimore, MD) with recent, female IPV survivors.
Key
++
= agreement between the datasources
+/−
= partial agreement between the datasources
--
= disagreement between the datasources
.
= not addressed in the datasource/ unable to compare.