Citation

Hamberger LK, Ambuel B. J. Aggression Maltreat. Trauma 2000; 4(1): 239-272.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1300/J146v04n01_11

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Effective research and intervention into family violence require interdisciplinary collaboration between professionals in traditional research settings and grass-roots community leaders and advocates. Such interdisciplinary collaboration is frequently difficult. We identify a number of potential barriers to effective collaboration between academic researchers, community agencies and grass roots activists. These include (a) different professional identities, values, world views and motivations for working in the field, (b) social status related to formal degree status vs. lived experience, (c) economic resources, (d) gender, (e) race, (f) ownership of the field and data, and (g) being an unknown quantity. Strategies for overcoming these barriers are described and discussed. Examples of both successful and unsuccessful collaborative efforts illustrate key points.