Sorenson, Susan B

Email Address
ORCID
Disciplines
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Position
Introduction
Research Interests

Filters

2002 - 2009192010 - 201612
31
301
Reset filters

Settings

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 31
  • Publication
    Community-based Norms about Intimate Partner Violence: Putting Attributions of Fault and Responsibility into Context
    (2005-12-03) Taylor, Catherine A; Sorenson, Susan B
    Fault and responsibility are key concepts in understanding how victims and assailants are, or are not, held accountable by society. We used a fractional factorial vignette design with a community-residing sample of 3,679 adults to examine judgments about intimate partner violence (IPV). Although fault, or causal responsibility, was assigned most often to assailants (69%), respondents assigned solution responsibility most often to both persons (52%) or to the victim alone (31%): interpersonal communication for couples (38%) and self-protective actions for victims (i.e., engaging formal authorities [12%] and/or leaving the assailant [11%]) were the most frequent suggestions. Potential injury to the victim and gender/relationship-based norms had the greatest impact on judgments. Findings may inform strategies to alter social norms regarding IPV.
  • Publication
    Gender Disparities in Injury Mortality: Consistent, Persistent, and Larger Than You’d Think
    (2011-12-01) Sorenson, Susan B
    Objective. Given the recent increase in injury mortality, particularly among women, it is important to update knowledge about gender disparities in injury mortality. Methods. Data were drawn from the Web-based Injury Query System, which contains U.S. injury mortality data from 1981 through 2007. Male-to-female rate ratios in injury mortality were calculated for key variables, and age and ethnic group comparisons were made. Results. Boys and men are more likely than girls and women to die of injury. From 1981 to 2007, the male-to-female age-adjusted rate ratio decreased by 20% to 2.15 for unintentional injury and increased by 11% to 3.91 for violence-related injury. Excess male mortality exists in manner of death, cause of death, and within ethnic and age groups. In addition, with rare exception, the gender disparity is greater than ethnicity and age disparities in unintentional and violence-related injury mortality. Conclusions. Gender disparities in injury mortality are consistent and persistent. Gender patterns in injury mortality do not follow typical social justice analyses of health in that the structurally advantaged group, men, is at greater risk. Lifestyle and behavioral risks as well as masculine socialization are considered.
  • Publication
    Personal Awareness of Domestic Violence: Implications for Health Care Providers
    (2003-01-01) Sorenson, Susan B; Taylor, Catherine A
    To estimate how many Californians know a victim of domestic violence, to examine their knowledge of certain characteristics of the violence, and to estimate and examine such knowledge among specific demographic groups. A total of 3713 California adults (similar numbers of whites, blacks, Hispanics, Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans, and other Asian Americans) completed a random-digit-dial interview. Respondents were asked whether a friend, relative, or coworker had been threatened or harmed by an intimate partner. Weights were applied to the cross-sectional sample to obtain estimates for the general population. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regressions were used with the full sample.
  • Publication
  • Publication
    Mental Health and Firearms in Community-Based Surveys: Implications for Suicide Prevention
    (2008-06-01) Sorenson, Susan B; Vittes, Katherine A.
    Suicide rates are higher among those who own a handgun and among those who live in a household with a handgun. The present investigation examined the association between gun ownership and mental health, another risk factor for suicide. Data from the General Social Survey, a series of surveys of U.S. adults, were analyzed to compare general emotional and mental health, sadness and depression, functional mental health, and mental health help seeking among gun owners, persons who do not own their own gun but reside in a household with a gun, and those who do not own a gun. After taking into account a few basic demographic characteristics associated with both variables, there appears to be no association between mental health and gun ownership. Nor is there any association between mental health and living in a household with a firearm. Findings suggest that the high risk of suicide among those who own or live in a household with a gun is not related to poor mental health. Implications for prevention are discussed.
  • Publication
    Non-Fatal Gun Use in Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review of the Literature
    (2016-09-01) Sorenson, Susan B; Schut, Rebecca A
    Guns figure prominently in the homicide of women by an intimate partner. Less is known, however, about their non-fatal use against an intimate partner. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched eight electronic databases and identified 10 original research articles that reported the prevalence of the non-fatal use of firearms against an intimate partner. Results indicate that: 1) There is relatively little research on the subject of intimate partners’ non-fatal gun use against women. 2) The number of U.S. women alive today who have had an intimate partner use a gun against them is substantial: About 4.5 million have had an intimate partner threaten them with a gun and nearly one million have been shot or shot at by an intimate partner. Whether non-fatal gun use is limited to the extreme form of abuse (battering) or whether it occurs in the context of situational violence remains to be seen. Regardless, when it comes to the likely psychological impact, it may be a distinction without a difference; because guns can be lethal quickly and with relatively little effort, displaying or threatening with a gun can create a context known as coercive control, which facilitates chronic and escalating abuse. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed, all of which include expanding an implicit focus on homicide to include an intimate partner’s non-fatal use of a gun.
  • Publication
    Intimate Partner Violence at the Scene: Incident Characteristics and Implications for Public Health Surveillance
    (2010-04-01) Joshi, Manisha; Sorenson, Susan B
    Using data that, to our knowledge, have not been used before for this purpose, we examined 9,231 opposite-sex intimate partner violence calls for law enforcement assistance recorded in the Compstat system of a large U.S. city. Although women were the predominant victims, injuries were documented more often for men. Only about 1% of incidents were considered to be a restraining order violation although many orders were active in the city at the time. The data appeared to be of good quality and just a few changes in recording procedures would increase Compstat’s usefulness for public health in U.S. cities.
  • Publication
    The Legalization of Abortion and Subsequent Youth Homicide: A Time Series Analysis
    (2003-12-01) Berk, Richard A; Sorenson, Susan B; Weib, Douglas J; Upchurch, Dawn M
    In this article, we examine the association between the legalization of abortion with the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and youth homicide in the 1980s and 1990s. An interrupted time series design was used to examine the deaths of all U.S. 15- to 24-year-olds that were classified as homicides according to the International Classification of Diseases (codes E960-969) from 1970 to 1998. The legalization of abortion is associated over a decade later with a gradual reduction in the homicides of White and non-White young men. The effect on the homicides of young women is minimal. We conclude that the 1990s decline in the homicide of young men is statistically associated with the legalization of abortion. Findings are not consistent with several alternative explanations, such as changes in the crack cocaine drug market. It is almost inconceivable that in the United States of today, policies affecting the choice to have children would be justified as a means to control crime. Yet, if the legalization of abortion had this unintended effect, the full range of policy implications needs to be discussed.
  • Publication
    Weapons in the Lives of Battered Women
    (2004-08-01) Sorenson, Susan B; Wiebe, Douglas J
    Objectives. We assessed weapon use in intimate partner violence and perspectives on hypothetical firearm policies. Methods. We conducted structured in-person interviews with 417 women in 67 battered women's shelters. Results. Words, hands/fists, and feet were the most common weapons used against and by battered women. About one third of the battered women had a firearm in the home. In two thirds of these households, the intimate partner used the gun(s) against the woman, usually threatening to shoot/kill her (71.4%) or to shoot at her (5.1%). Most battered women thought spousal notification/ consultation regarding gun purchase would be useful and that a personalized firearm ("smart gun") in the home would make things worse. Conclusions. A wide range of objects are used as weapons against intimate partners. Firearms, especially handguns, are more common in the homes of battered women than in households in the general population.
  • Publication
    Shared Decision Making for Clients With Mental Illness: A Randomized Factorial Survey
    (2013-11-01) Solomon, Phyllis L; Lukens, Jonathan M; Sorenson, Susan B
    Objective: The goal of this study was to test the degree to which client clinical characteristics and environmental context and social workers’ practice values and experience influenced support for client’s autonomy and willingness to engage in shared decision making (SDM), and whether willingness to engage in SDM was mediated by support for autonomy. Method: A randomized factorial survey of social workers working with adults with severe mental illness was employed. Eighty-seven social workers responded yielding 435 vignettes. Results: Hypotheses were partially supported. Diagnosis, symptomology, threats of harm, treatment adherence, substance use, and social workers’ values and experience predicted support for autonomy and willingness to engage in SDM. Willingness to engage in SDM was modestly mediated by support for autonomy. Conclusion: Helping social workers avoid bias in decision making is critical to the goal of supporting clients’ autonomy, building their capacity, minimizing disempowerment, and promoting recovery.