In this article, we propose a model of the process of empowerment. The notion of empowerment is compelling and much employed across many subfields inside and outside of psychology, but the lack of consistency in the ways prior literature has defined it is an obstacle to meaningful synthesis of findings and consistent application in practice. Our empowerment process model builds on prior work in taking the following steps: articulating empowerment as an iterative process, identifying core elements of that process, and defining the process in a way that is practically useful to both researchers and practitioners with terms that are easily communicated and applied. The components of the model are personally meaningful and power-oriented goals, self-efficacy, knowledge, competence, action, and impact. Individuals move through the process with respect to particular goals, doubling back repeatedly as experience promotes reflection. We make specific recommendations for research and practice and discuss applications to social justice.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive and devastating social problem that is estimated to occur in one of every four opposite-sex relationships and at least one of every five same-sex romantic relationships. These estimates may not represent violence against those who identify as transgender or genderqueer, and very little comprehensive research has been conducted on IPV within these populations. One statewide study on IPV found rates of IPV were as high as one of every two transgender individuals. In order to cope with the effects of abuse or leave an abusive partner, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and genderqueer (LGBTQ) IPV survivors seek support from others. However, LGBTQ IPV survivors may experience unique difficulties related to their sexual orientation and gender identity when seeking assistance. This article reviews the literature on LGBTQ IPV and suggests three major barriers to help-seeking exist for LGBTQ IPV survivors: a limited understanding of the problem of LGBTQ IPV, stigma, and systemic inequities. The significance and consequences of each barrier are discussed, and suggestions for future research, policy, and practice are provided.

The identification of factors that contribute to reabuse in cases of intimate partner violence is a critical research aim in a variety of disciplines. Such information would have relevance in many contexts where systems or professionals struggle to intervene in such cases, especially in the context of limited resources. This article crosses disciplines to take stock of this body of literature and provide a road map for future research. We include literature in the areas of batterer treatment effectiveness, the effectiveness of criminal and civil court remedies, the evaluation of victim services, and the course of violent relationships over time absent any intervention. We describe the key dimensions along which these studies vary and detail the range of predictors examined by the studies, identifying the most consistent findings. Finally, we make recommendations concerning the methodology and content of future studies.

Although the idea of empowerment lies at the heart of the anti-domestic violence movement, consensus on the defining characteristics of this construct have remained elusive. A clear and consistent definition of empowerment would promote the development of common metrics for research and evaluation, and guide the development of best practices. In this article, we describe specific challenges that have made the conceptualization of empowerment difficult. We then overview the Empowerment Process Model, and describe the ways in which it addresses those challenges. This model articulates empowerment as a meaningful shift in the experience of power attained through interaction in the social world, and describes the process of building empowerment as an iterative one, in which a person takes action toward personally meaningful goals; draws on community supports, skill, knowledge, and self-efficacy to move toward those goals; and observes the extent to which those actions result in progress. By incorporating both process and outcome dimensions, bridging the psychological and contextual realms, and allowing for domain specificity, the model addresses challenges to a clear conceptualization; and provides a common framework that may be used as a reference point for practitioners and researchers wishing to apply the construct. We conclude with suggestions for and examples of its application in research and practice.

Resilience and empowerment are widely employed concepts in community psychology and other social sciences. Although empowerment is more closely associated with community psychology, both concepts hone to community psychology's strengths-based values, recognizing, respecting, and promoting local capacity and positive outcomes. Both concepts also have been critiqued for lacking clear consensus regarding definition, operationalization, and measurement (Cattaneo and Chapman in Am Psychol 65(7):646-659, 2010; Luthar et al. in Child Dev 71(3):543-562, 2000). This deficiency is reflected in the wide ranging applications of each term independently, and is particularly concerning when the terms are used together or interchangeably. Theoretical work on these concepts' boundaries and interaction is lacking. This paper builds on the authors' prior work operationalizing the processes and outcomes of each concept (Brodsky et al. in Am J Community Psychol 47(3-4):217-235, 2011; Cattaneo and Chapman in Am Psychol 65(7):646-659, 2010; Cattaneo and Goodman in Psychol Violence, in press) to present a combined transconceptual model illuminating the divergence, convergence, and interactions between the two. Both resilience and empowerment are fueled by unsatisfying states, but are differentiated by, among other things, internally (resilience) versus externally (empowerment) focused change goals. Goal determinants include context, power differentials, and other risks and resources. These concepts have the potential to facilitate each other, and understanding their interaction can better inform community psychologists' work with marginalized populations.

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Sexual assault is a widespread problem on college campuses that has been the subject of substantial attention in recent years (Ali, 2011; Krebs, Lindquist, Berzofsky, Shook-Sa, & Peterson, 2016). Resources designed to address the problem exist, but there is evidence that they are underutilized by survivors (Campbell, 2008). The current study used grounded theory to explore how sexual assault survivors make decisions about helpseeking. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 college sexual assault survivors to develop a theoretical model for their decision-making process. The resulting model, Deciding Where to Turn, suggests that survivors engage in three key decision points: determining if there is a problem related to the sexual assault (Do I Need Help), considering options (What Can I Do), and weighing the consequences of these options (What Will I Do). This process results in one of four behavioral choices: cope on one's own, seek support from friends/family, seek support from formal resources, or covert helpseeking, where needs are met without disclosure. Deciding Where to Turn contributes to the literature by providing a framework for understanding helpseeking decisions after sexual assault, highlighting the need to match reactions to survivor perceptions. The concept of covert helpseeking in particular adds to the way researchers and practitioners think about helpseeking. Research and practice implications are discussed.

Objective: As budgets tighten and demand grows, domestic violence (DV) programs are facing enormous pressure to demonstrate the impact of their work. A critical challenge to doing so is the absence of outcome measures that reflect DV programs’ missions and survivors’ goals for themselves. Academic-community partnerships are critical to developing such measures. The 2 aims of this study were to (a) develop and validate a measure—the Measure of Victim Empowerment Related to Safety (MOVERS)—that taps a key goal shared by DV program staff and program participants, and (b) draw on and model the benefits of community-based participatory research. Method: We evaluated the factor structure, reliability, and validity of MOVERS through a 2-stage process in which we developed a university-community partnership with 17 DV programs across the Northeast and administered a survey to 230 help-seeking survivors. Results: A scree plot and parallel analysis supported a 3-factor solution, with subscales assessing the extent to which a survivor (a) has developed a set of safety-related goals and a belief in her ability to accomplish them, (b) perceives that she has the support she needs to move toward safety, and (c) senses that her actions toward safety will not cause new problems in other domains. Each subscale demonstrated good internal reliability and construct validity. Conclusion: MOVERS provides a tool for assessing a key dimension of survivors’ experience and enables the evaluation of domestic violence program practices in ways that are consistent with core program and survivor goals.