Social Support Among Afro-Trinidadian Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

This study examines the types of, availability of, use of, and satisfaction with informal and formal social supports among Afro-Trinidadian women who have experienced intimate partner violence. A total of 17 women participated in a 2-hour, face-to-face interview. The findings suggest that despite male dominance and control, women were able to maintain some contact with family and friends. Although some women felt they had family and friends to turn to, many were dissatisfied with the support. Women also expressed dissatisfaction with legal and social services.

Public Responses to Intimate Partner Violence Against Women: The Influence of Perceived Severity and Personal Responsibility

“…First, the inclusion of other relevant correlates of public responses to cases of IPVAW would help to further understand the processes involved in decision making leading to different types of responses to incidents of IPVAW. The inclusion of other possible predictors of public responses to IPVAW such as the influence of emotional factors, attitudes towards family privacy, victim-blaming attitudes, trust in the authorities' effectiveness, perception of the support available to victims, or contextual effects such as neighborhood social disorder would also help to better understand public responses to incidents of IPVAW (Christy & Voigt, 1994;Gracia & Herrero, 2007;Gracia, Herrero, Lila, & Fuente, 2009;Hadeed & El-Bassel, 2006;James, Johnson, & Raghavan, 2004;Levine, 1999;Raghavan, Mennerich, Sexton, & James, 2006;Weiner, 1980). Another potential limitation is that we used hypothetical scenarios as a stimulus rather than actual situations, and it is possible that public responses might differ from what they actually would do in a real situation (Fritzsche, Finkelstein, & Penner, 2000;Robinson & Chandek, 2000).…”

Seeking Psychosocial Care After Interpersonal Violence: An Integrative Model

“…The current model allows for this diversity by incorporating support in terms of an accepting and helpful environment on this trajectory and support for help-seeking on the intention-expression trajectory. Coping with the aid of social support depends on the availability, quality, and active usage of this resource, all of which might be impaired for a traumatized population (Hadeed & El-Bassel, 2006, Kaniasty & Norris, 1993Yap & Devilly, 2004). A negative reaction of the social environment impedes access to social support (Cordova, Walser, Neff, & Ruzek, 2005) and negates the positive effect of disclosure (Bolton, Glenn, Orsillo, Roemer, & Litz, 2003).…”

La red de apoyo en mujeres con distintos grados de maltrato doméstico en Ciudad Juárez, México

“…Lo anterior parece demostrar lo ya encontrado en estudios llevados a cabo en otros contextos nacionales, según los cuáles existe un aislamiento de la mujer maltratada con respecto a los miembros de su red informal de apoyo (El-Bassel et al, 2001;Hadeed y El-Bassel, 2006;Mitchell y Hodson, 1983). Sin embargo, en este trabajo el menor número de fuentes de ayuda se dio principalmente con respecto a la red familiar y a la pareja sentimental, en especial en aquellas mujeres con los niveles más altos de violencia, por tanto, en la muestra empleada en este trabajo este aislamiento no es generalizado sino que se circunscribe a la familia.…”