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Violence Against Women: Examining Ethnic Differences and Commonalities
Abstract
Ethnic differences and commonalities rarely have been the focus of community-based research on violence against women. The few existing studies typically used survey instruments developed on and used with Anglos and simply applied them to members of other ethnic groups. The proposed conceptual framework is based on a review of the published literature and on information gleaned from focus groups conducted with women and men from four ethnic groups (Black, White, Asian, and Latino). Ethnicity and culture--along with broad social factors and institutions, gender role definitions, kin and friendship networks, and individual life-course factors--influence what behaviors are acceptable in an intimate relationship. The intersection of gender and ethnicity is hypothesized to influence the options that a woman perceives, the help she seeks, and the nature and scope of violence she experiences in an intimate relationship. Observations relevant to research, policy, and service provision are offered.
... For example, a study of low-income immigrant Latinas found that despite gaining employment and bringing income into the home, abuse persisted, which devalued their work and efforts toward independence (Perilla, Bakerman, & Norris, 1994). Abusive men may retaliate against immigrant women's improved economic status, or disrupt or interrupt their partner's employment (Sorenson, 1996) so as to maintain power and control in the relationship. The severity of abuse often increases when immigrant women are able to financially support themselves and their families (Kim & Sung, 2015). ...
... Lack of access to language specific resources and services within immigrant communities keeps immigrant women from seeking help from health, social, and/ or legal services (Bauer et al., 2000;Bui & Morash, 1999;Dutton, Orloff, & Aguilar-Hass, 2000;Huisman, 1996;Krishnan, Hilbert, VanLeeuwen, & Kolia, 1997;Perry, Shams, & DeLeon, 1998;Raj & Silverman, 2002;Sorenson, 1996;Tran & Des Jardins, 2000). Immigrant women's ability to acculturate is also influenced by whether they can learn, read, and speak the receiving country's native language (Abu-Ras, 2000; Arbona et al., 2010;Dow, 2011;Kim & Sung, 2015;Nah, 1993;Raj & Silverman, 2002;Song, 1997). ...
... Consequently, when immigrant women choose to access shelters, shelter staff may fail to provide services and counseling that are sensitive to these culturally specific issues or are informed by legal requirements. Some shelters have refused entry to immigrant women who are not citizens or fluent in English (Jang, Lee, & Morelo-Frosch, 1990;Sorenson, 1996), which exacerbates their entrapment within abusive relationships. ...
... Mesosystem or organizational factors, such as the lack of culturally competent interventions, discourage participation in formal services (Donnelly, Cook, Van Ausdale, & Foley, 2005;Gillum, 2008;Sorenson, 1996). Limited language proficiency of immigrant women makes it difficult for them to navigate services or receive insurance benefits that could pay for services (Murdaugh, Hunt, Sowell, & Santana, 2004;Rodriguez, Valentine, Son, & Muhammad, 2009;Sue, 2005). ...
... Limited language proficiency of immigrant women makes it difficult for them to navigate services or receive insurance benefits that could pay for services (Murdaugh, Hunt, Sowell, & Santana, 2004;Rodriguez, Valentine, Son, & Muhammad, 2009;Sue, 2005). Community factors, such as the response to domestic violence in a given locale (exosystem) or explicit or implicit cultural or religious norms (macrosystem), steer women toward informal sources of assistance such as prayer or social support and discourage helpseeking from formal services (Eastman et al., 2007;El-Khoury et al., 2004;Krishnan, Hilbert, & VanLeeuwen, 2001;Sorenson, 1996;Yoshioka, DiNoia, & Ullah, 2001). ...
... Preliminary research suggests that microsystem factors, such as concern for the well-being of their children, is one reason ethnic minority women in general seek treatment (Kim & Lee, 2011;Kulkarni et al., 2010). Other research suggests that interventions within the mesosystem that are consonant with a person's cultural framework enhance treatment engagement (Gillum, 2008;Sorenson, 1996), as do providers who validate women's experiences of violence exposure, express genuine concern and interest in helping, and ask questions in a nonjudgmental manner (Montalvo-Liendo, 2009). ...
Using quantitative and qualitative data, we examined the association between barriers to treatment, motivating factors, treatment attendance, and outcome in a sample of 63 mothers (most of Asian or Pacific Islander descent) enrolled in a family-based domestic violence treatment program. A high number of perceived barriers was associated with lower attendance and lower scores on assessment of parenting practices at posttreatment. Mothers reported relying on their own motivation, observations of children's improvement, and the quality of their relationships with staff and group members to overcome barriers. A larger number of motivating factors was associated with positive parenting practices at posttreatment. Discussion includes the benefits of a mixed-method approach to measuring barriers and its clinical application to increase treatment participation.
... At the individual level, individual sociodemographic and household characteristics such as younger age, lower education, poorer health, lower family income, and greater number of young children [1,36,37] appear to condition a relationship for increased risk of violence for women. Additionally, ethnicity can influence gender expectations and behavioral norms that carry the potential for IPV [38]. Being a migrant also is a well-recognized risk factor for relationship violence towards women, especially with cross-border marriages to a man in the destination country [39,40]. ...
... Or perhaps, women are merely more likely to self-disclose in a relationship in which violence is less likely to occur. Definitions and perception of partner violence, as well as social norms regarding gender roles and domestic conflict, vary by culture and ethnicity [1,38,41,82,83]. Perhaps not surprisingly, partner ethnicity, regardless of the women's ethnicity, differentiated risk of recent IPV for the women in our study. ...
Intimate partner violence (IPV) in China is a largely understudied, major health risk among women living with HIV. Using structured face-to-face interviews, this research examined partner and couple relationship characteristics associated with physical and sexual IPV among 219 HIV-positive women living with a male partner in Ruili, China. Twenty-nine women (13%) reported past-year occurrences of physical IPV, and 24 (11%) reported sexual IPV. Physical IPV was more common when the woman’s partner was of Jingpo ethnicity, drank weekly, or learned of her HIV status indirectly from a third person. Reduced risk of physical IPV was associated with a woman’s perceived confidant support that was available through either her partner or a minimum of 2 non-partner confidants. Sexual IPV was more often reported among women with a partner who drank frequently or was concurrently HIV-positive, or in situations where the woman was employed and the partner was not. Sexual IPV was less likely with a partner of Dai ethnicity than Han, the major ethnicity in China. Identifying determinants of IPV vulnerability among women living with HIV may help future interventions to achieve greater impact in similar settings.
... With regard to violence, the literature reviewed indicates that research on or about Latinas has been conducted in the following areas: 1) intimate partner violence and/or interpersonal violence (Alvarez & Fedock, 2018;Finno-Velasquez & Ogbonnaya, 2017;Gonzalez, Benuto, & Casas, 2018;Ingram, 2007;Kim & Montano, 2017;Kim, Draucker, Bradway, Grisso, & Sommers, 2017;Rizo & Macy, 2011;Sabina, Cuevas, & Zadnik, 2015;Sorenson, 1996;West, Kantor, & Jasinski, 1998;Zadnik, Sabina, & Cuevas, 2014), 2) social reactions to victims/survivors' disclosures of sexual assault (Ahrens, 2006;Ahrens, Cabral, & Abeling, 2009;Orchowski, Untied, & Gidycz, 2013;Ullman, 2010), and 3) Mexican immigrants' and/or other Latinas' experiences of sexual violence (Ahrens, 2006;Morrissey, 1998;Ramos-Lira, Koss, & Russo, 1999;Romero, Wyatt, Loeb, Carmona, & Solis, 1999;Sorenson, 1996). Most recent research conducted on sexual assault disclosures has been on the recipients' experiences of being told about the sexual assaults, rather than the experiences of those who had been assaulted (Ahrens & Aldana, 2012;Branch & Richards, 2013;Kirkner, Lorenz, Ullman, & Mandala, 2018;Milliken, Paul, Sasson, Porter, & Hasulube, 2016). ...
... With regard to violence, the literature reviewed indicates that research on or about Latinas has been conducted in the following areas: 1) intimate partner violence and/or interpersonal violence (Alvarez & Fedock, 2018;Finno-Velasquez & Ogbonnaya, 2017;Gonzalez, Benuto, & Casas, 2018;Ingram, 2007;Kim & Montano, 2017;Kim, Draucker, Bradway, Grisso, & Sommers, 2017;Rizo & Macy, 2011;Sabina, Cuevas, & Zadnik, 2015;Sorenson, 1996;West, Kantor, & Jasinski, 1998;Zadnik, Sabina, & Cuevas, 2014), 2) social reactions to victims/survivors' disclosures of sexual assault (Ahrens, 2006;Ahrens, Cabral, & Abeling, 2009;Orchowski, Untied, & Gidycz, 2013;Ullman, 2010), and 3) Mexican immigrants' and/or other Latinas' experiences of sexual violence (Ahrens, 2006;Morrissey, 1998;Ramos-Lira, Koss, & Russo, 1999;Romero, Wyatt, Loeb, Carmona, & Solis, 1999;Sorenson, 1996). Most recent research conducted on sexual assault disclosures has been on the recipients' experiences of being told about the sexual assaults, rather than the experiences of those who had been assaulted (Ahrens & Aldana, 2012;Branch & Richards, 2013;Kirkner, Lorenz, Ullman, & Mandala, 2018;Milliken, Paul, Sasson, Porter, & Hasulube, 2016). ...
... That is, if she reports someone from her own ethnic group, she is delegitimatizing the suffering of her ethnic group. In a study about violence against women and the intersection of ethnicity/race and gender, African-American/Black women reported that they were hesitant to call the police out of loyalty to their race and because they were afraid of how the police officers would treat their male partners given a history of racism (Sorenson, 1996). This was true even in some cases of extreme violence and it demonstrates that our social status (e.g., ethnicity) has an impact on the options we perceive we have when it comes to reporting. ...
... Women who belong to another oppressed category, in addition to gender, may take up allegiance and form solidarity with that group (e.g., racial solidarity; Sorenson, 1996), but not with other women who have had similar experiences (i.e., their gender). West (2002), a researcher in the area of intimate partner and sexual violence, notes that "a pro-Black and profeminist dialogue requires us to acknowledge Black women's victimization and to acknowledge the oppression of Black men, while simultaneously holding them accountable for their violence" (p. ...
There has been a surge of academic interest in wartime sexual violence since the Bosnian and Rwandan wars in the 1990s. However, there is a paucity of research on the outcomes of wartime sexual violence for women and the research is limited in two important ways. One, women’s outcomes have been largely examined from the trauma of rape discourse, a deficit-based perspective that rape is necessarily (and permanently) traumatic. Two, there is a lack of ethnic diversity in the study samples that seems to be primarily fueled by ‘rape as genocide’ or ‘rape as ethnic cleansing’ discourses. The purpose of this study was to examine outcomes of women’s wartime sexual violence, focusing on strength-based outcomes and how these may be associated with women’s ethnic origin. Tape-recorded semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 ethnically diverse women (i.e., Muslim, Serb, and Croat) who were victimized by sexual violence during the Bosnian war (1992-1995). The women were recruited through “Women Victims of War” – an organization that works with victims of wartime sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Transcripts were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to allow women’s complicated post-rape experiences to emerge. Within the context of the study’s purpose, five relevant superordinate themes emerged from the analysis. The first superordinate theme, “multi-faceted outcomes (consequences and strengths) of complex trauma in war”, was common to all participants and addresses the consequences of complex trauma on the women’s lives as well as the strengths gained or retained after the wartime events, including the rape(s). The second superordinate theme, “life with intersectional identities”, was also common to all participants. This theme was about the women’s perceived perceptions of the motivations for the wartime events (including sexual violence) which can be summarized as being primarily about gender and nationality/ethnicity. In the third superordinate
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theme, “loneliness”, women discussed the direct and indirect impact of the war on the loneliness they felt. This theme was present only for non-Muslim women. A fourth superordinate theme, “avoidance of the word ‘rape’”, was noted in a small group of women who never used the language “rape” or “sexual assault” or “sexual abuse” when describing their experiences. Finally, in the fifth superordinate theme, “culture as contributing to upholding patriarchal ideals in recovery process”, one woman discussed the direct connection she made between her process of recovery and the culture’s perceptions of sex and sexual assault.
Analysis of the interviews suggested that a deficit-based lens and its prescription that sexual violence is necessarily and permanently traumatic does not take into account the strengths that women retain or develop as part of the recovery process. Furthermore, although there are many similarities in the outcomes of women with diverse ethnic backgrounds, there are also important differences (i.e., loneliness) that may be crucial in understanding the implications of relying on the 'rape as genocide' or 'rape as ethnic cleansing' discourses.
Keywords: sexual violence; rape; war; outcomes; strength-based outcomes; Bosnia and Herzegovina; women; interpretative phenomenological analysis
... Rape culture frameworks tend to focus on localized settings that contribute to sexual assault and victim blaming, but broader cultural contexts-including national and regional contexts-have differing historical experience with violence and differing flexibility or rigidity of gender roles which may contribute to differing levels of victim blame (Sanchez-Hucles and Dutton, 1999). A qualitative study on community norms and expectations concerning intimate violence by Sorenson (1996) found that compared to Asian American participants, Mexican American participants described a greater cultural value on male sexual prowess. Victims of sexual assault in many Middle Eastern communities are punished, even outcast by their families, or must marry their rapists in order to restore honor to their families (Ruggi, 1998). ...
... Conversely, many African cultures promote flexible gender roles and pride in having strong, independent women, thus potentially reducing blame ascribed to female victims who deviate from traditional gender roles (Hill, 1972;Young, 1986;Boyd-Franklin, 1989, see also Sanchez-Hucles and Dutton, 1999). Finally, Ho (1990), see also Sorenson (1996) noted that Asian values of harmony and close family ties may not promote lesser sexual violence, but may support minimizing or concealing violence. ...
Victims of rape are uniquely vulnerable for being blamed for their assault relative to victims of other interpersonal crimes and thus much research has been conducted to understand why this is the case. But the study of victim blaming in acquaintance rape cases is hindered by contradictory empirical results. Early investigations in victim blaming often treated acquaintance rapes and stranger rapes as synonymous and thus much of these data are suspect for drawing conclusions particular to acquaintance rape. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the research literature on victim blame in acquaintance rape cases, highlighting inconsistencies and drawing particular attention to areas of research in need of further exploration. Specifically, we review the commonly studied individual (perceiver) factors that influence victim blaming, as well as common situational (target) factors included or manipulated within sexual assault scenarios. Our review reveals many inconsistent findings and interactions between perceiver and scenario factors. In an effort to make sense of these complex interactions and inconsistent findings, we suggest a need for more transparency in describing the scenarios used in research on victim blaming in sexual assault cases and greater empirical attention to sociocultural factors that may influence blaming tendencies.
... These forms of abuse are related to different gender roles for men and women, social relationships between men and women, societal power and control by men over women, and abusive behaviors and expressions of men. Few other studies also report cultural differences in enforcing actions of violence against women (Mehotra, 1999;Sorenson, 1996;Yoshihama, 2002aYoshihama, , 2002b. Proverbs used in Indian refugee camps recreate a new social and cultural landscape of origin in a new locale by mixing Indian and Sri Lankan socio-cultural contexts through social interpretations and norm-building about women's social position. ...
The primary objective of this presentation is to understand how proverbs reflect society's perception of gender in a particular socio-cultural context. This qualitative study recognizes the direct experiences and insights of the 35 participants on gender relations. The proverbs provided by the participants led us to an in-depth analysis of the attitude of men toward women and their assumption of women’s role in a patriarchal society which could influence the gender relationship among Sri Lankan Tamils inside Indian refugee camps. A conceptual framework was developed to aid understanding of the research findings and illustrate the interrelationship between (a) refugee camps, (b) socio-cultural context, (c) patriarchal, and (d) collective identity. This framework provides an opportunity to position proverbs in a unique context. This study identified that the proverbs validate cultural expressions, justify rituals and gender practices, impose social pressure and social control on women, and reinforce society’s moral principles and values.
... Interpersonal violence (IPV) can take the form of intimate partner violence, domestic violence, violent crime, and can involve intimidation/harassment or physical/sexual assault. Women are at especially high risk for exposure to IPV [1][2][3]. Indeed, results from the WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women suggest a lifetime prevalence of physical/sexual partner violence between 15%-17% [4]. IPV is a major public health concern and is associated with severe complications including higher rates of injury and disability, negative medical (e.g., respiratory, cardiovascular, and endocrine dysfunction) [5,6] and mental health outcomes (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression, anxiety), and increased mortality [6]. ...
Interpersonal violence (IPV) is highly prevalent in the United States and is a major public health problem. The emergence and/or worsening of chronic pain are known sequelae of IPV; however, not all those who experience IPV develop chronic pain. To mitigate its development, it is critical to identify the factors that are associated with increased risk of pain after IPV. This proof-of-concept study used machine-learning strategies to predict pain severity and interference in 47 young women, ages 18 to 30, who experienced an incident of IPV (i.e., physical and/or sexual assault) within three months of their baseline assessment. Young women are more likely than men to experience IPV and to subsequently develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain. Women completed a comprehensive assessment of theory-driven cognitive and neurobiological predictors of pain severity and pain-related interference (e.g., pain, coping, disability, psychiatric diagnosis/symptoms, PTSD/trauma, executive function, neuroendocrine, and physiological stress response). Gradient boosting machine models were used to predict symptoms of pain severity and pain-related interference across time (Baseline, 1-,3-,6- follow-up assessments). Models showed excellent predictive performance for pain severity and adequate predictive performance for pain-related interference. This proof-of-concept study suggests that machine-learning approaches are a useful tool for identifying predictors of pain development in survivors of recent IPV. Baseline measures of pain, family life impairment, neuropsychological function, and trauma history were of greatest importance in predicting pain and pain-related interference across a 6-month follow-up period. Present findings support the use of machine-learning techniques in larger studies of post-IPV pain development and highlight theory-driven predictors that could inform the development of targeted early intervention programs. However, these results should be replicated in a larger dataset with lower levels of missing data.
... Other factors influenced by cultural norms, such as adherence to constraining gender roles and norms, lack of decision-making autonomy and perception of available social support (Rodr ıguez et al. 2001;Marais et al. 2019) are also barriers. Although there are significant challenges associated with disclosing intimate partner violence and/or HIV, familial and friendship networks may influence women's perception of which help-seeking options are viable (Sorenson 1996). ...
Intimate partner violence and HIV remain significant health challenges among women living with HIV. Intimate partner violence has been linked to negative health outcomes and poorer HIV care engagement. This study examined intimate partner violence among Ugandan women living with HIV, their experiences disclosing such violence and how culturally normative factors affected disclosure-related outcomes. In a mixed-methods study conducted in Uganda in 2018, 168 women participated in interviewer-administered surveys; a subset who reported experiencing intimate partner violence participated in in-depth interviews (IDIs). Intimate partner violence was prevalent among women in the sample (68.0%); almost half experienced emotional violence (45.2%), while a smaller proportion had experienced physical (32.1%) and/or sexual violence (19.6%). Most women living with HIV (61.8%) had disclosed their experience of intimate partner violence to someone. Women who experienced intimate partner violence had higher odds of disclosure if they feared their partner and perpetrated violence against their partner. Thematic analysis of IDIs revealed enduring violence and blaming alcohol for men's perpetration of violence. Traditional cultural and gender norms, especially concerning motherhood and partnership, influenced women's experiences of intimate partner violence and disclosure. Multi-sectoral responses to challenge and reform cultural norms that perpetuate violence are needed, including mobilising key stakeholders (e.g. family, community, policy-makers) to serve as catalysts for change and encourage resource-and safety-seeking for women living with HIV to escape violence.
... Address the minority within the minority-migrant and ethnic minority women Globally the maternal death rate in black women is significantly higher than white women, with similar trends in perinatal mortality, preterm delivery and stillbirths (Flanders-Stepans 2000; Garcia et al. 2015). Women from migrant and ethnic minorities may face marked issues such as female genital mutilation (FGM), domestic abuse, financial control by partners, reduced independence and greater dependency, isolation, depression and mental health issues (Sorenson 1996;Rennison and Welchans 2000;Ceschia 2015;Adig€ uzel et al. 2019). Many of these women do not disclose their abuse nor seek help, and this can be a limiting factor in receiving help itself. ...
Migrant and ethnic communities face several challenges within healthcare systems as patients, physicians and medical students. For health inequalities to be addressed, changes need to be made within our healthcare systems, starting from how the medical curriculum is taught to prospective clinicians. In this article, we present twelve ways to challenge the difficulties migrant and ethnic minorities face in healthcare by incorporating patient, physician and medical student factors into the medical school curriculum and healthcare, in a hope to change outcomes for our widely diverse population of patients and colleagues.
... In addition, VAWA provided dedicated funding to assist specific victim populations, such as female college students, women in rural communities, minorities, and Native American women (Forde et al., 2002;Luna-Firebaugh, 2006). Each of these populations may have unique experiences (e.g., prevalence, lack of services), distinct causes (e.g., historic trauma, poverty, isolation), and may require more specialized assistance from law enforcement (see Jones, 2008;Pruitt, 2008;Sorenson, 1996). ...
One of the goals of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was to improve law enforcement responses to sexual and domestic violence by providing funding to expand prevention, enhance investigations, and increase victim services. Since VAWA’s enactment, police responses to these crimes have evolved, including officer responses to victims and offenders, and various agency operations. This article highlights some noteworthy changes in law enforcement related to facilitating victim reporting, enhancing victim advocacy and services, crime reduction and investigative tools, supplementing personnel and training, and encouraging multiagency collaborations as a result of VAWA.
... Instead, primary emphasis has been placed upon identifying IPV [5][6][7][8][9], risk assessments [10] and models to better understand IPV [11][12][13], co-morbidities such as depression or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [14,15] and advocacy, policy or other service/intervention models that might better assist survivors of IPV [16,17]. Data including underserved populations are more scarce [18,19] and the reasons for this are varied [20]. Few of these directly report the women's perspective. ...
Background:
There are a paucity of directly reported intimate partner violence survivors' experiences, especially in women of color. This study measures recently/currently abused women's ratings of varied abuse events compared to ratings from never abused women.
Methods:
Women in a single, urban, public hospital emergency department (ED) were screened for intimate partner violence using the Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS). Two groups were identified - women abused within 1 year by an intimate partner or family member and those who screened negative for abuse. Using a two-group longitudinal survey and interview format, women completed visual analog scale ratings (0-100) for each of 20 abuse events/types. For analysis, each abuse type was placed on the 0-100 scale according to its designated rating.
Results:
Average age of participants in the abuse group (n = 30) was 33. Never abused women averaged age 50 (n = 32). The majority of participants were African-American: abused 67% and never abused 94%. Abused women rated name-calling (p < 0.02) and put-downs (p < 0.01) as more severe than never abused women. Other non-physical and physical forms of abuse such as threats, control, burns or forced sex were perceived more similarly between groups.
Conclusions:
Abused women perceive verbal abuse events differently compared to never abused women.
... This literature points to the fact that IPVAW does not occur in a societal vacuum, rather there needs to be a general acceptance of traditional gender norms, which support inequality between men and women, and social norms supportive of violence (Dobash and Dobash, 1998;Heise, 1998). Recent studies have taken a more nuanced approach to this subject, emphasizing that we need to take into account factors such as the cultural context in which the violence occurs (Sorenson, 1996;Johnson and Ferraro 2000;Mason, Bent-Goodley, 2005;Klevens, 2007). ...
... In addition, the predominance of Hispanics within the sample may limit the generalizability of the findings. Not only can ethnicity and culture affect perceived "acceptability" of violence 36 and prevalence of IPV, 37 but Hispanics may also be particularly "unrepresentative" of women in violent relationships. While living in extended families may be protective against violence 38 and familismo may increase the seeking of informal help, 39 the high prevalence of social isolation among Hispanics and those of low socioeconomic status may increase the risk of IPV. ...
Objective:
The trajectory of daily partner violence generally demonstrates nonlinear dynamics, and this nonlinearity is important to patient outcomes, as it is sometimes a stronger predictor of outcomes than violence frequency or severity. However, measurement of such dynamics is difficult, requiring complete time series data of sufficient length to yield stable measures. The purpose of this study was to develop a pencil-and-paper instrument to estimate violence nonlinearity and assess its psychometrics.
Methods:
Adult women (N = 143) who experienced violence in the previous month were enrolled from 6 primary care clinics. Baseline surveys assessed factors known to correlate with nonlinearity (partner's control strategies, violence appraisal, hope, social support, coping style) and violence dynamics using a 30-item instrument based on traditional characteristics of complex adaptive systems. Participants completed daily assessments of the previous day's violence using interactive voice response via telephone for 8 weeks, with data collection occurring between August 2013 and March 2015. Three different measures of nonlinearity were computed: LZ complexity (algorithmic complexity), approximate entropy (lack of regularity), and Lyapunov exponent (sensitivity to initial conditions).
Results:
Using factor analysis and reliability measures, the final 10-item Violence Nonlinearity Dynamics Scale (VNDS) was identified. The VNDS was found to have both internal consistency (0.817) and split-half reliability (0.796). In addition, the instrument demonstrated concurrent (correlating with both the combined nonlinearity factor score [r = 0.267] and Grassberger-Procaccia entropy [r = 0.338]) and construct (correlating with 9 of 13 previously identified nonlinearity correlates) validity.
Conclusions:
The VNDS has both reliability and validity and could facilitate the inclusion of nonlinearity assessment in both intimate partner violence research and clinical work.
... Por otro lado, pueden diferir en sus pautas de búsqueda de ayuda y en el tipo de barreras que encuentran a la hora de buscarla (O`Keefe, 1994;Raj y Silverman, 2002;Stowell y Martínez, 2007;Torres, 1991;West, Kantor, Kaufman y Jasinski, 1998). Finalmente, pueden verse expuestas a diferentes niveles de riesgo, y presentar necesidades específicas que suelen recibir poca atención por parte de los servicios especializados (Henning y Klesges, 2002;Krishnan, Hilbert, VanLeeuwen y Kolia, 1997;López-Reusch, 2007;Raj y Silverman, 2002;Sorenson, 1996;Valle-Ferrer, 2007). ...
Abstract
The risk of violence is analyzed for women who break with her aggressor. Participants were 258 women who had broken away from a violent relationship. We validate factor structure of an instrument with six scales: Conflict, Risk perception, Manipulation, Risky actions, Justifications, and Violence. Finally, we developed a structural equations model that describes the effects of these factors on the violence after the breakdown.
... For instance, the increased criminalization of immigration in recent years has decreased police help-seeking among Latina immigrants (Erez & Harper, in press;Raj & Silverman, 2002). Similarly, domestic violence shelters may not have translators or language-specific services (Bauer, Rodriguez, Quiroga, & Flores-Ortiz, 2000;Dutton, Orloff, & Aguilar-Hass, 2000;Raj & Silverman, 2002;Sorenson, 1996) or culturally appropriate services (Raj & Silverman, 2002;Sokoloff, 2008), which minimizes the likelihood that Latina immigrants who are abused will seek out shelters. Conversely, some research suggests that immigration status acts as a protective factor against domestic violence (Sabina, Cuevas, & Schally, 2013), which may reduce IPH risk. ...
... Within primary prevention, it is an imperative to raise awareness that IPVAW is absolutely unacceptable and unjustifiable, and that it presents violation of the basic human rights of women. Primary prevention of violence also means creating a society that has zero tolerance for violence against women (Harvey et al. 2007), which might be particularly challenging in deprived population groups and underprivileged communities where this phenomenon is prevalent (Sorenson 1996;Locke and Richman 1999;Grossman and Lundy 2007;Condon et al. 2011;Cho 2012). Results of our study are sending a strong message to decision-makers and legislation, informing that certain proportion of young population in society will accept violent behavior that leads to breaking the law. ...
Objectives:
This study aimed to identify to what extent negative attitudes towards intimate partner violence against women are present among young women and men living in Serbia, in Roma and non-Roma settlements.
Methods:
We used the data from the 2010 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey conducted in Serbia, for the respondents who were 15-24 years old. Regression analyses were used to examine the association between judgmental attitudes, socio-demographic factors and life satisfaction.
Results:
In Roma settlements, 34.8% of men and 23.6% of women believed that under certain circumstances men are justified to be violent towards wives, while among non-Roma it was 5.6 and 4.0%, respectively. These negative attitudes were significantly associated with lower educational level, lower socio-economic status and being married. In multivariate model, in both Roma and non-Roma population women who were not married were less judgmental, while the richest Roma men were least judgmental (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.18-0.87).
Conclusions:
Violence prevention activities have to be focused on promoting gender equality among youth in vulnerable population groups such as Roma, especially through social support, strengthening their education and employment.
... Globally, domestic violence is common to women but its nature varies across different creeds and cultures (Mehotra 1999;Sorenson 1996;Yoshihama 1999Yoshihama , 2002b. In the past, Western societies had to some extent accepted, justified, and legalized the right of men to control and reprimand their partners and children (Plumwood, 1993), and any deviation from this invited domestic violence. ...
Violence against women, especially spousal violence is a common phenomenon in India which is significantly increasing over the years. In the name of socialization, male dominated orthodox Indian society raises girls to endure male aggression without protest. Indian social norms within this conservative environment discourage women’s employment; consequently, employed women are subjected to more abuse compared to their unemployed counterparts. The current study, based on the National Family Health Survey data, documents the nature and extent of spousal violence against married employed women across job categories. The study reveals that the majority of employed women are skilled or unskilled manual workers, and most of them are subjected to spousal violence. Furthermore, higher category jobs do not protect women from spousal violence. Women’s empowerment, higher education and/or occupation compared to their partner, and partner’s alcoholism further induce cruelty on employed women. However, standard of living and a husband having a comparatively better job are found to reduce spousal violence.
... Recent studies have taken more nuanced approaches to this subject, emphasizing that we need to take into account factors such as the cultural context in which the violence occurs (Sorenson, 1996;Johnson & Ferraro 2000;Raj & Silverman, 2002;Mason, et al., 2008;Bent-Goodley, 2005;Klevens, 2007). Many empirical studies have given support to socialist feminist views that emphasize socioeconomic status as the main variable which explains domestic violence (DeKeseredy & Schwartz, 2002). ...
This article focuses on the changes in attitudes about sexuality, gender equality, and intimate partner violence within the context of modernization. Revised modernization theory predicts that increasing development leads to greater levels of egalitarian gender values and liberal sexual mores as part of a larger change in society. Our analysis leads to the conclusion that although both these sets of attitudes are a part of the movement towards postmaterialist values, in the context of intimate partner violence, different dynamics prevail at different levels of development. Using regression analysis and data from the fifth wave of the World Values Survey, we find a significant relationship between attitudes towards intimate partner violence, egalitarian gender values and liberal sexual mores. In general, liberal attitudes towards sexuality do not necessarily mean a lower tolerance for intimate partner violence. Crucially, the relationship between these three sets of values depends on the level of development. We find that in agrarian and industrial societies, higher levels of liberal sexual mores with lower levels of egalitarian gender values lead to a higher level of support for intimate partner violence against women.
... There should be free social support services for children, parents and families to cope with the violence and victimization they have experienced. This will eventually lead to safe and relatively violent-free homes and environments for children and youth (Sorenson, 1996). There should be stricter laws on possession of firearms, and proper education of the danger in the use and keeping of firearms by parents from children and youth. ...
... There should be free social support services for children, parents and families to cope with the violence and victimization they have experienced. This will eventually lead to safe and relatively violent-free homes and environments for children and youth (Sorenson, 1996). There should be stricter laws on possession of firearms, and proper education of the danger in the use and keeping of firearms by parents from children and youth. ...
... There should be free social support services for children, parents and families to cope with the violence and victimization they have experienced. This will eventually lead to safe and relatively violent-free homes and environments for children and youth (Sorenson, 1996). There should be stricter laws on possession of firearms, and proper education of the danger in the use and keeping of firearms by parents from children and youth. ...
Young children and adolescents that grow up in communities where violence is epidemic face great risk for pathological development (other than being violent themselves). Because growing up in a constant state of siege and apprehension makes it difficult to establish trust, spiritual values autonomy, and social competence all children need. Practical understanding of the negative effects of anger and exposure to violence on male children are presented. Furthermore, the need for interventions that are both individual centred and environmental centred along with the notion that one intervention approach does not fit all are also advanced. Detailed recommendations for effective culturally relevant psychoeducational policy initiatives and optimal anger replacement (client‐based) strategies for mental health professionals, early childhood educators and violence prevention experts are offered.
... Moreover, financial barriers to access of services have also been identified among Hispanic women. Sorenson (1996) postulates that Hispanic women, particularly Mexican-American, women may face financial barriers that limit their ability to access physical and mental healthcare services. ...
... In a similar vein, although our sample was ethnically diverse (e.g., almost one third non-White participants), our sample size was insufficient to test the results of our study with respect to any specific ethnic group. This is important given evidence suggesting that the experience and appraisal of IPV may differ across ethnic groups (Root, 1996;Sorenson, 1996). It is therefore also important that future studies examine whether the effects of interpersonal style on IPV appraisal differ among women of different ethnicities. ...
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a common type of violence that is associated with a number of psychological problems among women who experience it. Recent research suggests that interpersonal style may influence the degree to which women exhibit psychological problems following IPV exposure. One possible mechanism through which interpersonal style may exert its effects is by influencing appraisals of the violence they experience, although this has not yet been tested empirically. In this study, we examined the effects of dimensions of interpersonal style (dominance and warmth) on IPV appraisals in a sample of young adult women (N = 219) who reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence from their romantic partner in the past year using a Bayesian approach to multiple linear regression. Our results indicated that both dominance and warmth were associated with less negative (i.e., less betrayed, self-blaming, fearful, alienated, angry, and shameful) appraisals of IPV, exhibiting small- to medium-sized effects when controlling for severity of violence. However, this effect was more prominent for dominance than for warmth. These findings shed light on the role of interpersonal style in the response to IPV and indicate directions for future research.
© The Author(s) 2015.
... In searching the published literature about interpersonal victimization, Cuevas and Sabina (2010) found that only approximately 1% focused on Latinos. Although the literature review identified some research in the area of sexual assault with Latinas (e.g., Ahrens, 2006;Morrissey, 1998;Ramos-Lira, Koss, & Russo, 1999;Romero, Wyatt, Loeb, Carmona, & Solis, 1999;Sorenson, 1996), there has been a limited amount of research conducted on feelings and conse-quences experienced specifically by Latinas during a sexual assault disclosure. And the studies that do exist are based on comparisons with other ethnic groups, such as African Americans and non-Latinos White Americans. ...
... As a result, a body of literature has emerged that examines the complicated intersections between systems of power and privilege, such as racism, sexism , heterosexism, and class privilege (Conwill, 2010; Gillman, 2007; Grant, 1993; Heyes, 2006; Lockhart & Danis, 2010; Mann, 2000; Putman Tong, 1998; Yuval-Davis, 2006). This same body of literature calls for more research to examine the experiences of survivors of IPV among oppressed groups (for example, women of color and lesbians), and warns that without the inclusion of these women's voices, research may only serve to perpetuate existing systems of power (Sokoloff & Dupont, 2005; Sorenson, 1996). To contribute to an understanding of the diversity among survivors, this article describes the barriers to service as experienced by 16 Black, low-income lesbians living in an underserved area of a large, metropolitan city in the Midwest. ...
This narrative study identified service barriers from the perspectives of 16 Black lesbian survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Qualitative analysis revealed diverse interrelated barriers similar to those identified by service providers in a previous study by the authors, including societal barriers such as heterosexism, and in-stitutional barriers such as ambiguous policy. Results indicate that the theory of intersectionality is best poised to frame an investiga-tion of the complex barriers encountered by these survivors. Results also demonstrate that although these women desire to receive ser-vices, current inequities prevent them from accessing support and further endanger, victimize, and isolate them. Strategies for im-proving services and reaching culturally diverse survivors are also discussed.
The present study sought to leverage machine learning approaches to determine whether social determinants of health improve prediction of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). Participants in the Jackson Heart study with no history of CVD at baseline were followed over a 10-year period to determine first CVD events (i.e., coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure). Three modeling algorithms (i.e., Deep Neural Network, Random Survival Forest, Penalized Cox Proportional Hazards) were used to evaluate three feature sets (i.e., demographics and standard/biobehavioral CVD risk factors [FS1], FS1 combined with psychosocial and socioeconomic CVD risk factors [FS2], and FS2 combined with environmental features [FS3]) as predictors of 10-year CVD risk. Contrary to hypothesis, overall predictive accuracy did not improve when adding social determinants of health. However, social determinants of health comprised eight of the top 15 predictors of first CVD events. The social determinates of health indicators included four socioeconomic factors (insurance status and types), one psychosocial factor (discrimination burden), and three environmental factors (density of outdoor physical activity resources, including instructional and water activities; modified retail food environment index excluding alcohol; and favorable food stores). Findings suggest that whereas understanding biological determinants may identify who is currently at risk for developing CVD and in need of secondary prevention, understanding upstream social determinants of CVD risk could guide primary prevention efforts by identifying where and how policy and community-level interventions could be targeted to facilitate changes in individual health behaviors.
In this chapter, we explore individual and comorbid risk factors for child physical abuse and partner physical abuse, which include demographic factors (e.g., low income, young age, race, and unemployment), family factors (violence in the family of origin), and individual factors (e.g., alcohol abuse and anger problems). We present prevalence rates for the perpetration and victimization of both partner violence and child physical abuse. Our review leads to several summary observations about victimization and perpetration rates: (1) intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and victimization rates are similar between men and women, but women are more likely to experience severe violence and injury, (2) a large discrepancy exists between parent and retrospective reports of child victimization and official reports of abuse, and (3) co‐occurring IPV and child abuse are common and estimated to be present in approximately 25–60% of families with one form present, with larger rates seen in shelter than community samples.
The tendency to ruminate, magnify, and experience helplessness in the face of pain — known as pain catastrophizing — is a strong predictor of pain outcomes and is associated with adversity. The ability to maintain functioning despite adversity — referred to as resilience — also influences pain outcomes. Understanding the extent to which pain catastrophizing and resilience influence relations between adversity and daily pain in healthy African-American adults could improve pain risk assessment and mitigate racial disparities in the transition from acute to chronic pain. This study included 160 African-American adults (98 women). Outcome measures included daily pain intensity (sensory, affective) and pain impact on daily function (pain interference). Adversity measures included childhood trauma exposure, family adversity, chronic burden from recent stressors, and ongoing perceived stress. A measure of lifetime racial discrimination was also included. Composite scores were created to capture early-life adversity (childhood trauma, family adversity) versus recent-life adversity (perceived stress, chronic burden). Increased pain catastrophizing was correlated with increased adversity (early and recent), racial discrimination, pain intensity, and pain interference. Decreased pain resilience was correlated with increased recent-life adversity (not early-life adversity or racial discrimination) and correlated with increased pain intensity (not pain-related interference). Bootstrapped multiple mediation models revealed that relationships between all adversity/discrimination and pain outcomes were mediated by pain catastrophizing. Pain resilience, however, was not a significant mediator in these models. These findings highlight opportunities for early interventions to reduce cognitive-affective-behavioral risk factors for persisting daily pain among African-American adults with greater adversity exposure by targeting pain catastrophizing.
This study examined the roles of relational context, religiosity, and marginalization in Muslim-American adults’ (N = 314) disclosure of intimate partner violence (IPV). Participants responded to scenarios involving IPV perpetrated by Muslim or non-Muslim partners. When IPV perpetrators were non-Muslim, disclosure likelihood was higher to non-Muslim networks (e.g., law enforcement, non-Muslim friends), whereas when perpetrators were Muslim, disclosure likelihood was higher to Muslim networks (e.g., family members, Muslim shelters). Religiosity was positively associated with disclosure likelihood to Muslim networks, but negatively associated with disclosure likelihood to non-Muslim networks. This pattern of association was most pronounced in the Muslim partner scenario. For Muslim and non-Muslim partners, marginalization was negatively associated with IPV disclosure likelihood to law enforcement and, unexpectedly, family members. In the non-Muslim perpetrator scenario only, marginalization was negatively linked to disclosure to Muslim friends. Results support interventions involving tailored disclosure conditions, enhanced culture-based training, and stronger secular and faith-based organizational partnerships.
Demographics, assault variables, and postassault responses were analyzed as correlates of PTSD symptom severity in a sample of 323 sexual assault victims. Regression analyses indicated that less education, greater perceived life threat, and receipt of more negative social reactions upon disclosing assault were each related to greater PTSD symptom severity. Ethnic minority victims reported more negative social reactions from others. Victims of more severe sexual victimization reported fewer positive, but more negative reactions from others. Greater extent of disclosure of the assault was related to more positive and fewer negative social reactions. Telling more persons about the assault was related to more negative and positive reactions. Implications of these results for developing contextual theoretical models of rape‐related PTSD are discussed.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the greatest trauma‐related risk to American women. Pregnant women are no exception, and escalation of IPV frequently occurs during pregnancy. Many studies have linked IPV during pregnancy to adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. This study examined IPV at the beginning of prenatal care to identify correlates of routine entry‐to‐care information with responses on a validated IPV screening tool, the Abuse Assessment Screen. The purpose of the study was to identify specific data from routine, standard intake information, which could alert clinicians to the potential of violence even in the presence of a negative IPV score or no formally administered screening tool. The point prevalence of abuse, as measured by the Abuse Assessment Screen at entry to care, was slightly in excess of the national mean, reinforcing the need for continual assessment throughout pregnancy. Abused women in this study were more likely to be young, single, and without family or partner support. These women relied on friends for support, admitted to depression, and desired their pregnancies. The findings are consistent with previous studies. Further research needs to be conducted to determine if this cluster of findings at entry to care, with or without a positive score on an IPV screening tool, are consistent markers for an increased risk of IPV.
Objective:
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health concern that affects many Latinx couples. The present study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantitatively assess acculturation as a predictor of IPV among Latinxs and subgroup analyses to evaluate the effect size by gender and type of acculturation measure.
Method:
The meta-analysis implemented the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines to retrieve studies assessing the relationship between acculturation and intimate partner victimization among foreign-born and U.S.-born Latinx adults. A fixed effects model (FEM) and a random effects model (REM) were employed. Additional subgroup analyses examined the strength of the relationship by gender and type of acculturation measure.
Results:
The meta-analysis included 27 independent effect sizes across 21 studies. An REM yielded a weighted average correlation of .11 (95% confidence interval [.02, .20]). The strength of the correlation differed by scale and ranged from -.003 to .47. For both men and women, higher acculturation was associated with increased IPV.
Conclusions:
Our results yielded three important findings: (1) the overall effect of acculturation on IPV is relatively small, (2) acculturation differentially influences male-to-female and female-to-male partner violence, and (3) the strength of the correlation between acculturation and IPV differs by scale. This body of work provides evidence for the effect of acculturation on IPV, with potential implications for interventions targeting Latinxs.
Intersectionality is a useful approach to understand the marginalization of ethnic minority (EM) sexual assault survivors. By using this approach, we are able to recognize the interplay and complexity between gender, class, and race that give rise to the inequality and oppression that experienced by EM women in Hong Kong. Findings of the study show that rape myths, gender-role perception, religion, kinship pressure, language barriers, citizenship, and immigration policy have constituted interlocking factors that shape the victim identity of EM sexual assault survivors.
Latinos are the largest minority group in the USA. Approximately 20 % of this diverse and growing population identify as Protestant. It is critical that helping professionals understand and address men’s violence against women in this community. Our chapter examines the ways in which Latino Protestants’ personal, religious, and cultural identities can either foster or discourage interpersonal violence. We investigate the role religion and spirituality can play in supporting men’s violence against women and contrast this with the ways in which religion and spirituality can be used to support victims of abuse. We conclude with religious resources to address violence against women as well as implications for practice and future research.
A volunteer community sample of 141 well-educated, economically heterogeneous, primarily African American (80%), urban battered women was used to test a model of women's responses to battering. The model, based on Orem's theory, was developed previously with an independent sample. The major independent variables were physical and nonphysical abuse, and self-care agency. The outcomes were physical and emotional health. Using structural equation modeling techniques, there was sufficient support for the model structure to conclude preliminary support for the overall model. There was both a direct effect of abuse on health, and an indirect effect mediated through self-care agency as a protective factor. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The present study examined the prevalence, characteristics, beliefs, and demographic predictors of parent-child physical violence among South Asian, Middle Eastern, East Asian, and Latina women in the United States. Two hundred fifty-one college-educated women from a middle to high SES (South Asian/Middle Eastern, n = 93; East Asian, n = 72; Latina, n = 86) completed a self-report survey on childhood experiences and beliefs regarding physical abuse. Seventy-three percent of the South Asian and Middle Eastern sample, 65% of the East Asian sample, and 78% of the Latina sample reported experiencing at least one type of physical abuse. Significant differences in characteristics and perpetrators of abuse were found across groups. Demographic factors did not predict physical abuse. Experiencing physical abuse was the only predictor for acceptance of physical discipline and as a parental privilege or right across groups. Implications of alternate cultural models of family violence based on beliefs and exposure to violence are discussed.
National and community studies report greater incidence and prevalence rates of intimate partner violence among Blacks than other racial groups yet many Blacks do not seek help. Using an intersectionality perspective, race, ethnicity, class, and gender are considered as intersecting factors that impact Black women’s help-seeking strategies. Using quantitative and qualitative measures on help-seeking, the researcher conducted face-to-face interviews with a community and shelter sample of 110 Black women, ranging in age 18 to 66. While participants sought help from both formal and informal sources, race appeared as a barrier to formal help-seeking. Resiliency surfaced as another barrier that may work against Black women in their help-seeking strategies. This has significant implications for social workers.
Previous research indicates that batterers often threaten or harm pets in order to intimidate and control their female partners. Most of this research, however, has been limited to samples comprised primarily of non-Hispanic women. To address this gap, this paper reports findings from a survey of 151 pet-owning women (74% Hispanic) who sought help from two South Texas domestic violence programs near the U.S.-Mexico border. Thirty-six percent of the women reported that their batterers had threatened, harmed, or killed their pets; 35% reported that they worried about the safety of their pets while they were in the abusive relationship; and 20.5% reported that concern for the safety of their pets affected their decision about seeking shelter. The findings indicate that pet abuse is a component of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Hispanic as well as non-Hispanic families.
The stories about how sexual violence comes to be constituted as an object of research offer complex commentaries about the operations of public secrecy in the realm of law, kinship, nation, and the state. Rape emerged as an anthropological object of research when anthropologists compared whole cultures to challenge the universalistic assumptions underlying a natural history of rape. Anthropological focus has now shifted to the situated nature of imagination, language, documents, and techniques that craft the silences and speech around rape. Recent anthropological research critiques the social, juridical, and political discourses complicit in the construction of rape as a public secret, offering an important route of engagement with ethnographies that recursively speak of rape as a situated category.
African-centered social work offers a set of principles upon which to develop a culturally competent response to domestic violence as experienced by African American families. Finding creative and relevant solutions for addressing domestic violence can keep family members safe, identify and address abuse, and keep children in the home when appropriate. Such efforts can promote greater awareness of healthy family relationships and the empowerment of individuals to shape their lives in a healthy and safe manner. In this article, in addition to examining principles of the African-centered paradigm, the author offers specific ways in which the paradigm can be applied to domestic violence.
Domestic abuse affects many people in all cultures and across all socio-economic groups, although women make up the majority of the victims. While there is inconclusive evidence that ethnic minorities have an increased rate of abuse, it is believed that those who are vulnerable are more at risk. Stress from poverty or social disadvantage can trigger domestic abuse with immigrant populations having additional risk factors. Furthermore those who face discrimination may find it harder to access help. Pregnancy, while sometimes a trigger for abuse, is also an opportunity for disclosure. Nevertheless for appropriate information and support to be given, midwives need training with good communication and cultural awareness in order to follow up disclosure of domestic abuse. Locally agreed care pathways, appropriate referral to support agencies and a multidisciplinary team approach are also needed. In spite of this there is little research or even information on ethnicity and abuse and there is a pressing need for further knowledge.
For women who experience abuse in childhood or adulthood, the assumptions are that surviving includes seeking help. This article presents an exploratory study on the prevalence of victimization in the lives of Caucasian, African American, and Latina women, if and to whom they disclosed their victimization, and where they turned for services and support. The results indicate Caucasian women turn more to traditional, therapeutic sources compared with African American women, who tend to use tangible supports. However, when controlling for a number of key variables, the ethnic differences disappear. Implications for further research and practice conclude this article.
© The Author(s) 2015.
This article draws on existing feminist theoretical concepts to develop a Black feminist criminology (BFC), using intimate partner abuse against African American women to examine this pioneering approach. BFC expands on feminist criminology and is ground- ed firmly in Black feminist theory and critical race feminist theory. BFC recognizes a sig- nificant connection between intimate partner abuse against women and structural, cul- tural, and familial influences. It is argued that BFC aids in a more precise explanation of how Black women experience and respond to intimate partner abuse and how the crime- processing system responds to battered Black women.
Background and Purpose:
Violence against indigenous Women (IW) is a disproportionate and epidemic problem, which has drawn national and international attention. Despite the pressing need to ameliorate the disproportionate rate that IW experience violence, there is no known research addressing violence against IW in the Southeastern region of the United States, nor any critical ethnographies investigating this problem, regardless of region. Therefore, there is little understanding about the processes and complexities of IW’s experiences of violence. Especially little is known about the localized experiences of IW in the Southeast.
Critical ethnographies make paramount the patterns of power and domination that perpetuate inequality and oppression across generations (Carpecken, 1996). Because power and domination are especially relevant to situations of violence and the oppressions experienced by indigenous peoples, a critical ethnography is needed. Therefore, the purpose of this critical ethnography was to understand the processes and context of violence against IW in the Southeast. The overarching research question was:
* How do IW in the Southeast perceive violence across their lives?
Methods:
Using the critical ethnography delineated by Carpsecken (1996), with rigorous validity requirements being met, the following cyclical research stages were conducted by living near a Southeastern tribe over the course of the summer of 2012:
1.) Compiling the primary record, which included 28 participant observation sessions with indigenous community members to understand patterns of interaction.
2.) Preliminary reconstructive analysis included pragmatic horizon analysis to understand the implicit and explicit meanings of communicative acts embodied in data.
3.) Dialogic Data generation included 29 life history interviews with women who experienced violence across their lives.
Results: A lack of Safety Across IW’s Lives
An intergenerational pattern of violence emerged from the reconstructive analysis of life history interviews and participant observation. To delineate this process of violence, a lack of safety across the lives of IW was illuminated as 80% of IW experienced abuse in their upbringing. This abuse included physical, emotional, sexual abuse, and/or witnessing family violence. Experiencing abuse set the stage for a precarious young adulthood, where women were at risk for becoming involved in unhealthy relationships and for early pregnancy. The dangerous trajectory continued into adulthood in processes of pursuit, progression, severity, self-sufficiency, and breaking out of violent relationships. Tactics of power and control included domination, threats, psychological abuse, using children, and controlling resources.
Conclusions and Implications:
Despite national and international attention to violence against IW in their adulthood, this study revealed that violence tends to begin long before adulthood. Indeed, IW from the Southeast experienced a lack of safety across their lives. To provide for the protection of IW, it is important to understand the processes of violent relationships holistically as they are perpetuated across generations and across lives. Contextual factors that may perpetuate violence include devaluing beliefs about IW, tolerance of violence, and ineffective policy, criminal justice, and social services systems. Comprehensive interventions must incorporate these interacting and complex factors.
References
Carspecken, P. (1996). Critical ethnography in educational research, a theoretical and practical guide. New York: Routledge.
This qualitative study examined the experience of Latina survivors of domestic violence for information that might help counselors become more attuned to the needs of Latina women. The results highlight the importance of particular cultural variables, including gender socialization and familism. Implications and recommendations for counselors are also discussed.
Esta investigación cualitativa estudió las experiencias de Latinas sobrevivientes del maltrato doméstico, buscando información que pudiera ayudar a los consejeros a concientizarse mas a las necesidades de las mujeres latinas. En los resultados resalta la importancia de los variables culturales particulares, que incluyen la socialization de género y el familismo. También se subrayan recomendaciones para consejeros/as.
This study reports the findings of focus groups examining the thoughts and attitudes of Mexican American youth about dating violence. Youth in the focus groups expressed concern about the wide spread use of violence, and many reported the common occurrences of violent behaviors in their lives. Moreover, the youth voiced the acceptance of the use of violence in many situations especially when violence is used to retaliate for a peer's lack of respect or infidelity. Males expressed a willingness to intervene on behalf of female friends who were victimized by violence. The males reported that they turned to friends for assistance when they were confronted with violence. Females involved in relationship violence stated that they preferred to turn to their brothers for assistance. Implications for developing culturally sensitive prevention programming are discussed.
The biological concept of race has long been controversial in psychology. Although many psychologists have challenged the concept of race, others have espoused it as a deductive premise and applied it as an inferential and research factor and variable, especially regarding Black-White IQ differences. Although race and its use have been polemically disputed for decades, no discipllne-wide, concerted action within psychology has been taken to ascertain the scientific meaning of race and to determine its proper application. Psychology's inaction contrasts with deliberate steps taken by other national and international scientific groups. This article examines a variety of problems concerning race in psychology: (a) definition, (b) application, (c) invoking authority and references for genetic knowledge, and (d) passive inaction by psychologists and professional associations.
Responds to 7 comments on the article in which A. H. Yee et al (see record
1994-09250-001) addressed the troublesome use of race in psychology. The appeal affirmed in this reply is not to "regulate" the use of the race concept but to bring science and clarity to research and theory involving group differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Among men of Japanese ancestry, there is a gradient in the occurrence of coronary heart disease (CHD). It is lowest in Japan, intermediate in Hawaii, and highest in California. This gradient appears not to be completely explained by differences in dietary intake, serum cholesterol, blood pressure or smoking. To test the hypothesis that social and cultural differences may account for the CHD differences between Japan and the United States, 3809 Japanese-Americans in California were classified according to the degree to which they retained a traditional Japanese culture. The most traditional group of Japanese-Americans had a CHD prevalence as low as that observed in Japan. The group that was most acculturated to Western culture had a three- to five-fold excess in CHD prevalence. This difference in CHD rate between most and least acculturated groups could not be accounted for by differences in the major coronary risk factors.
Community-based research on violence against women typically focuses on marital arguments rather than on resulting injuries. This study investigated patterns of victimization, violence perpetration, and injury in marital arguments.
Data from the National Survey on Families and Households and binomial and multinomial logit models were used to analyze characteristics of those who experienced physical violence, as well as to determine who was the perpetrator and who was the victim.
Men and women reported similar behaviors during verbal arguments. Young persons, urban dwellers, the less educated, those with low incomes, and Blacks were more likely to report that there had been physical violence in their marriages in the past year. Ethnicity, income, education, and number and age of children at home were not associated consistently with injury of the wife, the husband, or both.
Persons who report physical violence in their marriage are very similar to those who are at increased risk of interpersonal violence in general. The co-occurrence of street and other nonfamily violence with spousal violence may be a fruitful area for future research.
The first in-depth empirical study that goes beyond the initial trauma of rape and considers the interplay between society and the experience of rape, the interaction between the victim and her own social world.
Data from a nationally representative sample of 2,143 adults were used to explore the relationship between two types of childhood family aggression and severe marital aggression in the next generation. The results indicate that observing hitting between one's parents is more strongly related to involvement in severe marital aggression than is being hit as a teenager by one's parents. In addition, the modeling of marital aggression does not appear to be sex specific. Observing one's father hitting one's mother increases the likelihood that sons will be victims as well as perpetrators, and that daughters will be perpetrators as well as victims of severe marital aggression. These results suggest that the transmission of family aggression across generations, while not sex specific, tends to be role specific and should be studied as such.
This article presents a preliminary analysis of domestic violence in Asian American communities, and reports results from a focus group study on domestic violence in Southeast Asians (Laotians, Khmer, Vietnamese, and Chinese). It examines the influence of traditional Asian values, the assimilation process into American cultures, and the impact of sexism and racism on the oppression of Asian women. It is suggested that traditional Asian values of close family ties, harmony, and order may not discourage physical and verbal abuse in the privacy of one's home; these values may only support the minimization and hiding of such problems. The role of the cultural values of fatalism, perseverance, and self-restraint reduce the incentive of Asian American women to change their oppressive situations. The results from the focus group study have implications for clinical and community intervention.
This article compares the rate of physical abuse of children and spouses from a 1975 study with the rates from a 1985 replication. Both studies used nationally representative samples (2,143 families in 1975 and 3,520 in 1985), and both found an extremely high incidence of severe physical violence against children ("child abuse") and a high incidence of violence against spouses. However, the 1985 rates, although high, were substantially lower than in 1975: the child abuse rate was 47% lower, and the wife abuse rate was 27% lower. Possible reasons for the lower rates in 1985 are examined and evaluated, including: (a) differences in the methods of the studies, (b) increased reluctance to report, (c) reductions in intrafamily violence due to ten years of prevention and treatment effort, and (d) reductions due to changes in American society and family patterns that would have produced lower rates of intrafamily violence even without ameliorative programs. The policy implications of the decreases and of the continued high rate of child abuse and spouse abuse are discussed.
Development of research on intrafamily conflict and violence requires both conceptual clarity and measures of the concepts. The introduction to this paper therefore seeks to clarify and distinguish the concepts of "conflict," "conflict of interest," "hostility," and "violence." The main part of the paper describes the Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales. The CT Scales are designed to measure the use of Reasoning, Verbal Aggression, and Violence within the family. Information is presented on the following aspects of this instrument: theoretical rational, acceptability to respondents, scoring, factor structure, reliability, validity, and norms for a nationally representative sample of 2,143 couples.
Self-reported suicide ideation and suicide attempts were examined among 2,393 Mexican-Americans (706 born in Mexico, 538 born in the United States) and non-Hispanic whites (1,149 born in the United States). Mexican-Americans born in Mexico reported significantly lower age- and gender-adjusted lifetime rates of suicide thoughts (4.5%, 2.7–6.3%) than Mexican-Americans born in the United States (13.0%, 10.0–15.9%), who reported significantly lower rates than non-Hispanic whites born in the United States (19.2%, 17.4–21.0%). Adjusted rates of suicide attempt were lowest among Mexican-Americans born in Mexico (1.6%, 0.6–2.6%) and higher among both Mexican-Americans (4.8%, 2.4–7.2%) and non-Hispanic whites (4.4%, 3.4–5.4%) born in the United States. Rates were not affected by degree of acculturation when immigration status was controlled. High schools and the Catholic church are suggested as sites for programs designed to prevent suicide and suicide attempts among Mexican-Americans.
This paper examines historical factors related to African American women's rape and their disclosure patterns. It compares similarities and differences in incidents of attempted or completed rape in a community sample of 55 African American and White women. The possibility that African American women may not perceive themselves as rape victims or their experiences as meeting the criteria of “real rape” has implications for the disclosure of incidents, as well as the initial and lasting effects of sexual victimization. Researchers are urged to include ethnicity as a factor contributing to women's self-perceptions as rape survivors.
In previous research, the lifetime prevalence of sexual assault among U.S. women ranges from less than 15% to more than 50%. Much of this variability is due to methodological differences across studies, but some of the inconsistency may be substantively meaningful, reflecting the effects of social context on the risk of sexual assault. This paper provides a profile of sexual assault victims from a representative sample of urban and rural southern women. The profile includes information about the prevalence and characteristics of sexual assault, demographic correlates, self-reported effects of sexual assault, and sources of help seeking. This profile is compared with results from a representative, urban, and ethnically diverse sample of sexual assault victims in Los Angeles. Differences across and within the samples highlight the effects of social context on the risk, correlates, and consequences of sexual assault.
Considerable research suggests that social support plays a crucial role in coping with stressful life events. The present study used data from 3,132 randomly selected survey respondents to investigate the use and helpfulness of seven potential social support sources in coping with a particular life crisis: sexual assault. About two-thirds of the 447 sexually assaulted respondents had told someone about the assault. Over half had talked to a friend or relative (59.3%). Fewer respondents consulted police (10.5%), mental health professionals (16.1%), physicians (9.3%), clergy (3.9%), rape crisis centers (1.9%), and legal professionals (1.6%). Assault by a stranger, physical threat, fighting against the assailant, a high degree of sexual contact, and emotional distress concerning the assault were associated with talking about the assault, especially with police and physicians. Most of those who told someone found at least one person helpful (73.8%). Rape crisis centers (94.2%) and legal professionals (82.7%) were most frequently described as helpful, followed by mental health professionals (70.1%), friends and relatives (66.6%), clergy (63.1%), physicians (55.6%), and police (38.2%). Results are compared to previous findings, and implications for research and intervention are discussed.
As part of a survey of Los Angeles households, 1,243 Mexican Americans and 1,149 non-Hispanic whites were surveyed about their experiences of spousal violence. Questions to assess violence included both perpetration (whether they had been physically violent toward a partner) and victimization (whether they had been the victim of sexual assault by a partner). Over one-fifth (21.2%) of the respondents indicated that they had, at one or more times in their lives, hit or thrown things at their current or former spouse or partner. Spousal violence rates for Mexican Americans born in Mexico and non-Hispanic whites born in the United States were nearly equivalent (20.0% and 21.6%, respectively); rates were highest for Mexican Americans born in the United States (30.9%). While overall rates of sexual assault were lower for Mexican Americans, one-third of the most recent incidents reported by Mexico-born Mexican-American women involved the husband and approximated rape.
The purpose of this study was to explore the similarities and differences between Anglo-American and Mexican-American battered women. This descriptive study compared a group of 25 Anglo-American and 25 Mexican-American women over age 18 who had been physically abused by their husbands at least two times and had resided in shelters for battered women. This study addressed the nature, severity, and frequency of wife abuse; women's perception of what they consider wife abuse; and their attitudes toward wife abuse. Respondents were matched for age and socioeconomic status. Data were collected through personal interviews, using a semistructured interview schedule consisting of three instruments. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Comparisons between the two groups were done using t test and chi-square procedures. A Type I error probability level of less than .05 was used to determine statistical significance. Results showed that there were more similarities than differences in the manifestation of wife abuse between the two groups. However, Anglo-American women perceived more types of behavior as being abusive and exhibited a less tolerant attitude toward wife abuse than did Mexican-American women. The t test results indicated no significant difference in the severity and frequency of wife abuse between Anglo-Americans and Mexican-Americans.
This study assessed levels of depressive symptomatology in a household probability sample of Mexico-born (N = 706) and U.S.-born (N = 538) Mexican Americans. We hypothesized that immigration status differences in acculturation, strain, social resources, and social conflict, as well as differences in the associations of these variables with depression, would account for differences in depression between U.S.-born and Mexico-born respondents. U.S.-born Mexican Americans had higher depression scores than those born in Mexico. When cultural and social psychological variables were controlled in a multiple regression analysis, the immigrant status difference persisted. Tests of interaction terms suggested greater vulnerability to the effects of low acculturation and low educational attainment among the U.S.-born relative to those born in Mexico; however, the immigrant status difference persisted after controlling for these interactions. Unmeasured variables such as selective migration of persons with better coping skills, selective return of depressed immigrants, or generational differences in social comparison processes may account for the immigration status difference.
Estimates are that 2 million women are battered each year by their male partner. To prevent battering and promote physical safety, Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas added four abuse-assessment questions to the standard intake form for all initial and annual-visit clients. To establish the prevalence of battering, all intake forms completed at four clinics during a one-month period were analyzed. A total of 793 forms were reviewed. The prevalence of physical battering was 8.2 percent. When the characteristics of the battered women were compared with the non-battered, statistically significant differences existed. Information on the health consequences of battering are presented along with suggested assessment questions.
Data were collected as a supplement to the Los Angeles Epidemiologic Catchment Area project, one of five field sites of a National Institute of Mental Health-initiated program. The authors used a two-stage probability sampling technique to interview 3,132 Los Angeles residents of two mental health catchment areas during the period January 1983-August 1984. Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites were about equally represented in the sample, as were males and females. Respondents were asked, "In your lifetime has anyone ever tried to pressure or force you to have sexual contact? By sexual contact I mean their touching your sexual parts, your touching their sexual parts, or sexual intercourse?" Persons who reported an assault were asked additional questions, including information about the most recent assault. Lifetime prevalence of sexual assault during adulthood (at or after age 16 years) was estimated at 10.5% for the entire sample. Women, non-Hispanic whites, and young people (less than age 40 years) reported higher rates of sexual assault than men, Hispanics, and older people. Highest rates were reported by young non-Hispanic white women with some college education (26.3%). In the most recent sexual assault, three-fourths of respondents knew their assailant, over half experienced harm or the threat of harm, and half experienced sexual contact including but not limited to intercourse.
This article examines the nature of violence (physical, emotional, and sexual) perpetrated by Japanese men against their female intimates. Data were collected in a nationwide mail questionnaire survey with a convenience sample of 796 women between July and December, 1992. Most respondents were currently married and working full-time; average age was 43.5 years. Over three fourths reported at least one type of violence perpetrated by their male intimate partner. These Japanese women reported a wide range of abuse--from a slap to an assault with a deadly weapon, from verbal ridicules to restriction of social activities, and from incompliance with contraception to forced, violent sex. About two thirds of the most serious physically violent incidents resulted in injury. Sociocultural factors unique to Japanese women's experiences of male violence are identified and discussed along with their implications for prevention and intervention.
Survival, a basic indicator of health, indicates that violence is a threat to the health of women. Furthermore, the quality of women's lives is compromised by the threat of violence, which creates a sense of chronic endangerment. "Stranger danger" is a misplaced emphasis; community-based investigations in the past decade have underscored that women are at highest risk of homicide, physical assault, and sexual assault at the hands of a man they know, often their husband or male intimate. Potential contributions of the science of epidemiology are identified and the relative absence of epidemiologists working in the field is noted. Violence against women may be an important, although often ignored, confounding variable or effect modifier in studies of women's health.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking two important steps to ensure that new drugs are properly evaluated in women. First, it is providing formal guidance to drug developers to emphasize its expectations that women will be appropriately represented in clinical studies and that new drug applications will include analyses capable of identifying potential differences in drug actions or efficacy between the sexes. Second, the agency is altering a 16-year-old policy that has excluded most women with “childbearing potential” from the earliest phases of clinical trials. Attention to sex differences is part of a larger effort by the FDA . . .