Objective and Participants: The authors studied the prevalence of partner violence, by type, among Mexican American college women aged 18 to 35 years (N = 149; response rate = 85%). Results: Twelve percent of women who reported a dating partner in the past year were physically or sexually assaulted, 12.1% were stalked, and 9.1% scored as psychologically abused. Among those experiencing partner violence, almost half experienced stalking and 89% reported psychological abuse. Few women (25%) who experienced physical violence believed violence was a problem in their relationship. Conclusions: Partner violence was prevalent in this population, and participants experienced many forms of violence. Because few women experiencing physical violence report that violence is a problem in their relationship, interventions must address perceptions of violence and its impact on women's mental and physical health in college populations. Keywords: battered women, college health, domestic violence, Hispanic, rape, sexual harassment, violence
Reprint Status:
NOT IN FILE
Start Page:
665
Journal/Periodical Name:
Journal of American College Health
Volume:
56
Issue:
6
Abstract:
Phone interviews were conducted with 149 women who were enrolled as college students near the Texas-Mexico border. The interviews were structured to assess physical violence (PV), battering, sexual violence (SV), stalking psychological abuse, and lifetime physical violence. Results indicated that 43% of women experienced some type of PV, 5.1% experienced SV, 19.7% were stalked and 30% experienced psychological abuse. Co-occurrence of violence was evident among those who reported physical or sexual violence. The probability of viewing violence as a problem increased with frequency of physical violence.
Topic Areas:
college, racial/ethnic differences, stalking, underserved populations
Reference Type:
JOUR
Reference ID:
2555
Publication Date:
2008/05/01