title: The Domestic Violence Survivor Assessment (DVSA): a tool for individual counseling with women experiencing intimate partner violence.
abstract: The Domestic Violence Survivor Assessment (DVSA) was developed to measure survivor movement toward a violence free life over time. This paper reports our testing of the validity and reliability of the DVSA. Exploratory factor analysis (n = 162) found a single factor explaining 66% of the variance. Hierarchical multiple regression indicated that physical abuse severity, survivor and perpetrator substance abuse, economic and citizenship dependency, and children under 18 at home explained 10% of the variance p > .05. A second model examined the strength of interventions for survivors, controlling for influencing factors; R(2) was.24 (p < .001). The strongest interventions were individual counseling (p < .001) and resource referrals and other services (p < .05). The DVSA was found to have construct validity, sensitivity to change over time, and reliability. A county agency that adopted the DVSA evaluated its programs using the DVSA change scores and used this evaluation for program improvement.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of North Carolina - Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina 28223, USA. jadienm@uncc.edu
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dienemann
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Glass
authors.forename: Ginger
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lunsford
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003376:Counseling; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*