Duration of Research: 2002-2005

Funding Agency: National Insurance Institute of Israel & Ministry of Social Affairs.

Researchers:
Guy Enosh (P.I.)
Zvi Eisikovits (P.I.)
Gali Dotan (Research Coordinator)

Collaborators: 
Prof. Muhammad Haj-Yahia, School of Social Work, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Project Description:
The Israeli Ministry of Work and Welfare is supporting and employing three different settings for the treatment of domestic abuse. Those three settings are somewhat different in their operations, intervention agendas, and clientele. Those include the Centers for the treatment of Family Violence, which offer a wide scope of interventions, including women's groups, men's groups, couple therapy, and advocacy.The second is the Probation services, which in Israel probation officers are social workers and operate through the Ministry. Over the last couple of years the probation services have been receiving batterers through court orders, and extended their operation to include batterers groups.And finally, Beit-Noam, an experimental setting, which serves court-ordered batterers, using a comprehensive array of interventions, both on individual and group-work.

The goal of the evaluation study is three fold: first, to evaluate the effectiveness of each of the settings; second to evaluate the determinants of treatment dropout; and third to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of those three settings. The effectiveness and dropout profiling would be incorporated into the final cost effectiveness analysis.
The project is to be carried for roughly 3 years (34 months), following 240 batterers and their spouses, through therapy, and 6 months and a year follow-ups.

In order to read the final academic report (In Hebrew only), please enter the link.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of battered women, the services provided to them in the public welfare system and their evaluation of these services. The sampling frame includes 500 women that were randomly selected from the service population of public welfare community agencies, women battered shelters and Centers for the intervention with battered women.

The instrument included a survey component identical that was used for the general population and a service evaluation component, which assesses the women's perception of the quality of services and treatment provided. In addition the women's social workers were interviewed regarding the goals, process and outcome of the various interventions performed. services provided to them in the public welfare system and their evaluation of these services. The sampling frame includes 500 women that were randomly selected from the service population of public welfare community agencies, women battered shelters and Centers for the intervention with battered women.

The instrument included a survey component identical that was used for the general population and a service evaluation component, which assesses the women's perception of the quality of services and treatment provided. In addition the women's social workers were interviewed regarding the goals, process and outcome of the various interventions performed.

Duration of Research: 2003-2006

Funding Agency: Israel Scientific Foundation (ISF)

Researchers:
Zeev Winstok (P.I.)
Guy Enosh (P.I.)
Zvi Eisikovits (P.I.)
Eila Perkis (Research Coordinator)

Project Description:
Current research in intimate violence focuses primarily on the frequency and severity of violent acts and their outcomes. These studies operationalize aggression in intimate relationships by using a single and isolated action as the frame of reference (as measured by Strauss et al., 1996 with the Conflict Tactic Scale). By focusing on outcome measures, the process by which aggression emerges remains largely unexplored.

The purpose of this study is to explore a theoretical model that integrates our previous theoretical conceptualizations (Eisikovits, Winstok, & Gelles, in press; Winstok, Eisikovits, & Gelles, in press) with the Planned Behavior Model (Ajzen, 2001). Such theoretical development holds promises to contribute in the development of reliable and valid measures and theory of conflict escalation in intimate relationships. The theoretical approach suggests that conflict escalation is neither random nor situational, but rather constructed in the context of dyadic relationships in which each side takes into account the other's actions. Thus we propose that the variables that are related in predicting an escalatory behavior in intimate relationship are: 1) intention to react in an escalatory manner; 2) perceived ability to perform in accordance with these intentions (called conflict management capabilities); and 3) partner's escalatory intentions as perceived by the actor (based on previous experience). Escalatory intention are predicted by 1) attitudes towards escalation; 2) perception of expectations of significant others regarding escalation (subjective norms); 3) conflict management capabilities, and 4) partner's escalatory intentions as perceived by the actor.

The study has a longitudinal panel design. It consists of three waves of data collection from the same set of cases with an interval of six months between waves. Two samples were drawn for the purpose of this study: One is a sample of heterosexual, cohabiting partners drawn from the general population (200 informants-100 men and 100 women), and the other is a sample of heterosexual men/women and their partners who participate in domestic violence programs (200 informants-100 men and 100 women). Data analysis includes both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses such as confirmatory factor analysis, latent growth curve models, and change scores models.

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