Intimate Partner Violence among Asian Indian Women in the United States: Recognition of Abuse and Help-Seeking Attitudes

Abstract

The present study used hypothetical vignettes and surveys to investigate the recognition of IPV and attitudes toward seeking help from informal sources (family and friends) and formal sources (counseling services, domestic violence services, and criminal justice services) among 152 Asian-Indian women in the U.S. In addition, the study examined the effects of acculturation, enculturation, and social/public stigma on willingness to seek counseling services. Results showed that the participants were more likely to perceive physical and sexual violence as abuse than emotional and verbal violence. In addition, the participants indicated that they would be more likely to seek help from informal helpers than formal sources, regardless of the type of IPV. Greater acculturation, less enculturation, and social/public stigma emerged as significant predictors of willingness to seek counseling in response to the hypothetical examples of IPV.

Keywords:

• acculturation
• Asian Indian women
• enculturation
• intimate partner violence
• social/public stigma