Women Talking: Intimate Partner Violence, Group Discussions, and their Effects on Social and Economic Ties

Can a substance abuse intervention lead to sustained social ties between vulnerable women? This study analyzes the results on peer relationship outcomes of a substance abuse intervention, which included group workshops and individual and spousal counseling sessions. Using dyadic estimations, we find evidence that the intervention strengthened relationships between female peers both assigned to the treatment sixteen months post-intervention. Results were especially pronounced between pairs of treatment women in which the first had a husband with highly regressive views (generally supports wife beating) and the second woman's husband did not. Among these dyadic peer links, we find that a woman is significantly more likely to receive money from her peer, speak daily with her peer, and attend a community organization with her peer relative to those in the control. The study contributes to our understanding of methods to improve support among those who have vulnerability to IPV through building links with those less vulnerable.