Abstract
This paper examined cultural beliefs related to formal help-seeking among Jamaican immigrant women living in the United States who reported previous experiences with intimate partner violence (IPV). In-depth interviews with 11 women revealed a preference for informal help-seeking from friends and family members over seeking help from police or health service professionals. Women’s help-seeking decisions were informed by cultural norms that prioritized collectivism, traditional gender role ideologies, normative secrecy, and spiritual problem solving. The data supports the importance of considering cultural belief systems in IPV research and practice that involves Jamaican, as well as other groups of Black women.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Black M, Basile K, Breiding M, Smith S, Walters M, Merrick M et al (2011) The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey (NISVS): 2010 summary report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta
Bourne PA, Palmer A, Brady B, Swaby R, Malcolm D, Fallah J, … White M (2021) An evaluation of domestic violence against Jamaican women during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. Int J Collab Res Intern Med Public Health 13(9):19–31
Braun V, Clarke V (2019) Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qual Res Sport Exerc Health 11(4):589–597
Breiding MJ, Smith SG, Basile KC, Walters ML, Jieru C, Merrick MT (2014) Prevalence and characteristics of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization – national intimate partner and sexual violence survey, United States, 2011. In: MMWR surveillance summaries, vol 63. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), pp 1–18
Creswell JW, Poth C (2018) Qualitative inquiry and research design, 4th edn. Sage Publications, Los Angeles
Edge D, Lemetyinen H (2019) Psychology across cultures: challenges and opportunities. Psychol Psychother 92(2):261–276
Femi-Ajao O, Kendal S, Lovell K (2020) A qualitative systematic review of published work on disclosure and help-seeking for domestic violence and abuse among women from ethnic minority populations in the UK. Ethn Health 25(5):732–746
Goodson A, Hayes BE (2018) Help-seeking behaviors of intimate partner violence victims: a cross-national analysis in developing nations. J Interpers Violence 36(9–10):NP4705–NP4727. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518794508
Harriott A, Jones M (2016) Crime and violence in Jamaica. Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC
Hofstede G, Hofstede GJ, Minkov M (2010) Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. McGraw Hill, New York
Kito M, Yuki M, Thomson R (2017) Relational mobility and close relationships: a socioecological approach to explain cross-cultural differences. Pers Relat 24(1):114–130
Lacey K, Jiwatram-Negron T, Powell Sears K (2020) Help-seeking behaviors and barriers among Black women exposed to severe intimate partner violence: findings from a nationally representative sample. Violence Against Women 27(6–7):952–972
Le Franc E, Samms-Vaughan M, Hambleton I, Fox K, Brown D (2008) Interpersonal violence in three Caribbean countries: Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. Violencia interpersonal en tres países del Caribe: Barbados, Jamaica y Trinidad y Tobago 24(6):409–421
Novick G (2008) Is there a bias against telephone interviews in qualitative research? Res Nurs Health 31(4):391–398
Palmer GJ, Palmer RW, Payne-Borden J (2012) Evolution of counseling in Jamaica: past, present, and future trends. J Couns Dev 90(1):97–101
Potter H (2007) Battered Black women’s use of religious services and spirituality for assistance in leaving abusive relationships. Violence Against Women 13(3):262–284
Powell Sears K (2018) Cultural perspectives on staying and leaving abusive relationships: African American and Jamaican American women’s narratives. J Black Sex Relation 4(4):71–96
Rakovec-Felser Z (2014) Domestic violence and abuse in intimate relationship from public health perspective. Health Psychol Res 2(3):1821
Richie BE (2022) The effects of violence on communities: the violence matrix as a tool for advancing more just policies. Daedalus 151(1):84–96
Sabri B, Huerta J, Alexander KA, St Vil NM, Campbell JC, Callwood GB (2015) Multiple intimate partner violence experiences: knowledge, access, utilization and barriers to utilization of resources by women of the African diaspora. J Health Care Poor Underserved 26(4):1286–1303. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2015.0135
Sabri B, Nnawulezi N, Njie-Carr V, Messing J, Ward-Lasher A, Alvarez C, Campbell JC (2018) Multilevel risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence among African, Asian and Latina immigrant and refugee women: perceived needs for safety planning interventions. Race Soc Probl 10(4):348–365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-018-9247-z
Sallis JF, Owen N, Fisher E (2015) Ecological models of health behavior. Health Behav Theory Res Pract 5:43–64
Shokazi-Ito H, Ohnishi M, Shibayama T, Matsuyama Y, Nakao R, Morifuji K (2020) Experiences of dating violence and help-seeking behaviour among Japanese first-year university students. Jpn J Health Hum Ecol 86(3):111–120
Smith D (2016) Prevalence of intimate partner violence in Jamaica: implications for prevention and intervention. Int J Child Youth Family Stud 7:343
Stockman JK, Hayashi H, Campbell JC (2015) Intimate partner violence and its health impact on ethnic minority women. J Women’s Health 24(1):62–79
Sutherland ME (2013) The need for an African-centered Jamaican psychology. J Black Psychol 39(3):330–332
Watson Williams C (2018) Women’s health survey 2016, Inter-American Development Bank, Jamaica
World Health Organization (2016) Putting women first: ethical and safety recommendations for research on domestic violence against women. Building on lessons from the WHO publication. In: WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data ethical and safety recommendations for intervention research on violence against women. WHO, Geneva
Zong J, Batalova J (2016) Caribbean immigrants in the United States. Migration Policy Institute
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Powell Sears, K. (2023). New Case Study Intimate Partner Violence (IPV): Aspects of Seeking Advice and Help Among Jamaican Immigrant Women in the United States. In: Martin, C., Preedy, V.R., Patel, V.B. (eds) Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98711-4_162-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98711-4_162-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-98711-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-98711-4
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences