Joan Kub

Voices of Strength and Resistance A Contextual and Longitudinal Analysis of Women's Responses to Battering

An ethnically and economically heterogeneous (majority well educated, African American, and poor) urban community sample of women, self-identified as having a serious problem in an intimate relationship, were interviewed three times over 2½ years. The inclusion criteria of battering was repeated physical and/or sexual assault within a context of coercive control. Feminist action research was used, combining interview and measurement instruments. Thematic analysis (coding, clustering, “subsuming particulars into the general,” confirming) was used for a random subset of 31 womens in-depth interviews. The patterns of response identified were complicated and iterative, demonstrating resistance and resourcefulness. A process of achieving nonviolence was identified for most of the participants, although relationship status did not necessarily correspond to abuse status and there was continued violence after leaving the relationship. Identifiable themes included (a) active problem solving, including conscious decisions to “make do” in a relationship and/or subordinate the self; (b) responding to identifiable pivotal events, and (c) a negotiating process first with the self and then, directly and/or indirectly, with the male partner.

Predictors of Depression in Battered Women

The sample for this study consisted of 164 women recruited from newspaper advertisements and bulletin board postings asking for volunteers with serious problems in intimate relationships with men. Women were screened for battering using the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS). Of 164 battered women, 28% were moderately to severely depressed and 11% were severely depressed on the Beck Depression Inventory. Significant predictors of depression (accounting for 44% of variance) by multivariate analysis were childhood physical abuse, self-care agency, physical abuse by partner, and daily hassles. In addition to these analyses, the influence of self in relationship on depression was examined. The findings from this study suggest that physical abuse is an important part of the etiology of depression in battered women and that the abuse in combination with daily hassles supports a stress explanation of depression, with a womans ability to take care of herself a protective factor.

Women's Opinions About Domestic Violence Screening and Mandatory Reporting

BACKGROUND The purpose of this paper is to describe womens opinions and policy preferences concerning domestic violence screening and mandatory reporting. METHODS This case-control study included 202 abused women and 240 randomly selected non-abused women recruited from a large metropolitan health maintenance organization who were interviewed by telephone. Of these women, 46.6% had a college degree, 53.4% were white, and 60% had a household income of

The role of social support and family relationships in women's responses to battering

50,000 or more. RESULTS Forty-eight percent of the sample agreed that health care providers should routinely screen all women, with abused women 1.5 times more likely than non-abused women to support this policy. For mandatory reporting, 48% preferred that it be the womans decision to report abuse to the police. Women thought it would be easier for abused women to get help with routine screening (86%) and mandatory reporting (73%), although concerns were raised about increased risk of abuse with both screening (43%) and reporting (52%) policies. Two thirds of the sample thought women would be less likely to tell their health care providers about abuse under a mandatory reporting policy. Interventions offered in managed care settings that would be well received, according to the women in this study, include counseling services, shelters, and confidential hotlines. CONCLUSIONS Women expressed fears and concerns about negative consequences of routine screening and, even more so, for mandatory reporting. Domestic violence policies and protocols need to address the safety, autonomy, and confidentiality issues that concern women.

Adolescent dating violence: prevalence, risk factors, health outcomes, and implications for clinical practice.

For women who are in abusive relationships, social support and close family relationships may be critical to the successful resolution of the abuse. Efforts to enhance battered womens support must be predicated on an understanding of womens perceptions of effective support and the constraints they experience to seeking support. In this paper we present findings from a qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews with 31 women who were in abusive relationships. The women were interviewed three times over two-and-a-half years. Results of the analysis included that women used female friends for support more often than family members, and that women were constrained from seeking support by (a) cultural and societal sanctions against leaving the relationship; (b) a pattern of caution in relating to others or forging new relationships; and (c) forced isolation/seeing self as isolative. Relationships with family members, especially parents, were not consistently seen as useful sources of support.For women who are in abusive relationships, social support and close family relationships may be critical to the successful resolution of the abuse. Efforts to enhance battered womens support must be predicated on an understanding of womens perceptions of effective support and the constraints they experience to seeking support. In this paper we present findings from a qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews with 31 women who were in abusive relationships. The women were interviewed three times over twoand-a-half years. Results of the analysis included that women used female friends for support more often than family members, and that women were constrained from seeking support by (a) cultural and societal sanctions against leaving the relationship; (b) a pattern of caution in relating to others or forging new relationships; and (c) forced isolation/seeing self as isolative. Relationships with family members, especially parents, were not consistently seen as useful sources of support.

Annual and lifetime prevalence of partner abuse in a sample of female HMO enrollees

The goal of this synthesis is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the literature associated with dating violence in adolescence. Previous research findings on the prevalence, risk factors associated with victimization and perpetration, and potential health outcomes of dating violence are discussed. The importance of designing developmentally and culturally competent dating violence prevention and intervention strategies in the clinical setting is emphasized. This review is intended to assist health care professionals to develop interventions in their clinical settings to prevent and reduce adolescent dating violence.

Female perpetration of violence in heterosexual intimate relationships: adolescence through adulthood.

Abstract Self-reported data from a survey of roughly 1,100 female health maintenance organization enrollees in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area are used to investigate the lifetime and annual prevalence of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse by intimate partners. The sample consists of a racially balanced and, for the most part, well-educated group of working women. Three dimensions of abuse based on responses to questions from a modified version of the Abuse Assessment Screen are employed. In addition to simple descriptive analyses, logistic regression was performed. The estimated annual prevalence is lower than estimates reported in other studies. However, lifetime prevalence is very similar to estimates found in primary care clinical samples and somewhat higher than those derived from population-based surveys. More highly educated women report the lowest lifetime prevalence of intimate partner abuse. The finding that this sample of well-educated, middle-class working women has lifetime prevalence rates similar to those of women who are not as well off demonstrates that intimate partner abuse is not limited to disadvantaged women from vulnerable population subgroups.

How Would Terminally Ill Patients Have Others Make Decisions for Them in the Event of Decisional Incapacity? A Longitudinal Study

This article critically reviews 62 empirical studies that examine the prevalence of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence across three distinct populations (adolescents, college students, and adults). All studies were published between 1996 and 2006 and reported prevalence rates of physical, emotional, and/or sexual violence perpetrated by females in heterosexual intimate relationships. The highest rates were found for emotional violence, followed by physical and sexual violence. Prevalence rates varied widely within each population, most likely because of methodological and sampling differences across studies. Few longitudinal studies existed, limiting the extent to which we could identify developmental patterns associated with female-perpetrated intimate partner violence. Differences and similarities across populations are highlighted. Methodological difficulties of this area of inquiry as well as implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed.

Workplace violence: prevalence and risk factors in the safe at work study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the role terminally ill patients would opt to have their loved ones and physicians play in healthcare decisions should they lose decision‐making capacity and how this changes over time.

Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse among Active Duty Military Women

Objective: Nurses face one of the highest rates of reported workplace violence (WPV). This research examined the prevalence of WPV and demographic, work-related, and adult and childhood abuse histories as risk factors for WPV among 2166 nurses/nursing personnel across four health care institutions in one US metropolitan area. Methods: Using data from an online cross-sectional survey, multivariate logistic regression was utilized to determine risk factors for physical and psychological WPV. Results: Almost one-third (30%) of nurses/nursing personnel experienced WPV (19.4% physical, 19.9% psychological). Risk factors included being a nurse, white, male, working in the emergency department, older age, longer employment, childhood abuse, and intimate partner violence. Conclusions: Adult and childhood abuse histories have not been considered in previous large-scale investigations, but were significant risk factors along with other previously identified risk factors for WPV.