Interpersonal Violence in the Lives of Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Women: Implications for Health, Mental Health, and Help-Seeking

• NCJ Number: 217415
• Journal: American Journal of Public Health Volume: 96 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2006 Pages: 1416-1422
• Author(s): Teresa Evans-Campbell Ph.D.; Taryn Lindhorst Ph.D.; Bu Huang Ph.D.; Karina L. Walters Ph.D.
• Date Published: August 2006
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Free online PDF and HTML access to the American Journal of Public Health is provided by the publisher 24 months after individual issues are released.

Annotation

This study examined the prevalence of three types of interpersonal violence among urban American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) women living in New York City as well as the behavioral and mental health factors associated with this violence.

Abstract

Results revealed that over 65 percent of the 112 AIAN participants had experienced some form of interpersonal violence. The violence included childhood physical abuse (28 percent), rape (48 percent), and a history of domestic violence (40 percent). A full 48 percent of the sample reported multiple victimization experiences and most women in the sample reported high levels of emotional trauma associated with violent victimization. The interpersonal violence experienced by these women was associated with depression, dysphoria, help-seeking behaviors, and an increase in sexual risk behaviors. The findings suggest that the high levels of violence experienced by urban AIAN women significantly contribute to a host of physical and mental health problems. There is a pressing need for violence intervention programming targeted at this group of women. Health care providers should also focus on the treatment and prevention of related physical and mental health problems. Participants were 112 women who were recruited in 2 stages: (1) a stratified random sampling of local AIAN women who were on a membership list for a local AIAN community center; and (2) snowball sampling. Participants completed face-to-face structured interviews regarding demographic information; family history; health and health services; stress and mental health; cultural factors; traumatic event exposure; alcohol and drug use; sexual risk taking behavior; and military service. Data analysis involved the use of chi-square calculations and multivariate logistic regression models, all of which were performed using SPSS version 11. Future research should attempt to identify advanced statistical models that would shed light on mediation pathways to various physical and mental health outcomes for AIAN women. Tables, references