NCJ Number
217768
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 1-10
Date Published
January 2007
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether there were differences in the effects of domestic violence for Latina (n=44) and non-Latina (n=21) women victims.
Abstract
The study found that although there were no significant differences between Latina and non-Latina women victims regarding the nature and severity of the domestic violence they experienced, Latina women experienced more severe effects from the violence. They had significantly greater trauma-related symptoms, depression, lower social and personal self-esteem, and less positive views of events in their lives. The Latina women also reported more parenting stress due to their children's behaviors. More research is needed in order to have a better understanding of what underlies these cultural differences in the effects of domestic violence. Such research may improve efforts to prevent and treat Latina domestic violence victims. Fifteen Latina women were recruited from an agency in Mexico City that serves battered women and children. Twenty-nine Latina women were recruited from agencies in southern California serving Latina women exposed to domestic violence. The 21 non-Latina women consisted of 19 White and 2 Black women. The Revised Woman Abuse Scale was used to determine the frequency and types of abuse experienced by the women. The effects of the abuse were measured with the Parenting Stress Index, the Beck Depression Inventory-second edition, the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory-2, the Impact of Events Scale, and the Attributional Style Questionnaire. 2 tables and 43 references