Thesis (MPH)--University of Limpopo, 2010. / Background Despite of all the media information and reports about women abuse and non- reporting, there seems to be a high rate of domestic violence, according to reports obtained at Masonwabisane women support centre in Butterworth, Eastern Cape. According to the managing director of the above centre twenty (20) victims report daily at the centre. Probably because of cultural and religious beliefs, violence is not always reported or talked about. It is against this background that the researcher intended to conduct this study. Aims Examination of the characteristics of abused women who visited Masonwabisane Women Support Centre (MWSC) in Butterworth, Eastern Cape. Methodology Data was collected at MWSC in Butterworth an NGO operating under Mnquma local municipality. A descriptive quantitative study was used on records of abused women obtained from Butterworth areas who visited the centre and were reviewed retrospectively using a template developed by the researcher with effect from the 1st of July to 31 December 2007. The records were divided according to the areas served by the organization and the sub-samples randomly selected from each area. The analysis was based on the information that was generated from the questionnaires that women who visited the centre provided. Results The study indicated that the majority of the participants (94 %) were below the age of 40 years. Among the abused women 49 % were single. Almost all the women were living in the rural, informal settlement or township areas. Only ten (4 %) of the cases had no formal education while close to 82 % had at most a secondary school education and the rest 14.3 % had tertiary education. About 24 % of the cases were unemployed and 26.9 % were students. This gives a total of close to 50 % of cases who are economically inactive. The rest of the respondents were either in full time (15.1 %) and in part time (33.9 %) employment. At the time of presentation at the centre, two third (75 %) were traumatized 24 % injured, 13 % confused while 8.6 % were reserved and 2.9 % not well groomed. Over half (55.5 %) of the abuse cases were emotional abused, followed by physical abuse at 31 % while sexual abuse were 7.3 % and economical abuse were 6.1 %. Over a quarter (33, 5%) of women used tobacco, 10, 2% used alcohol and 3,3 % used illicit drug while over half (53,1%) of women did not use any from of substances. At the time of presentation at the centre the following personality traits from abused women were observed, almost half (44 %) of the abused women were angry, 26 % were stubborn and 15% were submissive while 14 % were aggressive. Majority of women (80 %) reported abuse during the week. One tenth (12 %) of women were abused during their pregnancy and 25% during their menstrual period. Because of the abuse almost a quarter (24 %) were physically disabled. Two thirds (66 %) of the women had children between 1 and 4 were abused. Majority (80 %) of women were abused by their husband or partners. Results show that employment and obstetric status were significantly associated (Χ2 = 96.24, p < 0.001). Type of abuse was not dependent on any other variables in the study. Frequency of reporting was associated with type of substance uses (Χ2 = 18.94, p = 0.04) and relationship with perpetrator (Χ2 = 94.78, p < 0.001). Occupation of the perpetrator was related to obstetric status (Χ2 = 193.58, p < 0.001), disability (Χ2 = 34.51, p < 0.001) and no of children the women had (Χ2 = 116.23, p < 0.001). Conclusion The following characteristics were observed from women who visited MWSC women support centre Butterworth, most women between 20-29 years of age were single they were either having steady relationships co-habiting. Most of them were staying in partner’s house or flat. Most of them came from townships and were economically inactive. It was evident from data analysis that most of them had low level of education (82 % secondary education) and they struggle to get employment. Another characteristic was that 66 % of cases were still students and therefore depended on their partners for financial support, which in some cases were elderly men. Most of them presented traumatized at the centre and the common form of abuse experienced was emotional abuse. Most of the abused women were found angry. To some extent others were so abused that they got injuries that led to their physical disability e.g. fractures. Most of them reported abuse at the centre during the weekdays and working hours. This could have an impact on statistics of women abuse as some women are abused by their partners or husbands during the night or weekend, some of them may feel it is no longer necessary to report abuse the following day or following week. Key words: Domestic violence, Characteristics of abused women, patterns of reporting.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2001. / Bibliography: leaves 107-119.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 216-225). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 224-279). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M. Nurs.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-95).

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a complex phenomenon of abusive partners’ behavior and is a serious public health problem that affects women’s health. It includes physical assaults, psychological aggressions, sexual abuse, and controlling behavior. Over the years, IPV was thought to be associated with chronic psychological stress. Although Chinese women have been shown using a variety of strategies to appraise, as well as cope with their abuse experience, not much is known about the relationships among psychological stress, appraisal of IPV as a stressor, coping strategies and emotional states in abused Chinese women. This study aimed (a) to differentiate women’s cognitive appraisal of IPV as a “threat” or a “challenge”; (b) to examine the relationship among women’s cognitive appraisals, coping strategies and emotional states; (c) to investigate the effect of cognitive appraisal and coping strategies on the relationship between IPV severity and emotional states. A cross-sectional, quantitative study was conducted. A total of 200 abused and 100 non-abused community-dwelling Chinese women aged 18 or above were recruited via poster advertisements in community centers and domestic violence support agencies in Hong Kong for this study. Participants were interviewed using a questionnaire to elicit their violence experience, cognitive appraisal, coping strategies, psychosocial readiness, social stress, self-efficacy and emotional states. Among the abused women group, 23.3% and 34.7% of them appraised IPV as a “threat” and “challenge” respectively, while 11.4% reported the co-existence of “threat” and “challenge” appraisal. Although abused women used a variety of coping strategies to cope with partner’ abusive behavior, however, their efforts were perceived as somewhat helpful. A proposed model, conceptualized from the transactional model of stress and coping, the stress process model and the psychosocial readiness model, was tested using structural equation modeling. It revealed that violence severity had a significant impact on women’s adaptational outcomes, i.e. emotional states in terms of psychological symptoms and distress intensity, and self-efficacy. This relationship was significantly mediated by cognitive appraisal and coping strategies. The psychosocial readiness of abused women was also found as a crucial mediator in the relationship of violence severity and coping strategies. Besides, a significant indirect effect of social stress on the relationship between IPV severity and adaptational outcomes was observed. Furthermore, financial difficulties had a significant effect on cognitive appraisal of abused women. It indicated that an increase in financial difficulties therefore increased the threat appraisal of abused women and in turns affecting their coping strategies and adaptational outcomes. However, immigration status had no effect on cognitive appraisal, psychosocial readiness, coping strategies social stress and outcomes among Chinese abused women. This study identified the mediating effects of cognitive appraisal and coping strategies on abused women’s self-efficacy and emotional states. The findings of this study advanced the current knowledge of cognitive appraisal and coping in women survivors of IPV. Intervention focus on coping may be effective in buffering the violence-related psychological stress and, special attention shall be paid to the psychosocial readiness of abused Chinese women to facilitate the effectiveness of coping strategies. / published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Philosophy

This study explores the experiences of five children witnessing family violence and the resultant psychological distress experienced by these children. The study was conducted within a phenomenological framework and used in-depth interviews with the children and caregivers. The data gleaned from the interviews with the children was substantiated by projective drawing tasks. Analysis of the interviews and drawings found that children who witnessed domestic violence experienced significant psychological distress. The significant findings of the study were as follows: Child witnesses exhibited behavioural, affective and cognitive responses to witnessing the traumatic events. Themes of guilt, shame and role confusion emerged from the interview data as results of having witnessed the abusive episodes. Fear was a result of having witnessed the abusive episodes, and was pervasive in all relationships - with significant others, peers, and the researcher. Social support from peers and family members acted as a buffer by providing an escape to dealing with witnessing the trauma. There was a significant difference in the coping styles in relation to developmental status- the older children exhibited a multitude of coping styles as compared to the younger children. Gender pattern differences emerged - boys were more likely to exhibit externalizing behaviour in response to witnessing the abusive episodes, whilst the girls exhibited more internalizing behaviour patterns. The results of this study are discussed within the ecological-transactional framework. Further research in the area of domestic violence is recommended. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2002.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Lana Stermac.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, August 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-96).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Fordham University, 2007. / Adviser: Joseph G. Ponterotto. Includes bibliographical references.