The aims of this study were to establish the prevalence of violence in a sample of women in the North West Province of South Africa, and to determine whether a higher frequency of experiences of violence are associated with more distress and differences in coping strategies and levels of psychological well-being. A stratified, random population-based sample of 387 participants completed several questionnaires in a cross-sectional survey design with the aid of trained fieldworkers who conducted the survey in the mother tongue of the participants. Questionnaires measured the frequency and kinds of violence experienced, distress symptoms, coping strategies, psychological well-being and quality of life experienced. Data on the relevant variables were also gathered in four in-depth individual interviews and a focus group discussion. The results indicated that 62% of women in the sample had experienced some form of violence in relationships and 42% experienced violence on a regular basis. This study adds data on the epidemiology of various types of violence against women in South Africa. Women who had experienced violence, and more so, women who had experienced a higher frequency of violence, showed more distress symptoms, lower levels of psychological well-being and a lower quality of life in several domains of life, than women who had no or less experience of violence. However, even those women who experienced high levels of violence managed to maintain some strengths and constructive coping strategies that might have helped them to survive. It is indicated that identifying and building psychological strengths in women from a positive psychology perspective may add value to current interventions and preventative efforts.
American Psychological Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder (4th ed.).Washington, DC: APA.
2.
AntonovskyA. (1987). Unravelling the mystery of health: How people manage stress and stay well.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
3.
AntonovskyA. (1993). The structure and properties of the Sense of Coherence Scale. Social Science and Medicine, 36(6) 725–733.
4.
ArcherJ. (1996). Sex differences in social behavior: Are the social role and evolutionary explanations compatible?American Psychologist, 51(9), 909–917.
5.
APAseeAmerican Psychological Association.
6.
BeusenbergM.OrleyJ. (1994). A user's guide to the Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ).Geneva: Division of Mental Health, World Health Organisation.
7.
CampbellJ. C. (2002). Health consequences of intimate partner violence. The Lancet, 359, 1331–1336.
8.
CampbellD. C.SharpsP. W.GaryF.CampbellJ. C.LopezL. M. (2002, January 31). Intimate partner violence in African American women. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 7(1), manuscript 4. http://www.nursingworld.org/ojin/topicl7/tpc17–4.htm (accessed on 05/02/21).
9.
CarverC. S.ScheierM. F.WeintraubJ. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(2), 267–283.
10.
CascardiM.O'LearyK. D. (1992). Depressive symptomatology, self-esteem, and self-blame in battered women. Journal of Family Violence7, 249–259.
11.
CherianV. I.PeltzerK.CherianL. (1998). The factor-structure of the Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) in South Africa. East African Medical Journal, 75(1), 654–656.
12.
CokerA. L.DavisK. E.AriasL.DesaiS.SandersonM.BrandtH. M.SmithP. H. (2002). Physical and mental health effects of intimate partner violence for men and women. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 23(4), 260–268.
13.
CopelandM. E.HarrisM. (2000). Healing the trauma of Abuse. A women's workbook.Oakland: New Harbinger Publications.
14.
DenzinN. K.LincolnY. S. (2003). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In DenzinN. K.LincolnY. S. (Eds), Strategies of qualitative inquiry (pp. 1–45), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
15.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (2000). The ‘what’ and ‘why’ of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268.
16.
DienerE.EmmonsR.LarsenR. J.GriffinS. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75.
17.
DobashR. E.DobashR. P. (1997). Violence against women. In O'TooleL. L.SchiffmanJ. R. (Eds), Gender violence: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 266–278). New York: New York University Press.
18.
FlowersR. B. (1994). The victimization and exploitation of women and children. A study of physical, mental and sexual maltreatment in the United States.Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
19.
FredricksonB. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226.
20.
FredricksonB. L. (2002). Positive emotions. In SnyderC. R.LopezS. J. (Eds), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 120–134). New York: Oxford University Press.
21.
FrischM. B. (1994). Manual of the Quality of Life Inventory.Minneapolis: National Computer Systems.
22.
GoldbergD. P.HillierV. F. (1979). A scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire. Psychological Medicine, 9, 139–145.
23.
GoodkindJ. R.SullivanC. M.BybeeD. I. (2004). A contextual analysis of battered women's safety planning. Violence against women, 10(5), 514–533.
24.
Haj-YahiaM. M. (2000a). Patterns of violence against engaged Arab women from Israel and some psychological implications. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 24, 209–219.
25.
Haj-YahiaM. M. (2000b). The incidence of wife abuse and battering and some socio-demographic correlates as revealed by two national surveys in Palestinian society. Journal of Family Violence, 15(4), 347–374.
26.
HarrowerJ. (1998). Applying psychology to crime.London: Hodder & Stoughton.
27.
HeiseL.EllsbergM.GottemoellerM. (1999). Ending violence against women. Population Reports, Series L, no. 11, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.
28.
HoffL. (1990). Battered women as survivors.London: Routledge.
29.
JewkesR.AbrahamsN. (2002). The epidemiology of rape and sexual coercion in South Africa: An overview. Social Science & Medicine55, 1231–1244.
30.
JewkesR.Penn-KekanaL.LevinJ.RatsakaM.SchrieberM. (1999). ‘He must give me money, he mustn't beat me. ’ Violence against women in three South African Provinces.Pretoria: CERSA (Women's Health) - MRC.
31.
JewkesR.Penn-KekanaL.LevinJ.RatsakaM.SchrieberM. (2001). Prevalence of emotional, physical and sexual abuse of women in three South African Provinces. South African Medical Journal, 91(5), 421–428.
32.
JoryB.AndersonD.GreerC. (1997). Intimate justice: Confronting issues of accountability, respect, and freedom in treatment for abuse and violence. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 23(4), 399–419.
33.
KammannR.FlettR. (1983). Affectometer 2: A scale to measure current level of general happiness. Australian Journal of Psychology, 35(2), 259–265.
KreftingL. (1991). Rigor in qualitative research: The assessment of trustworthiness. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 45(3), 214–222.
36.
KvaleS. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing.Thousand Oaks: California Sage.
37.
LempertL. M. (1996). Women's strategies for survival: Developing agency in abusive relationships. Journal of Family Violence, 11(3) 269–289.
38.
LinleyP. A.JosephS. (Eds) (2004). Positive psychology in practice.Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
39.
LopezS. J.SnyderC. R. (Eds) (2003). Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of model and measures.Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
40.
LundC. J.GreeneB. F. (2003). Developing a capacity for self-preservation and emergency management among battered families. Journal of Family Violence, 18, 181–192.
41.
McLeodJ. D.NonnemakerJ. M. (2000). Poverty and child emotional and behavioral problems: Racial/ethnic differences in processes and effects. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41, 137–161.
42.
MihalicS. W.ElliotD. (1997). A social learning theory model of marital violence. Journal of Family Violence, 12(1), 21–41.
43.
MorganD. L. (Ed.) (1993). Successful focus groups: Advancing the state of the art.London: Sage.
44.
MossB. A. (1999). ‘And the bones come together’: Women's religious expectations in Southern Africa, c. 1900–1945. The Journal of Religious History, 23(1), 108–127.
45.
NeumanW. L. (2000). Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches.Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
46.
OosthuizenC. M.WissingM. P. (2005, July). Socio-demographic factors in the prevalence of violence against women and its aftermath. Paper presented at the 9th European Congress of Psychology, Granada, Spain.
PolaschekD. L. L.WardT.HudsonM. (1997). Rape and rapists: Theory and treatment. Clinical Psychology Review, 17(2), 117–144.
49.
RamosB. M.CarlsonB. E.McNuttL-A. (2004). Lifetime abuse, mental health, and African American women. Journal of Family Violence, 19, 153–164.
50.
RatnerP. A. (1998). Modeling acts of aggression and dominance as wife abuse and exploring their adverse health effects. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 453–465.
51.
ReissA. J.JrRothJ. A. (Eds) (1993). Understanding and preventing violence: Panel on the understanding and control of violent behavior.Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
52.
RenzettiC. M. (1997). Violence in lesbian and gay relationships. In O'TooleL. L.SchiffmanJ. R. (Eds), Gender violence. Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 285–293). New York: New York University Press.
53.
RoestenburgW. (2000). Exposure to crime as an indicator of family well-being. Acta Criminologica, 13(2), 12–21.
54.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68–78.
55.
SampselleC. M. (Ed.) (1992). Violence against women: Nursing research, education, and practice issues.New York: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.
56.
SnyderC. R. (Ed.) (2000). Handbook of hope: Theory, measures, and applications.San Diego, CA.: Academic Press.
57.
TedeschiR. G.CalhounL. G. (2004). A clinical approach to posttraumatic growth. In LinleyP. A.JosephS. (Eds), Positive Psychology in Practice (pp. 405–419). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
58.
UmbersonD.AndersonK.GlickJ.ShapiroA. (1998). Domestic violence, personal control, and gender. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60(2), 442–452.
59.
Van CreveldM. (2000). A woman's place: Reflections on the origins of violence. Social Research, 825–847.
60.
Van de VijverT.LeungK. (1997). Methods and data analysis for cross-cultural research.London: Sage.
61.
Van der WaltT. S. P.WissingM. P.du ToitM. M. (1998, September). Personality factors, coping processes and psychological well-being. Fourth Annual Congress of the Psychological Society of South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa.
62.
WalkerL. E. (1984). The battered woman syndrome.Springer: New York.
63.
WaldropA. E.ResickP. A. (2004). Coping among adult female victims of domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 19, 291–302.
64.
WattsC.ZimmermanC. (2002). Violence against women: Global scope and magnitude. The Lancet, 359, 1232–1237.
65.
WhalenM. (1996). Counseling to end violence against women. A subversive model.California: Sage Publications.
WissingM. P.ThekisoS.van QuickelbergeL.ChoabiP.MoroengC.NienaberA. W. (1999, July). The psychometric properties of scales measuring psychological well-being in an African group. International Africa Psychology Congress, Durban, South Africa.
69.
WissingM. P.van EedenC. (2002). Empirical clarification of the nature of psychological well-being. South African Journal of Psychology, 32, 32–44.
