RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To gain an understanding of the experiences of women of Mexican descent, born in Mexico or the United States who live with intimate partner abuse. The study was part of a larger study of the process of disclosure by women of Mexican descent who are subjected to intimate partner abuse. DESIGN: Descriptive qualitative approach. SETTING: Two sites in a South Texas-Mexico border community: a woman's shelter and an outreach agency. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-six women of Mexican descent were interviewed. METHODS: A semistructured interview guide was used to elicit participants' views of their experiences with intimate partner abuse. RESULTS: These narratives illuminate how the process of victimization and revictimization creates an environment that blinds people to abuse, promotes denial of abuse, and leads women to remain in a harmful situation. CONCLUSION: Nurses and other health care and service providers working with women must take the initiative to assess for abuse; a few simple questions might change the woman's life and her children(s).
Assuntos
Mulheres Maltratadas/psicologia , Americanos Mexicanos/psicologia , Maus-Tratos Conjugais/etnologia , Maus-Tratos Conjugais/psicologia , Adulto , Sobreviventes Adultos de Maus-Tratos Infantis/psicologia , Conscientização , Desumanização , Negação em Psicologia , Feminino , Humanos , México/etnologia , Narração , Recidiva , Fatores de Risco , Maus-Tratos Conjugais/prevenção & controle , TexasRESUMO
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the factors that influence disclosure of abuse by women of Mexican descent. Few published studies describe the experiences of women of Mexican descent with a history of intimate partner abuse, specifically in terms of their process of disclosure of abuse. METHODS: A qualitative research design was used to conduct this study in south Texas adjacent to the United States-Mexico border. Twenty-six key informants were recruited from two different sites. An open-ended approach with a semistructured interview guide was used to collect the narrative information from the 26 participants. RESULTS: The findings illuminated that many factors hindered disclosure. Some of these factors included protecting their partners, avoidance of worrying their mothers, and fear of losing their children. CONCLUSIONS: The study may help healthcare providers to understand the complexity of disclosure by women with a history of intimate partner abuse and may help explain why women do not readily disclose their abusive situations. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study on the disclosure decision process of abuse by women of Mexican descent provides some understanding on the cultural or situational factors that hindered or encouraged disclosure; ultimately this knowledge can help healthcare providers and others to provide for the woman's health, welfare, and safety.