“Hope is like a path on the mountainside. At first there is

nothing. But as people walk this way again and again, a path

appears.”–Lu Xun

The Relationship between

Empowerment and Hope for Safety Among

Survivors of Intimate Partner ViolenceRicky T. Munoz, JD, MSW, Vanessa Brown, BSW, Shane Brady, PhD

Laying the Groundwork

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2.) Ask questions relevant to the

topic for answers in real time

• Why hope?

• Why locus of control?

• Why empowerment?

• Why survivors of IPV?

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today. -Thich Nhat HanhBuddhist Scholar

• Why will tomorrow be better? Because I will get some of the things I want. – People are happier when they get the things they want out of life (their goals)

(Carver, Scheier, & Segrstorm, 2010).

• Thus, goal attainment is central to well-being. – Hope is a cognitive set that centers of subjective perceptions of one’s ability to

meet his/her goals.

Hope Theory

• We judge a man's wisdom by his hope.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

• C.R. Snyder (Snyder, et al., 1991) defined hope as a cognitive set that is based on an iteratively derived sense of successful willpower (agency), and waypower (pathways) toward a goal.

• Dennis Saleebey, (2000) a pioneer in developing the “strength based perspective” of social work, noted hope is the cognitive set that underlies resilient behavior.

Hope Theory

Hope Theory

Emotion is an outcome of hope

• High hope people have greater positive affect.

• Low hope people have greater negative affect.

Hope is associated with psychological well-being

• Optimism, Locus of Control, Problem Solving, Self-Esteem.

• Settings: education, psychotherapy, the work-place, health care.

Hope is associated positive behaviors

• Parental care-giving.

• Offender behavior.

• Academic performance.

Hope is associated with physical well-being

• Prevention seeking behaviors.

• Coping with illness (cancer, HIV+,

spinal cord, diabetes, brain injury).

• Treatment compliance.

Hope Theory

Hope is a way of viewing the world

‘Yet where an equal poise of hope and fear

Does arbitrate the even, my nature is

That I incline to hope, rather than fear,

And gladly banish squint suspicion.’

Milton, Camus (1637)

• Early Marx coins term “false consciousness”

• Paulo Freire and “conscientizacao”

• Judith Lee, Barbara Solomon

• Kieffer, Rappaport, and Community Psychology

• Gutierrez’s contributions (intrapersonal, interpersonal, and political dimensions)

• Zimmerman’s psychological empowerment (personal, inter-actionary, behavioral)

Empowerment Roots

Sources: Lee, 2001

Empowerment Theory

Dimensions of Empowerment

E

• Intrapersonal – Self-Esteem,

Self-efficacy, agency, Internal

locus of control

• Interpersonal – Collective

efficacy, interconnectedness,

external locus of control

• Political – Social change

Interpersonal

Empowerment

Sources: Gutierrez, 1990

Political

Intrapersonal

• Empowerment consists of both internal and external

processes

• Three intersecting and interrelated dimensions

• Cognitions, Feelings, and Behaviors

• Self efficacy, locus of control, agency, collective

efficacy, interconnectedness, critical consciousness,

advocacy, etc.

Major Concepts and Tenets

Sources: Rappaport & Hess, 1984,

• The personal is the political

• Dialectical

• Diluted and oversimplified in social work and society

• Empowerment as both a process and outcome of

practice

• Challenges to implementing in practice

Empowerment In Practice

Sources: Solomon, 1976,

Empowerment & Hope

• Hope and empowerment go hand in hand

• ILOC and ELOC are relevant dimensions of

empowerment, as seen in the slide before.

• Can LOC predict how hopeful survivors of IPV are

that they can achieve safety through a well understood

pathway?

Sources: Zimmerman & Rappaport, 1988

Empowerment & IPV

• DV programs often include empowerment goals and

theory in their mission.

• Best practice for overcoming marginalization and

powerlessness.

• Consciousness raising, self-determination, advocacy as

important values, goals, and activities.

Sources: Cramer, Brady, & McLeod, 2013

Research Question Posed:

• Do perceptions of locus of

control predict hope for safety?

Participants (N=69)

• IPV Shelter Residents (100% Female)

• Mean age of sample was 36.8 yrs.

(SD=9.7)

• Ethnic make up=

– 58% Caucasian

– 24% African American

– 10% American Indian/Alaskan Native

– 3% Hispanic

– 4% Other

Our Study

Tool/Scale Included:

• 9 items for LOC (based on Levenson’s

Multi-Dimensional LOC Inventory)

• 6 items for Hope for Safety (based on

Snyder’s State Hope Scale)

Sources:: (Snyder, et al., 1991; Levenson, 1973).

Dimensions of Hope

• “At the present time, I am energetically

pursuing my goals of being safe from

domestic violence. can see many ways

to get out.”

• “I can think of many ways to reach my

current goals of being safe from

domestic violence.”

Study Hope Scale Questions

Snyder’s Hope Theory & Our Study

Agency

Pathways

HOPE

Sources: Saleebey, 2000; Synder, 1994

Dimensions of LOC Study’s LOC Scale Questions

• (I) “My safety from domestic violence is determined by my own actions.”

• (PO) “Being safe from IPV requires that I please someone else.”

• (C)“I have often found that what is going to happen with my safety from domestic violence will happen.”

Locus of Control & Our Study

Locus of Control (LOC) is often connected to empowerment. Source: Zimmerman & Rappaport, 1988

Internal

External

LOC

Table 1: Factor Loadings from an Exploratory Factor Analysis using Principal Axis Factoring with Varimax Rotation of Locus of Control for Safety Items (N = 69) (PO) = powerful others items; (I) = internal control items; (C) = chance items.

Factor

Item I II III

Being safe from domestic violence requires that I please someone else. (PO)

.877

-.105

.061

Although I might have the ability to be safe from domestic violence, I will not be safe from domestic violence without pleasing someone else. (PO)

.757

-.121

.036

When I am safe from domestic violence, it is usually because I am lucky. (C)

.689

-.254

.137

My safety from domestic violence is chiefly controlled by someone else. (PO)

.628

-.008

-.081

My safety from domestic violence is determined by my own actions. (I)

-.085

.939

.000

I am usually able to protect my safety from domestic violence. (I)

-.075

.602

.078

Whether or not I am safe from domestic violence depends mostly on my ability. (I)

-.121

.482

.014

I have often found that what is going to happen with my safety from domestic violence will happen. (C)

.022

.121

.838

It’s not always wise for me to plan ahead for safety from domestic violence, because it often turns out to be a matter of good or bad fortune. (C)

.040

-.012

.683

Percentage of variance explained 32.77 19.96 16.33

Factor Analysis of LOC Items

Study Results

HOPE

Internal

Locus of

Control

Power Others

Locus of Control

+

+

-

Discussion Con.

• What does empowerment and hope look like for a

recent survivor of IPV?

• If “Powerful Others” is the biggest predictor of hope

for safety, who constitutes these powerful others?

Discussion

• Lack of independent housing & financial means often must be

overcome to escape IPV

• Psychological perceptions of fear, hopelessness, and

powerlessness to change their situation

Sources: Cramer, E. P., & Plummer, S. B. (2010). Social work practice with abused persons with disabilities. In L. L. Lockhart, & F. S. Danis (Eds.), Domestic

Violence: Intersectionality and Culturally Competent Practice (pp. 129-154). New York: Columbia University Press.

Resilience is Important For Survivors of IPV

Beginning Implications For Practice

• Improved training for practitioners working with survivors of IPV.

• Hope theory being integrated more into agencies and programs as

a guiding theory.

• Advocates and practitioners play critical roles in how hopeful

survivors of IPV are about overcoming the cycle of power and

control.

Practical Applications

• Using hope theory in the context of building social support among

survivors of IPV in activities such as consciousness raising groups.

• Practitioners and advocates using increased awareness about the role of

social support to better conduct safety planning with survivors.

• More work with survivors on building self-esteem and self-efficacy in

order to avoid potential pitfall of survivors becoming too dependent

upon program staff in decision making.

• Including modules and simulations in program staff/volunteer training

around promoting empowerment and hope among survivors of IPV.

Other Considerations Moving Forward

• Incorporating measures for assessing and evaluating hope levels

among survivors of IPV.

• Finding ways to reduce number of questions in current

instruments to be more agency/advocate/survivor friendly.

• Including qualitative mechanisms for understanding survivors’

empowerment and hope processes.

ReferencesCramer, E. P., & Plummer, S. B. (2010). Social work practice with abused persons with disabilities. In L. L. Lockhart, & F. S. Danis (Eds.),

Domestic Violence: Intersectionality and Culturally Competent Practice (pp. 129-154). New York: Columbia University Press.

Cramer, E. P., Brady, S. R., & McLeod, D. A. (2013). Building capacity to address abuse of persons with disabilities. Journal of CommunityPractice , 21 (1-2), 124-144.

Gutierrez, L. M. (1990). Working with women of color: An empowerment perspective. Social Work , 35 (2), 149-154.Kieffer, C. H. (1984). Citizen empowerment: A developmental pespective. In J. Rappaport, & R. Hess (Eds.), Studies in

empowerment: Steps toward understanding and action (pp. 9-36). New York: Hawthorne Press.Lee, J. A. (2001). The empowerment approach to social work practice: Building the beloved community (2nd ed.). New York: Columbia

University Press.

Levenson, H. (1973). Multidimensioinal locus of control in psychiatric patients, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 41(30). 397-404

Saleebey, D. (2000). Power in the people: Strength and hope. Advances in Social Work, 1(2), 127–136. Snyder, C. R. (1994). The psychology of hope. New York: The Free Press.Snyder C.R., Sympson S.C., Ybasco, F.C., Borders, T.F., Babyak, M.A., Higgins R.L.

(1996). Development and validation of the State Hope Scale. J Pers Soc Psychol 70(2):321-35.Solomon, B. (1976). Black empowerment: Social work in oppressed communities. New York: Columbia University Press.Rappaport, J., & Hess, R. (Eds.). (1984). Studies in empowerment: Steps toward understanding and action. New York: Hawthorne

Press.Zimmerman, M.A., & Rappaport, J. (1988). Citizen participation, perceived control, and psychological empowerment. American Journal

of Community Psychology, 16 (5), 725-750. doi:10.1007/BF00930023

The End

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