Assessing Satisfaction with Victim Services: The Development and Use of the Victim Satisfaction with Offender Dialogue Scale (VSODS)

AuthorW. Bradshaw,M. Umbreit
DOI10.1177/026975800301000104
Published date01 January 2003
Date01 January 2003
International
Review
ofVictimology,
2003,
Vol.lO,
pp.71-83
0269-7580/03
$10
© A B
Academic
Publishers
-Printed
in
Great
Britain
ASSESSING
SATISFACTION
WITH
VICTIM
SERVICES:
THE
DEVELOPMENT
AND
USE
OF
THE
VICTIM
SATISFACTION
WITH
OFFENDER
DIALOGUE
SCALE
(VSODS)
W.
BRADSHAW*
and
M.
UMBREIT
School
of
Social
Work,
University
of
Minnesota,
/05
Peters
Hall,
1404
Gortner
Ave.,
St.
Paul,
Minnesota
55108,
USA
ABSTRACT
There
is
an
increasing
need
for
restorative
justice
programs
to
evaluate
program
outcomes.
Victim
satisfaction
is
one
of
the
essential
components
of
program
evaluation.
Evaluation
of
victim
satisfaction
is
important
because
it
provides
a
means
by
which
victims
can
have
input
into
the
restorative
justice
process:
satisfaction
data
can
provide
feedback
about
program
services;
identify
problems
and
needs
from
the
victim
perspective;
and
provide
data
that
increase
knowledge
about
the
process
of
mediated
dialogue
that
results
in
improved
victim
services.
Previous
research
on
satisfaction
with
victim
offender
mediation
has
been
limited
by
lack
of a
standardized
victim
satisfaction
scale.
The
Victim
Satisfaction
with
Offender
Dialogue
Scale
represents
a
pioneer
effort
to
measure
victim
satisfaction
with
offender
dialogue
through
psychometric
development
of
an
instrument
(VSODS).
Data
were
obtained
from
197
subjects
from
four
victim
offender
mediation
program
sites
in
the
United
States.
The
data
were
analyzed
using
principal
components
factor
analysis.
The
first
factor
derived
from
this
solution
accounted
for
38%
of
the
total
variance
and
roughly
70%
of
the
common
variance.
When
items
with
high
first
factor
loading
were
removed
and
the
analysis
repeated,
no
other
factor
accounted
for
as
much
as
6%
of
the
total
variance.
To
construct
a
briefer
scale
for
assessing
victim
satisfaction
with
services,
the
factor
loadings
and
item-total
correlations
of
the
first
factor
were
examined.
Eleven
items
were
selected
which
loaded
highly
on
the
unrotated
first
factor
and
which
exhibited
good
inter-item
and
item-total
correlations.
The
coefficient
alpha
for
the
final
VSODS
was
0.87.
This
indicates
the
VSODS
is
a
reliable
instrument
for
assessing
victim
satisfaction
with
mediated
dialogue.
Guidelines
for
use
of
the
VSODS
are
provided
to
enhance
program
evaluation
activities.
Research
over
the
last
decade
has
documented
a
wide
variety
of negative effects
associated
with
criminal
victimization.
These
effects
include a greater
sense
of
fear,
powerlessness,
vulnerability,
damage
and
loss
of property
and
the
hassle
of
dealing
with
police
and
court
officials
(Zehr,
1980,
1990;
Wright,
1991;
Wright
and
Galaway,
1989).
The
traditional
focus
upon
crime
as
a violation of
the
state,
*
Contact
details:
William
Bradshaw,
School
of
Social
Work,
University
of
Minnesota,
105
Peters
Hall,
1404
Gortner
Ave.,
St.
Paul,
Minnesota
55108
(612)
624-3658
Bbradsha@che.umn.edu

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