Dawnovise N. Fowler, Ph.D., A.M.
University of Texas at Austin
Junior Investigator, Vulnerable Populations
Project Title: Examining Substance Abuse and Related Psychosocial Factors Among Women Intimate Partner Abuse Survivors
"As a junior investigator, funded secondary data analysis is such an efficient way to accomplish important milestones that contribute to the knowledge base, including publications, conference presentations and future research endeavors. In doing so with a seminal, nationally representative data source, I am developing specific skills required for managing a large dataset. In addition, this opportunity increases both my visibility and credibility as a funded researcher."
Project Description
The overarching goal of Fowler's research is to contribute knowledge in two under-explored areas in domestic violence research with women intimate partner abuse survivors who also have substance use problems: 1) screening and identification, and 2) identifying the role of psychosocial correlates.
An intersectional theoretical framework provides understanding of the complexities of intimate partner abuse victimization as a specific type of trauma, related psychosocial factors, and the need for proper screening and identification if effective and comprehensive interventions are to be employed for this population.
Fowler is conducting a critical review of the literature to understand screening approaches to identify the co-occurrence of intimate partner abuse and substance abuse in various social service settings such as substance abuse treatment, primary health care, shelters and child welfare agencies. In addition, she is analyzing secondary data from the National Violence Against Women Survey to determine the relationships between intimate partner abuse and specific psychosocial factors for women intimate partner abuse survivors.
Various psychosocial factors are commonly associated with intimate partner abuse among women survivors, including substance abuse, community violence and adverse mental health. Fowler will use model building strategies in logistic regression to assess the relationship of intimate partner abuse to specific sociodemographic characteristics, psychosocial factors (e.g., substance abuse, community violence, and adverse mental health), and intimate partner abuse factors (e.g., type of abuse).
She will use model generating strategies to test the validity of a causal structure model and determine the best explanatory model. She will also test the model for intimate partner abuse for particular racial and ethnic groups. Her research has implications for improving the understanding of 1) the screening approaches and issues specific to identifying the co-occurrence of intimate partner abuse and substance abuse, and 2) the psychosocial correlates impacting the lives of women intimate partner abuse survivors.
Biography
Dawnovise Fowler, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the school of social work at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin. Fowler earned her bachelor of arts in economics from Spelman College, master of arts from the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, and Ph.D. from Howard University's School of Social Work.
Fowler has received invaluable research training on several federally-funded projects. Prior to the assistant professor position, Fowler was the first postdoctoral fellow at the UT-Austin's School of Social Work's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded Substance Abuse Research Development Program.
She conducts research on women survivors of intimate partner abuse as an underserved population with unique service needs, untapped resourcefulness and phenomenal resiliency. She is developing promising research on shelter-based substance abuse intervention for women survivors.
Fowler has authored articles on intimate partner abuse, mental health, substance use, spirituality, race/ethnic differences in dually-diagnosed women, children exposed to domestic violence, and African American social work leadership. Fowler teaches Development Across the Lifespan, Foundations of Social Justice: Values, Diversity, Power, and Oppression, and Advanced Research in Clinical Social Work.
