NCJ Number
226758
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 24 Issue: 4 Dated: May 2009 Pages: 231-241
Date Published
May 2009
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study used an interactional perspective to scrutinize the possible impact of important situational factors pertaining to different intimate partner violence (IPV) categories: physical, psychological, and sexual on help-seeking behavior.
Abstract
Study results include: (1) more than 40 percent of the women had been in contact with at least two of the recruitment agencies (police, shelter, or family counseling); (2) three of seven sociodemographic variables showed statistically significant differences among the recruitment groups; and (3) no significant differences in characteristics of intimate partner violence (IPV) were found among the recruitment groups; however, there were significant differences between the main categories (physical, psychological, and sexual) of IPV and interactional IPV factors concerning help-seeking. The findings indicate that the help-seeking of survivors was differentiated and interaction-specific, and that they responded adequately to the different interactional consequences of IPV. By using different levels of analyses, the following questions were addressed in this study: (1) do different sociodemographic groups of IPV survivors use different professional support and treatment agencies; (2) do different professional support and treatment agencies predominantly come in contact with women having been subjected to different IPV severity, injury, duration, frequency, and mortal danger; and (3) do different interactional IPV variables predict whether IPV victims contact the police, a family doctor, or a psychologist, or psychiatrist? A sample of 157 women recruited from family counseling, the police, and shelters in Norway were interviewed. Tables and references