Effects of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrator and Victim Race on Protective Order Determinations.

The legal granting of temporary and permanent protective orders prohibits a perpetrator from engaging in contact with the victim. Although protective orders reduce risk of re-abuse, very little research has explored factors that predict the likelihood that a victim is granted a protective order. Thus, we conducted an archival analysis on data previously collected from a Protection Order Assistance Office in a midwestern region of the United States, testing the influence of victim and perpetrator race on protective order allocations. Specifically, we coded data gathered from 490 petitioners (i.e., victims) seeking a protective order against a perpetrator of intimate partner violence, stalking, or sexual offending. Analyses revealed that racial minority victims were significantly less likely to receive a temporary protective order compared to White victims - effects that were exacerbated when the perpetrator was White (versus racial minority). These results are in line with existing research and theory regarding aversive racism. Implications for theory, policy, and practice are discussed.

Sexual Abuse Disclosure Mediates the Effect of an Abuse Prevention Program on Substantiation.

Although abuse prevention programs have proliferated, little research has explored the direct effects of such programs on actual child sexual abuse disclosure rates, and no research has explored the effects of such programs on child sexual abuse substantiation. Employing a quasi-experimental design, the present research reflects an exploration of the effects of exposure to the Think First and Stay Safe™ abuse prevention program on abuse disclosure rates of 319 children who underwent a child forensic interview within 2015-2018 in a Midwestern child advocacy center. Supporting our mediational hypotheses, children exposed (vs. not exposed) to the Think First and Stay Safe™ program were significantly more likely to disclose abuse during the forensic interview, which in turn predicted significantly increased abuse substantiation likelihood.