Department of Psychology.
Department of Psychology, Michigan State University.
Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2018;88(6):670-680. doi: 10.1037/ort0000291. Epub 2018 Jan 18.
The purpose of community-based domestic violence crisis housing programs (e.g., shelters) is to provide a safe setting that promotes empowerment for survivors of intimate partner violence. For staff to reach this aim, the program must have formal structures and processes in place to support such efforts. This study explored how low-barrier and voluntary service policies influenced staff practices and survivor empowerment. Low-barrier policies require that programs remove barriers that prevent survivors, particularly those who have mental health concerns and/or addictions, from being able to access services. A voluntary service policy states that survivors have the right to choose which services, if any, they would like to engage in during their stay at the program. Survivors' ability to stay at the housing program is not contingent on their participation in program services. This exploratory-sequential (QUAL→ quan) mixed-method study examined how low-barrier and voluntary service policies influenced staff behavior and how these behaviors then related to survivor empowerment. Qualitative results revealed that low-barrier and voluntary service were guided by cultural values of justice and access, encouraged survivor-centered practices among staff, and were believed to promote survivor autonomy. Quantitative results suggested that when survivors perceived they had a choice to engage in program services or meet with an advocate, their empowerment increased. This study has implications for domestic violence organizational practice and provides evidence about the contextual factors that support individual empowerment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
社区家庭暴力危机住房项目（如庇护所）的目的是提供一个安全的环境，促进亲密伴侣暴力幸存者的赋权。为了让工作人员达到这一目标，该项目必须有正式的结构和流程来支持这些努力。本研究探讨了低门槛和自愿服务政策如何影响工作人员的实践和幸存者的赋权。低门槛政策要求项目消除障碍，使幸存者，特别是那些有心理健康问题和/或成瘾问题的幸存者，能够获得服务。自愿服务政策规定，幸存者有权选择在项目逗留期间愿意参与哪些服务（如果有）。幸存者能否留在住房项目，不取决于他们是否参与项目服务。这项探索性的顺序（定性→定量）混合方法研究考察了低门槛和自愿服务政策如何影响工作人员的行为，以及这些行为如何与幸存者的赋权相关。定性结果表明，低门槛和自愿服务是由正义和准入的文化价值观指导的，鼓励工作人员采取以幸存者为中心的做法，并被认为促进了幸存者的自主权。定量结果表明，当幸存者认为他们有选择参与项目服务或与倡导者会面时，他们的赋权会增加。这项研究对家庭暴力组织实践具有意义，并提供了有关支持个人赋权的背景因素的证据。（APA 版权所有，2018）。
