Intimate Partner Violence and Victim-Survivors’ Self-Assessed Risk of Revictimisation: A Systematic Scoping Review

Intimate partner violence (IPV) revictimisation is associated with innumerable negative consequences for victim-survivors. Accurately assessing the risk of future violence can assist service providers and victim-survivors to implement preventive safety measures. Existing tools assess the risk of revictimisation with variable accuracy - however, these tools rarely ask victim-survivors the extent to which they perceive themselves to be at risk. Though research has explored the predictive validity of victim-survivors' self-assessed risk, there has been no recent review of this literature. The aim of this review was to identify and synthesise a broad range of evidence reporting on IPV victim-survivors' self-assessed risk of revictimisation. A comprehensive literature search was undertaken in four electronic databases. Qualitative and quantitative studies were included if they reported on the association between self-assessed risk and future revictimisation and/or risk factors associated with victim-survivors' self-assessed risk of revictimisation. Study screening was undertaken independently by two reviewers using pre-specified eligibility criteria. Key data were extracted from the included studies, and a narrative synthesis was undertaken. Fourteen studies reported across 23 publications were identified. Eight studies examined the predictive validity of victim-survivors' self-assessed risk, with six reporting that victim-survivors' self-assessed risk was associated with actual revictimisation within the follow-up period. Thirty-two factors were reported to be associated with victim-survivors' self-assessed risk across the studies, with IPV experiences and perpetrators' substance abuse being the most frequently reported factors. The body of evidence suggests that IPV victim-survivors' self-assessed risk of revictimisation can be accurate and is an area worthy of further research.