This paper explores shelter service utilization among domestic violence victims through the lens of systems theory (also called the ecological model). Drawing on Clevenger and Roe-Sepowitz's (2009) study of 283 domestic violence case files from Tempe, Arizona, the paper examines why only approximately one in four victims chooses to use available shelter resources. Key factors influencing shelter use — including the presence of children at home, location of the crisis call, and physical injury — are analyzed within the framework of open and closed social systems. The paper also reflects on how the concept of system boundaries helps explain why some victims remain in abusive situations rather than seek outside help.
This paper demonstrates theory application: taking an abstract conceptual framework (systems theory / the ecological model) and using it as an interpretive lens on specific empirical findings. Rather than summarizing the study in isolation, the writer consistently returns to open/closed system concepts to explain why the data patterns make sense, connecting theory to evidence throughout.
The paper opens with a theoretical introduction to systems theory and its key concepts (open vs. closed systems, boundaries, resource flow). It then connects the theory to the assigned reading by summarizing Clevenger and Roe-Sepowitz's (2009) study design and findings. A dedicated section addresses study limitations, followed by a reflective conclusion in which the writer articulates what was newly learned and how it updates prior understanding of the theory.
Shelters have proven to be useful for women who have been domestically abused and for their children in numerous capacities. Yet research has found that only approximately one out of four women uses them. The question, then, is why some women choose to use shelters while others do not — even when failing to do so leaves them at risk of further harm. The ecological model (or systems theory) is used to understand this conundrum.
Systems theory posits that people operate within a system of interacting spheres that affect one another. These spheres operate at the individual, family, and societal levels. They also have their own boundaries, which impact how open or closed they are and influence the individual's behavior.
An open system means that individuals have extended contact with people and organizations in the outside world through the resources within their own system. A closed system, however, represents the reverse. When the system — whether open or closed — has adequate resources and there is open communication between the individual and the system, the individual's needs are met. However, when the individual's behavior deviates from that of the system, or when the system has inadequate resources, significant challenges arise for the individual.
Systems theory was applied by Clevenger and Roe-Sepowitz (2009) in their exploration of why some women avoided using domestic violence shelters despite the clear support and resources those shelters could have provided.
The study's findings — guided by systems theory — were that the decision to use a shelter reflected the specific characteristics of the victims and their families. The core insight, as related to the theory, was that when a victim's own social circle or system failed to provide sufficient resources, she was compelled to seek support outside that system. Because doing so could constitute a form of "deviant" behavior within her existing system and might feel threatening to herself as well as to the system itself, the victim was more likely to seek a shelter that provided a social system of its own — one as removed from her original system as possible. The shelter had to be perceived as a safe social system in which victims could learn to build or re-establish healthy boundaries.
The study by Clevenger and Roe-Sepowitz (2009) used Client Encounter Forms drawn from police case files of 265 female (93.6%) and 18 male (6.4%) victims of domestic violence living in Tempe, AZ, or surrounding areas. Participants ranged in age from 11 to 76, and 45% of the sample was Caucasian. For a case file to be included in the study, domestic violence had to be ranked as the number-one presenting problem. The files also contained details about the nature of the incident, allowing researchers to assess whether the victim was injured, whether she had a support system, and whether she had children at home.
Several key factors emerged. Women who had children at home were more likely to use a shelter than those who did not. Interestingly, having a support system did not significantly influence women's decision to use the shelter. The location of the crisis call also mattered: when the call was made away from the victim's home, she was more likely to seek shelter. Finally, cases involving physical abuse in which the victim was injured were a stronger predictor of shelter-seeking than cases without injury.
These findings align with systems theory in an important way. When a victim's immediate environment — her home, relationships, and social network — could not provide adequate safety or support, she was more likely to step outside that system and access an external resource. The shelter, in this context, functions as an alternative social system offering the safety, boundaries, and resources that the victim's original system had failed to provide. More information on the dynamics of intimate partner violence and prevention strategies is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Clevenger, B. J. M., & Roe-Sepowitz, D. (2009). Shelter service utilization of domestic violence victims. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 19, 359–374.
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