Jana L. Jasinski

Pregnancy and Domestic Violence: A Review of the Literature

Pregnancy-related violence is a serious public health issue. Although there is a growing body of research on this subject, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the prevalence of this type of victimization, the risk factors, and the consequences. The purpose of this literature review is to organize and synthesize the interdisciplinary empirical research on pregnancy-related violence and to provide direction for both researchers and practitioners for future work in this area.

Sociocultural status and incidence of marital violence in Hispanic families.

It is not clear whether traditional cultural ideology influences wife assaults in Hispanic-American families, or if culture is confounded with the stresses of poverty, unemployment, and immigration status. Our 1992 study of 1,970 families, including a national oversample of Hispanic families, examines the incidence of marital violence in the three major Hispanic-American subgroups and in Anglo-American families, and considers how sociocultural status and attitudes towards violence affect wife assaults differentially. The findings show that Hispanic Americans, as a whole, do not differ significantly from Anglo Americans in their odds of wife assaults when norms regarding violence approval, age, and economic stressors are held constant At the same time, considerable heterogeneity was apparent among ethnic subgroups on a number of measures. We also found that being born in the United States increases the risk of wife assaults by Mexican- and Puerto Rican-American husbands. However, the presence of norms sanctioning wife assaults within any group, regardless of socioeconomic status, is a risk factor for wife abuse.

Sociodemographic Predictors and Cultural Barriers to Help-Seeking Behavior by Latina and Anglo American Battered Women

Data from a national survey were used to investigate the help-seeking efforts of Latinas (Mexican, Mexican American, Puerto Rican) and Anglo American women who experienced battering by intimate partners. The findings revealed that battered Latinas were significantly younger, less educated, and more impoverished than Anglo women. Additionally, Latinas more often categorized their marriages as male dominated and their husbands as heavy drinkers. Bivariate analyses showed that Latinas who sought help were significantly more acculturated and more likely to have a heavy drinking husband than those who did not seek help. Although battered women were active help seekers, Latinas underutilized both informal and formal resources relative to Anglo women, with Mexican women least likely to seek assistance. When sociodemographic predictors of help seeking were analyzed, being youthful and Anglo significantly increased the odds of help-seeking efforts. Low acculturation, as measured by preference for the Spanish language, was the only significant cultural barrier to help seeking by Latinas. Implications for treatment include improved outreach and advocacy to underserved groups.

Childhood physical and sexual abuse as risk factors for heavy drinking among African-American women: a prospective study

OBJECTIVE This study examines the associations among characteristics of child sexual abuse. childhood physical abuse, lack of parental care, and heavy drinking in a relatively young, urban population of African-American women all of whom have documented histories of child sexual abuse. METHODOLOGY The sample consists of 113 African American child victims who were brought to a city hospital emergency room for treatment and collection of forensic evidence in the 1970s and re-interviewed as adults in the 1990s. RESULTS The results of this research suggest that multiple incidents of child sexual abuse, more than the characteristics of such abuse is an important predictor of adult heavy alcohol use and binge drinking. These results remain even after controlling for the effects of parental drinking behavior. CONCLUSION Although the victim of multiple child sexual assaults is more likely to suffer force and penetration, these analyses suggest that it is the multiple victimization and not the force or penetration that drives the relationship between child sexual assault and drinking behaviors.

The Role of Acculturation in Wife Assault

Existing research has demonstrated that Hispanic Americans as a group exhibit some of the highest rates of violent behavior toward theirspouses. Evidence exists, however; that suggests that these rates vary by Hispanic group identification (e.g., Puerto Rican, Mexican, Mexican American, Cuban). One explanation for these ethnic differences suggests that they may be a result of the process of acculturation. It is also possible that variations in rates of wife assault attibuted to differences in acculturation level may be caused by differences in measures of this concept. This study used the 1992 National Alcohol and Family Violence Survey, a national sample of 1,970 persons, to examine the role of acculturation in both minor and severe wife assault as well as the impact of using different indicators of acculturation. Generational status was the only measure of acculturation that consistently predicted wife assaults; however; ethnic-group differences remained after controlling for differences in acculturation level.

A Risk Marker Analysis of Wife Assault in Latino Families

This study used national survey data to assess the utility of commonly recognized risk markers for wife assault to predict violence against women in various ethnic groups of Latino families (i.e., Mexican, Mexican American, Puerto Rican). The authors identified various combinations of factors affecting violence risk within different ethnic groups. Level of conflict emerged as the strongest and most stable factor across ethnic group and gender of respondent. Generic risk markers did not adequately account for the observed between-group variability. The results highlight the need to investigate both generic and culture-specific variables associated with an increased risk for wife assault.

Going Cyber: Using Routine Activities Theory to Predict Cyberbullying Experiences

Using data from a national sample of 935 teenagers, we examine the ability of routine activities theory to predict cyberbullying. The data used in this analysis were collected as part of the Pew Internet and American Life Project Web site. Among the different elements of routine activities theory, suitability and availability were found to have the strongest correlations to experienced cyberbullying. Using logistic regression, our findings show that routine activities theory is a viable explanation for cyberbullying risk among teenagers.

Pregnancy and Violence Against Women An Analysis of Longitudinal Data

Results from research using hospital samples and anecdotal reports from victims have suggested that pregnancy may be a time of increased risk for assaults against women. Research using national probability samples, however, indicates that pregnant women may not be at greater risk for victimization than women who are not pregnant, once the analyses control for the effects of age. The current study used data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households and focused on the relationship between pregnancy and four patterns of violence: no violence, persistent violence, violence cessation, and violence initiation. The sample included 3,500 couples who were either married or cohabiting during the first wave of the study and who were still with the same partner during the second wave 5 years later. The results suggested that first pregnancy, as well as unplanned or unwanted pregnancy, was significantly associated with violence category.

Pregnancy, Stress and Wife Assault: Ethnic Differences in Prevalence, Severity, and Onset in a National Sample

Research using primarily hospital-based samples has suggested that pregnancy may put women at increased risk for wife assault, however, this research is largely limited by the lack of a comparison group of women who are not pregnant, and the failure to consider racial or ethnic differences in risk for violent victimization. The present study uses data from the 1992 National Alcohol and Family Violence Survey, a national probability sample of 1,970 individuals, to examine the prevalence, severity, and onset of wife assaults associated with pregnancy among Anglo and Hispanic families. The results indicated that pregnancy was associated with minor assaults among Hispanic women and severe assaults among Anglo women. Multivariate analyses revealed that among both Anglo and Hispanic families, there was no direct effect of pregnancy on risk for violent victimization after controlling for socioeconomic status, stressful life events, and age.

Ethnic Adaptations to Occupational Strain Work-Related Stress, Drinking, and Wife Assault Among Anglo and Hispanic Husbands

Previous research has established that both work stress and drinking are associated with increased risks for wife assaults. However, prior studies have not considered whether these relationships vary by ethnicity. This study used data from the 1992 National Alcohol and Family Violence Survey (NAFVS), a national household survey of 1,970 families including an oversample of Hispanic families, to examine relationships among several types of stressors associated with the workplace, heavy drinking, and wife assaults. The results show that Anglo and Hispanic husbands each experienced different types of work stress. In addition, Anglo and Hispanic husbands coped with those stressors differently. Among Hispanic husbands, all work stressors examined were associated with increased levels of both drinking and violence. In contrast, those same work stressors were associated with elevated levels of drinking, but not violence, among Anglos.