Social support factors associated with psychological resilience among women survivors of intimate partner violence in Gauteng, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Women’s experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) increase their risk for mental ill health. However, some women exposed to IPV and adversity are psychologically resilient and function well despite these exposures. Objectives: We conducted a study to investigate the factors that are associated with psychological resilience among abused women, using data collected in a household survey conducted in Gauteng province of South Africa. Methods: Data is from a cross-sectional study. A multi-stage random sampling approach was used to select a sample of 501 women. The World Health Organization (WHO) Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence Questionnaire was used to measure lifetime experience of physical and sexual IPV. Only 189 women who had experienced lifetime IPV were included in this secondary analysis. Resilience was measured as scoring below the threshold for the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. Other explanatory factors measured included child sexual abuse, non-partner rape, other traumatic life events, social support indicators, binge drinking and socio-demographic variables. Multivariable regression analysis was used to test factors associated with resilience. Results: Forty two percent of women scored below the threshold for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depressive symptoms at the time of the survey and so were categorized as resilient. Social support indicators were associated with increased resilience. Women who perceived that their communities were supportive and they would easily find money in an emergency were more likely to be resilient. Women who binge drank, experienced severe IPV in the past 12 months, received negative reactions to disclosure and utilized medical or psychosocial services were less likely to be resilient. Conclusion: Social support indicators including social connectedness, stronger network ties and perceived supportive communities are key factors in fostering resilience among abused women. Interventions should aim to promote stronger and supportive social networks and increase women’s utilization of formal support services.

Forms of and Factors Associated With Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence by Men on Their Female Partners Following HIV Status Disclosure in the Ashanti Region of Ghana: A Qualitative Study

“…Most participants also stated alcohol abuse and poverty as factors that caused violence in relationships. Studies by other authors have found similar results (Machisa et al, 2018;Sabri et al, 2019;Eric Y. Tenkorang, Owusu, Yeboah, & Bannerman, 2013) as factors that led to intimate partner violence. In most cultures, men control and dominate their partners in Ghana (Dickson et al, 2020;Issahaku, 2015;Owusu-Addo et al, 2018;E.…”

“…The feminist theories have also made their argument that defined gender roles within patriarchal societies in addition to men's systematic efforts to control women through the use of power and domination are the major causes or factors of IPV (Bell & Naugle, 2008;Pinto et al, 2010). This finding also collaborates with Machisa et al (2018) and Mann and Takyi (2009) when they made similar findings in their studies. Again, some of the participants identified peer influence as one of the factors that can lead to violence in intimate partner relationships (Elgar et al, 2015;Fleming et al, 2015).…”

“…Anger and frustration were identified as the main emotional factors of violence as revealed by most of the participants. This is supported by Machisa, Christofides, and Jewkes (2018) when they found anger in relation to emotions as the cause of intimate partner violence. Other studies (Birkley & Eckhardt, 2015;Dunkle et al, 2006;Silverman et al, 2010) also found anger as an emotional factor that can lead to violence in relationships.…”

A rapid appraisal of the status of mental health support in post-rape care services in the Western Cape

“…3 This is an underestimate as under-reporting of rape to the police is a well-known phenomenon. 4 , 5 The extent of rape in South Africa can also be gleaned from perpetration prevalence studies of men where between 28.0% and 37.0% of men disclosed rape perpetration. Studies of women found one in four reported experiences of sexual violence in their lifetime.…”

“…Studies of women found one in four reported experiences of sexual violence in their lifetime. 5 , 6 , 7…”