NCJ Number
213901
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 21 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 167-181
Date Published
April 2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study examined the help-seeking and coping strategies for intimate partner violence among a sample of urban and rural women.
Abstract
Overall, the findings illustrate that both urban and rural women utilize multiple help-seeking recourses, refuting the common misperception that women do not act to help themselves when they are involved in abusive relationships. Urban women used more help-seeking resources than their rural counterparts due in part to differences in service accessibility, community context, and sociocultural factors within the environment. Rural women also perceived the justice system services as less helpful than did urban women. Help-seeking and coping strategies were related in that the use of problem-focused coping strategies was associated with the use of more formalized help-seeking resources. Participants were 757 women with protective orders who were enrolled in a study on women’s health, mental health, substance use, and health services; 378 participants were from rural locations and 379 were from urban locations. Participants completed face-to-face interviews regarding their background and demographic characteristics, resource utilization, coping strategies, and experiences of intimate partner violence. Data analysis techniques included chi-square calculations, one-way ANOVAs, and logistic regression models. Future research should compare women’s help-seeking behaviors, coping strategies, and satisfaction with resources by geographic region. Tables, references