Help-Seeking Behaviors and Barriers Among Black Women Exposed to Severe Intimate Partner Violence: Findings From a Nationally Representative Sample

2020 ◽  
pp. 107780122091746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krim K. Lacey ◽  
Tina Jiwatram-Negron ◽  
Karen Powell Sears
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviors ◽  
Nationally Representative

This article examined general help-seeking utilization and barriers among U.S. Black women reporting severe physical intimate partner violence (IPV). Data from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL), the largest and most detailed survey on Blacks residing in the United States, were analyzed. Among U.S. Black women reporting severe physical IPV, many sought the help of a psychiatrist (13.8%) or other mental health professionals (14.0%). Multivariate findings revealed associations between help-seeking utilization and sociodemographic factors. Queries from open responses suggested potential cultural and ethnic differences between African American and Caribbean Black women reporting intimate partner violence in relation to barriers to help-seeking.

Status Compatibility and Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Female Intimate Partner Violence Victims

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 577-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Elizabeth Kaukinen ◽  
Silke Meyer ◽  
Caroline Akers
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Economic Variables ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviors ◽  
The Impact

Given the far-reaching social, personal, and economic costs of crime and violence, as well as the lasting health effects, understanding how women respond to domestic violence and the types of help sought are critical in addressing intimate partner violence. We use a nationally representative dataset (Canadian General Social Survey, Personal Risk, 1999) to examine the help-seeking behaviors of female intimate partner violence victims ( N = 250). Although victims of violent crime often do not call the police, many victims, particularly women who have been battered by their partner rely on family, friends, social service, and mental health interventions in dealing with the consequences of violent crime. We examine the role of income, education, and employment status in shaping women’s decisions to seek help, and we treat these economic variables as symbolic and relative statuses as compared to male partners. Although family violence researchers have conceptualized the association between economic variables and the dynamics of intimate partner violence with respect to the structural dimensions of sociodemographic factors, feminist researchers connect economic power to family dynamics. Drawing on these literatures, we tap the power in marital and cohabiting relationships, rather than treating these variables as simply socioeconomic resources. Controlling for other relevant variables we estimate a series of multivariate models to examine the relationship between status compatibilities and help-seeking from both formal and informal sources. We find that status incompatibilities between partners that favor women increase the likelihood of seeking support in dealing with the impact of violence.

Help-Seeking Behaviors for Intimate Partner Violence Among College Students: Implications for Intimate Partner Violence Prevention and Intervention

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 548-564
Author(s):  
Y. Joon Choi ◽  
Abha Rai ◽  
Hyunkag Cho ◽  
Esther Son ◽  
Soonok An ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Service Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviors ◽  
Seeking Help

This study applied Andersen's Model of Health Service Use to examine help-seeking behaviors for intimate partner violence (IPV) and predisposing, enabling, and need factors for help-seeking among college students. The sample (N = 2,719) consisted of those who experienced IPV and was recruited from six universities in the United States and one university in Canada through an online survey. Results showed that 45.4% of the sample had sought some form of help for IPV. The most utilized source of formal help was from medical services, and friends were the number one source of informal help. Gender, age, sexual orientation (predisposing factors), IPV training (enabling factor), experiencing psychological and technological violence, and IPV consequences (need factors) were associated with seeking help. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Transgender Intimate Partner Violence and Help-Seeking Patterns

2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051988017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Kurdyla ◽  
Adam M. Messinger ◽  
Milka Ramirez
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Convenience Sample

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against transgender individuals is highly prevalent and impactful, and thus research is needed to examine the extent to which survivors are able to reach needed assistance and safety. To our knowledge, no U.S.-based quantitative studies have explored transgender utilization patterns and perceptions regarding a broad range of help-giving resources (HGRs). The present article fills this gap in the literature by exploring help-seeking attitudes and behaviors of a convenience sample of 92 transgender adults and 325 cisgender sexual minority adults in the United States. Results from an online questionnaire indicate that, among the subsample experiencing IPV ( n = 187), help-seeking rates were significantly higher among transgender survivors (84.1%) than cisgender sexual minority survivors (67.1%). In addition, transgender survivors most commonly sought help from friends (76.7%), followed by mental health care providers (39.5%) and family (30.2%), whereas formal HGRs such as police, IPV telephone hotlines, and survivor shelters had low utilization rates. Among all transgender participants, IPV survivors were significantly less likely than nonsurvivors to perceive family, medical doctors, and survivor hotlines as helpful HGRs for other survivors in general. Finally, transgender survivors were significantly less likely than nonsurvivors to self-report a willingness to disclose any future IPV to family. Although replication with larger, probability samples is needed, these findings suggest that friends often represent the primary line of defense for transgender survivors seeking help, and thus bystander intervention trainings and education should be adapted to address not just cisgender but also transgender IPV. Furthermore, because most formal HGR types appear to be underutilized and perceived more negatively by transgender survivors, renewed efforts are needed to tailor services, service advertising, and provider trainings to the needs of transgender communities. Directions for future research are reviewed.

The Role of Intimate Partner Violence, Race, and Ethnicity in Help-Seeking Behaviors

2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry Lipsky ◽  
Raul Caetano ◽  
Craig A. Field ◽  
Gregory L. Larkin
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviors

Help-Seeking Behaviors of Male Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence in Kenya

2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2110428
Author(s):  
Eric Y. Tenkorang ◽  
Mariama Zaami ◽  
Sitawa Kimuna ◽  
Adobea Y. Owusu ◽  
Emmanuel Rohn
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviors ◽  
Male Survivors ◽  
Seeking Help

Very few studies examine the help-seeking behaviors of male survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Kenya or sub-Saharan Africa more generally. Using nationally representative cross-sectional data from 1,458 male survivors and multinomial logit models, we examined what influences men’s decision to seek help after experiencing IPV. Results show the majority of male survivors did not seek help. Those who did so turned to informal rather than formal sources. The severity of physical violence was the most robust and consistent predictor of help-seeking. Male survivors of severe physical abuse had higher odds of seeking help from informal support networks than not seeking help. Compared to the uneducated, highly educated men were significantly more likely to seek help from formal support networks than to not seek help at all. Sensitization programs are required to educate male survivors of IPV on available sources of support. In particular, barriers to help-seeking must be removed to encourage male survivors to find support.

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