Reaction to and Coping With Domestic Violence by Iranian Women Victims: A Qualitative Approach

INTRODUCTION: Domestic violence is a continual stressor that motivates its victim to react. The way a woman deals with her husband’s violence determine the consequence of the violent relationship. In the present study, a qualitative approach was employed to investigate women’s reactions to and ways of coping with domestic violence.

METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2014 with 18 women who experienced domestic violence in an attempt to explain how women deal with domestic violence. After the interviews were transcribed word by word, they were explored in the form of meaningful units and encoded as subcategories and categories through inductive content analysis. The reliability and validity of the interviews were measured by an external supervisor.

RESULTS: Two categories of reaction and coping were identified through content analysis: passive and non-normative measures and active measures. Passive and non-normative measures included the subcategories of harmful behaviors, retaliation, tolerance, and silence. Active measures included seeking help and advice, legal measures, leaving the spouse, positive and health promoting measures.

CONCLUSION: In the present study, ways of coping with a husband’s violence among women experiencing domestic violence were divided into two categories: passive and non-normative measures and active measures. These categories confirmed the models of coping with stress in previous studies. Adopting an appropriate approach to dealing with domestic violence is affected by a woman’s capacity and beliefs, the dominant culture, intensity of the violence, available social and legal supports, and effectiveness of evaluation measures. To generalize service provision to victimized women, the type of coping and the reason for adopting the chosen approach need to be taken into account.