Religious help-seeking in survivors of intimate partner violence
Purpose: Help-seeking in survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) is a thoughtful and iterative process that consists of defining the problem, deciding to seek help, and selecting a source of support. Religion plays an important role in the process of help-seeking for IPV survivors, but there is...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Journal of family violence
Year: 2025, Volume: 40, Issue: 1, Pages: 39-51 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | Purpose: Help-seeking in survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) is a thoughtful and iterative process that consists of defining the problem, deciding to seek help, and selecting a source of support. Religion plays an important role in the process of help-seeking for IPV survivors, but there is little quantitative evidence demonstrating this role. This study filled that gap. Methods: We gathered data from 486 Christian, Muslim, and Jewish individuals who had experienced significant relationship conflict. Results: Results revealed 33.9% of individuals experiencing relationship conflict sought help from people in their religious communities (e.g., leaders, community members and elders), with 82.6% rating their experiences as helpful and 23.6% rating them as harmful. Nature of the relationship conflict (e.g., fear, stress, and sources of stress) was an important factor in prevalence, helpfulness, and harmfulness of religious help-seeking. More specifically, 39.1% of the sample reported experiencing fear in their relationship, indicating presence of abuse, and were more likely to seek help from people in their religious communities, and rate them as harmful. Religious group played a role in religious help-seeking: those in the Christian group sought religious help more often than the Muslim and Jewish groups. However, the difference between the Christian and Jewish groups was due to religiosity; those who self-identified as more religious were more likely to seek religious sources of help. Conclusions: This study provides empirical evidence for the prevalence and impact of religious help-seeking for individuals experiencing relationship conflict in a religiously diverse community sample. |
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| Item Description: | Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 50-51 |
| ISSN: | 1573-2851 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10896-023-00570-2 |
