Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2009. / Adviser: Jana L. Jasinski. Includes bibliographical references (p. 188-204).

The Domestic Violence Act was passed in Ghana in 2007 marking a shift in the legal recourse available to survivors of intimate partner violence. The goal of my research is to identify the social, cultural, and legal changes that have occurred in Accra, Ghana and the surrounding areas since the passage of the DV Act. While in Ghana I spoke with men and women who were involved in the struggle to get the bill passed, as well as NGO employees and government officials who have seen men and women utilize the legal rights that the bill provides. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the cultural complexities of Ghana that continue to make the eradication of intimate partner violence so difficult. In the end, I hope that my research will add to a growing understanding of what is most lacking in the fight to attenuate the deleterious effects of intimate partner violence, so that advocates will be better able to truly implement the DVA’s emancipatory qualities. I also hope that the study will be a catalyst to promote continued education and invigorate activism. Methodologically, I used qualitative research tenets, utilizing in depth interviews and emergent coding. Results show how socio-culturally informed gendered attitudes and norms heavily impact the implementation of and enforcement of legal frameworks within communities. Findings also aid in a better understanding of the factors that surround violence against women in Ghana, and help explain how such factors are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. / text

Intimate partner abuse (IPA) is a global health problem affecting millions of women. It is linked with a wide range of negative health sequela including injuries, gastrointestinal disorders, chronic pain, depression, gynecological disorders, unwanted pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases (CDC, 2011). In Hong Kong and other Chinese societies, incidence of IPA is likely to be under-reported. This phenomenon is presumably due to the cultural norm in which shameful family issues tend not to be disclosed to members outside the family. However, in light of its related negative health consequences, early identification of IPA is important. In Hong Kong where majority of women attend primary health care settings for routine check-up, identification of IPA in this setting is feasible. The Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS), a well-established screening tool for IPA, suits this purpose. Previous studies in Hong Kong have shown that the Chinese version of AAS has satisfactory validity and high sensitivity for detecting IPA (Tiwari, Fong, Leung, Parker, & Ho, 2007). Therefore, this proposed guideline chose to use the Chinese version of AAS for IPA detection in women’s health services, with the purpose of minimizing under-reporting of IPA in Hong Kong. The objectives of this study are (1) to conduct a systematic literature review on the IPA identification in health care settings; (2) to synthesize the outcomes from the identified literature for the translation of evidence-based practice; (3) to develop a clinical guideline for identifying IPA in women’s health services; (4) to assess the potential of implementing the proposed guideline; (5) to develop an implementation plan; and (6) to develop an evaluation plan for the proposed guideline. A systematic literature search was performed for identifying relevant studies. Three electronic databases including PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE (OvidSP), and CINAHL Plus (EBSCOhost) were used. In total, six papers were yielded based on the inclusion criteria. Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) 2011 grading system was used to evaluate the level of evidence. The potential of implementing the proposed guideline was assessed based on the transferability of the findings, feasibility, and the cost-to-benefit ratio. An evidence-based guideline was developed based on the analysed research findings. Finally, an implementation plan and an evaluation plan for the proposed guideline were designed. An evidence-based guideline for identifying IPA in women’s health services was developed in this translational research. It assists nurses, particularly in the women’s health services, to identify women survivors of IPA. / published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2008. / Title from file title page. Kenneth B. Matheny, committee chair; Yiu-Man B. Chung, William L. Curlette, Gregory L. Brack, committee members. Description based on contents viewed Aug. 20, 2009. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-46). Also available via Humboldt Digital Scholar.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2008. / Title from title page (Digital Archive@GSU, viewed June 14, 2010) Julia Perilla, committee chair; Roger Bakeman, Gabriel Kuperminc, committee members. Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-94).

Thesis (M.P.H.)--Georgia State University, 2009. / Title from file title page. Monica H. Swahn, committee chair; John Beltrami, Stacy L. DeJesus, committee members. Description based on contents viewed Nov. 12, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-83).

abstract: Research has demonstrated that intimate partner violence (IPV) plays an important role in relationship satisfaction. Consistently, the research has indicated a negative association between the prevalence of IPV and relationship satisfaction (Cano & Vivian, 2003; Hotaling & Sugarman, 1990; Vivian & Langhrinrichsen-Rohling, 1994); however, more recent research has provided evidence of higher relationship satisfaction when IPV is present (Frieze, 2005; Hamby & Gray-Little, 2000; Williams & Frieze, 2005). There has been less emphasis placed on uncovering possible explanations for this inconsistency. Some researchers have suggested that victims find ways to rationalize their offender's behavior (Ackerman & Field, 2011), do not consider themselves victims of violence (Hamby & Gray-Little, 2000), or even fail to identify physical violence as IPV (Ferraro & Johnson, 1983) in order to maintain their desire to feel satisfied in their relationship. There is a need for additional research to understand why an individual might report higher relationship satisfaction when IPV is present in her/his intimate relationship and attempt to uncover underlying, contributing factors of IPV. This study sought understanding of the potential mediating role that idealization, the overly positive illusions of a partner or the intimate relationship (Murray, Holmes, & Griffin, 1996a; 1996b), may play on the association between IPV and relationship satisfaction. Additionally, gender was examined as a potential moderator between the predictor and outcome variables as IPV research has consistently documented the need for greater gender symmetry within this topic. One hundred and fifty-two adults (75 males and 77 females) who were currently involved in an intimate relationship (e.g., dating, engaged, married) or had been within the past 12-months completed a survey that assessed IPV, idealization, and relationship satisfaction. Three types of IPV were measured for the purposes of this study (i.e., psychological aggression, physical assault, and sexual coercion), and each was analyzed separately. Results indicated that idealization served as a mediating variable in the relationship between IPV and relationship satisfaction for all three types of IPV. Gender was not found to moderate the relationships for any of the three types of IPV and relationship satisfaction. Limitations, implications, and future research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Counseling Psychology 2018

This is a deductive study testing Hudson’s (2006; 2003) theory of social justice and, specifically, her delineation of three restorative justice principles (discursiveness, reflectiveness and relationalism) in order to explore how the principles might respond to the justice needs of women who have experienced abuse and violence by male intimate partners. Through in-depth and critically informed one-on-one interviews with twelve women who have experienced intimate partner violence in former relationships, it asks how abused women conceptualize justice and how justice might be done through restorative justice principles. The women offer social conceptualizations of justice and of doing justice that reconfigure the principles of restorative justice to prioritize protective solutions, and they locate them in domains outside of criminal justice where the complexities and dynamics of intimate partner violence are well understood and they demonstrate openness to support abused women. Their feedback about restorative justice principles suggests configurations in social service domains such as help lines, crisis centres, and shelters and, more broadly through policies enabling social responsibility in domains such as workplaces, media, and social media where there is the potential to create collaborations and protective solutions. Despite frustrations with the criminal justice system for its inability to provide long term protective solutions, given its ability to help some women in the short term, the women were not willing to jettison it.

archives@tulane.edu / 1 / Alejandra Leyton