ABSTRACT

Male to female intimate partner violence (IPV) among college students (dating violence) is a significant problem in the United States. Most of the previous research in this area has been based upon primarily white college student samples, and little is known about the IPV related experiences of African undergraduate women. The ecological model of abuse and cultural theory suggest that women’s cultural beliefs and norms play a role in their help seeking attitudes and behavior. This qualitative study explored the IPV related experiences of 10 African undergraduate women who had previous relationship experience. All of the women reported exposure to IPV within their friend and family network, and four women reported personal experiences of IPV in the form of psychological abuse. Participants expressed a preference for seeking help from friends rather than family members or formal agencies. Family members were viewed as the primary source of help for older abused women in their communities. Cultural themes of collectivism, spiritual help seeking, gendered norms and cultural tolerance of abuse were identified in participant narratives.

摘要

大学生中的男性对女性亲密伴侣暴力 (IPV)（约会暴力）在美国是一个重大问题。该领域的大部分先前研究主要基于白人大学生样本，对非洲女大学生的 IPV 相关经历知之甚少。虐待和文化理论的生态模型表明，女性的文化信仰和规范在她们寻求态度和行为的帮助中发挥了作用。这项定性研究探讨了 10 名有过恋爱经历的非洲大学生女性的 IPV 相关经历。所有女性都报告在她们的朋友和家庭网络中接触过 IPV，四名女性报告了以心理虐待形式遭受 IPV 的个人经历。参与者表示更愿意向朋友而不是家人或正式机构寻求帮助。家庭成员被视为社区中老年受虐待妇女的主要帮助来源。在参与者的叙述中确定了集体主义、寻求精神帮助、性别规范和对虐待的文化容忍等文化主题。