Domestic Violence, Social Support, Coping and Depressive Symptomatology among South Asian Women in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study examines the links between domestic violence, coping strategies, perceived social support, and mental health outcomes among a cross-section of 131 South Asian women in Hong Kong. Our findings show that domestic violence, maladaptive coping, and perceived lack of social support were significantly linked to greater depressive symptomatology, accounting for 35% of the total variance in depressive symptomatology. Results also indicate that for domestic violence survivors, frequent use of maladaptive coping was related to the presence of more depressive symptomatology. Strategies to reduce the burden of women’s mental health distress should include early determination and prevention of domestic abuse and stressors, increased social support, and efforts to promote alternative behaviors and skills in coping with stressful life situations.

Keywords:

• Domestic violence
• ethnic minority women
• coping strategies
• social support
• mental health

Disclosure statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by Hong Kong Christian Service, HER Fund.

Notes on contributors

Kareen N. Tonsing

Dr. Kareen N. Tonsing (Ph.D) is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Oakland University. Her research interests are in the areas of mental health, psychological well-being, and coping of individuals in stressful life situations, with a focus on immigrants and domestic violence survivors.

Jenny C. Tonsing

Dr. Jenny C. Tonsing (Ph.D) is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Appalachian State University, North Carolina. Her research focuses on interpersonal relationships and the impact of domestic violence on women and children. Jenny is committed to promoting and advancing the well-being of individuals and families.

Terri Orbuch

Dr. Terri Orbuch (Ph.D) is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Oakland University. Her scholarly interests and expertise are in the broad field of social psychology, and more specifically, in the area of interpersonal relationships. She is the director of a landmark study, funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she has been following the same couples for 3 decades.