D.Cur. / The overall objective of this research study was the development of a psychiatric nursing science model that will provide a theoretical framework to facilitate the mental health of women exposed to continuous intimate partner abuse. In this thesis continuous intimate partner abuse will also refer to an abusive relationship. Violence against women is a global pandemic that costs the health and lives of more women than malaria, traffic, accidents and war combined (Holm 2000:12). It is stated that around the world at least one woman in every three has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Most often the abuser is a member of her own family. There are a few support structures in place in the rural communities for these women. For many women who have been abused health workers are the main and often the only point of contact with public services which may be able to offer support and information. Yet victims of violence who seek care from health professionals often have needs that providers do not ask about and do not know how to address. A theory generative research design was applied during the conduct of this study. The research project was carried out in four steps of theory generation. Step one dealt with concept analysis which was divided into two sub-steps concept identification and concept definition. During the process of the subiv vii step of concept identification, a qualitative research strategy, which is explorative, descriptive and contextual was used to reveal the true experiences of women in abusive relationships. A purposive sample of 10 women in abusive relationships in the Eastern Cape meeting the selection criteria was utilised. In-depth semi-structured phenomenological interviews were used as a method of data collection.

In recent years there have been several studies concerning themselves with such topics as mental patients' attitudes toward hospital personnel and mental patients' beliefs about mental illness. However, these studies are not without fault. They have been strictly empirical in approach, with no theoretical framework from which to predict and/or explain the results they have obtained. These studies also have failed to control for potentially important variables such as whether a patient, has had previous admissions to a mental hospital. The present study attempted to surmount these shortcomings. Drawing upon Heider's (1946) balance theory, it was predicted that if the patients' attitudes toward the staff changed in a positive direction (as a study by Reznikoff, et al. [I960] suggests is the case), those beliefs about mental illness held by the patients which were dissimilar to the staff's beliefs would converge toward those beliefs held by the staff. This study also controlled for the no prior admissions ---prior admissions variable, a variable Wolfensberger's (1956) study suggests may be important. The Semantic Differential was used to measure the patients' attitudes toward the staff while the Information Questionnaire (Nunnally, 1957, 1961) was used to measure their beliefs about mental illness. These two questionnaires were administered twice: the first time being no longer than four days after admission to the hospital; the second time being approximately three weeks after the first administration. The results of this study indicated that patients' attitudes toward the staff (aides in this particular study) do increase in a favorable direction, but this had no influence on the patients' beliefs about mental illness as had been predicted. The patients' beliefs about mental illness did not change toward the staffs' (aides) beliefs but rather remained the same over the two testings. Possible reasons for the failure of this study to support the prediction were discussed. Also, the validity of the Information Questionnaire was seriously questioned. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1978.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1979.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1978.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1970.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1979.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1990.

Thesis--M.S. in Nursing. Catholic University of America.

Thesis--M.S. in Nursing. Catholic University of America.