Acculturation, Mental Health, and Safety Behaviors Among Abused Immigrant Women

Nava, Angeles

Thursday, 25 July 2013: 9:10 AM

Angeles Nava, PhD¹
Judith McFarlane, DrPH¹
Heidi Gilroy, MSN¹
Nora Montalvo-Liendo, PhD, RN²
(1)Nelda C. Stark College of Nursing, Texas Woman's University, Houston, TX
(2)Master of Science in Nursing, College of Nursing, The University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, TX

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to describe the relationship between acculturation and mental health and safety behavior among abused immigrant women.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to describe the relationship between acculturation and safety behavior among abused immigrant women.

Purpose: Intimate partner violence and migration are global phenomena which often have a negative impact on women’s mental health and their safety. The mental wellbeing and safety of abused immigrant women may be further compromised as they acculturate. To determine the relationship of acculturation and severity of violence, danger for murder, mental health, and safety behaviors of abused immigrant women.

Methods: Base line data of a 7-year prospective study of 106 abused immigrant women who were first time users of safe shelter or justice services. The instruments included the Severity of Violence Against Women Scale, Danger Assessment, Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), Safety Behavior Checklist, and Acculturation for Hispanics instruments.

Results: A significant (p<0.05) positive correlation between acculturation and safety behaviors and BSI scores was established. Higher acculturation scores were associated with significantly more practiced safety behaviors and higher levels of depression.

Conclusion: Understanding the specific needs of abuse immigrant women associated with acculturation is imperative to develop interventions to interrupt abuse and promote safety and mental well-being.

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