Measuring the accuracy of two instruments designed to predict domestic violence and stalking

What is it about?

Most stalking victims are harassed by an ex-partner and it is this group of victims that is most likely to experience violence within the harassment. We compared two instruments that are designed to predict either ex-partner stalking or domestic violence (DV) to look for those factors that predict violence or stalking best. Both instruments were equally good in predicting stalking but neither instrument was able to predict DV. The factors that predicted stalking best were those that measured distress and violations of supervision/court orders.

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Why is it important?

We found that an instrument that predicts ex-partner stalking is just as good in predicting stalking as an instrument that predicts domestic violence. We also found that neither instrument is good at predicting domestic violence. These findings are important as they give us an idea of what to look for when predicting more stalking. However, we do need more research to see what to look for when predicting more domestic violence.