Victim Help Seeking: Differences Between Intimate Terrorism and Situational Couple Violence

A. Holtzworth-Munroe and G. L. Stuart (1994) proposed that 3 subtypes (family only [FO], borderline-dysphoric [BD], and generally violent-antisocial [GVA]) would be identified using 3 descriptive dimensions (i.e., severity of marital violence, generality of violence, psychopathology) and would differ on distal and proximal correlates of violence. Maritally violent men (n = 102) and their wives were recruited from the community, as were 2 comparison groups of nonviolent couples (i.e., maritally distressed and nondistressed). Four clusters of violent men were identified. Three resembled the predicted subtypes and generally differed in the manner predicted (e.g., FO men resembled nonviolent groups: BD men scored highest on measures of dependency and jealousy; GVA men had the most involvement with delinquent peers, substance abuse, and criminal behavior; and both BD and GVA men were impulsive, accepted violence, were hostile toward women, and lacked social skills). The 4th cluster (i.e., low-level antisocial) fell between the FO and GVA clusters on many measures.

Research on domestic violence and help-seeking behaviors of women living in rural communities has been limited. This study adds to existing knowledge by examining this type of violence along with mental health characteristics and related help-seeking behaviors of a sample of predominantly Hispanic women seeking shelter at a rural domestic violence shelter. Study participants experienced physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse, harassment, stalking, and abuse with a weapon in their current intimate relationship. Twenty-four percent of study participants of Hispanic backgrounds and 10% of participants from all other racial/ethnic groups reported experiencing all types of abuse listed above. When compared with other study participants, a greater percentage of Hispanic participants indicated that they had thought of and/or attempted suicide. Participants' help-seeking behaviors from formal support systems suggest a mismatch between the types of abuse experienced and the resultant help-seeking behaviors they used. These help-seeking behaviors also indicate the relevance of mental health characteristics (e.g., suicide ideation) in these behaviors. These and findings from other studies may provide the impetus for a systematic documentation of domestic violence and help-seeking behaviors of women living in rural communities.