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Targeted Neighborhood Sampling: A New Approach for Recruiting Abusive Couples

NCJ Number
221880
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 23 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2008 Pages: 89-100
Author(s)
F. Scott Christopher; Jacqueline C. Pflieger; Daniel J. Canary; Laura K. Guerrero; Amy Holtzworth-Munroe
Date Published
February 2008
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Two studies tested the utility of "targeted neighborhood sampling" as a new strategy for recruiting couples who are experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV).
Abstract
Targeted neighborhood sampling was determined to be a viable new recruitment strategy for future investigations of partner abuse. The studies demonstrated that this new strategy recruited a community sample of couples with diverse characteristics who had experienced a range of IPV. The study also identified links between the violence partners experienced and both the conflict strategies they used and risk factors, including drug abuse, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Study I which compared the efficacy of using targeted neighborhood sampling to recruit a random versus a convenience sample, showed that this recruitment sample was most effective when recruiting a convenience sample of participants who responded to flyers left at their residences. Study II used a convenience sample and replicated the findings from Study I. Across the two studies, 40.4 percent of those who called after receiving a flyer experienced male-to-female partner violence within the past year. In addition, researchers combined data across studies and correlated types of violence the couples experienced with variables commonly linked to abuse. 4 tables and 51 references