Double Jeopardy?: Violence Against Immigrant Women in Canada

• NCJ Number: 197413
• Journal: Violence and Victims Volume: 17 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2002 Pages: 455-471
• Author(s): Douglas A. Brownridge; Shiva S. Halli
• Date Published: August 2002
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using a theoretical synthesis based in Nested Ecological Theory, this study was designed to fill a gap in the relevant literature by investigating the prevalence and causes of partner violence against immigrant women in Canada.

Abstract

The application of Nested Ecological Theory in the current study divides the environment into four levels: the macrosystem, which encompasses cultural factors; the exosystem, which includes formal and informal social networks; the microsystem, which encompasses the family setting; and the ontogenic level, which encompasses individual development. The sample used in this study consisted of 5,737 Canadian-born women, 844 immigrant women from developed countries, and 534 women who had immigrated from developing countries. The dependent variable was male partner violence against women, defined as acts of physical assault, psychological aggression, and sexual coercion. The analysis was conducted in two stages. To document the prevalence of violence among the three comparison groups and investigate predictor variables, the first stage consisted of descriptive analyses in which bivariate relationships were examined using cross-tabulations with chi square tests of significance. In the second stage, more elaborate analyses were conducted by using multivariate statistical techniques. These analyses allowed an assessment of the explanatory power of the independent variables and determination of the importance of each level of the Nested Ecological framework. Findings show that immigrant women from developing countries had the highest prevalence of domestic violence. The key difference that explains the higher prevalence of violence among women from developing countries was the sexually proprietary behavior exhibited by their partners. Sexual jealousy interacted with high female education and low male education levels in predicting violence among immigrant women from developing countries. Implications for future research are discussed. 5 tables, 8 notes, and 25 references