Cultural and Immigration-Related Variables in Family Violence

本研究旨在增进对越南裔美国人的妻子虐待形式的了解，描述与受害者服务机构有联系和没有联系的受虐妇女的情况和特征的差异，并有助于解释文化和移民相关差异如何影响行为的理论发展。将测量和描述与工作队接触并已知受到虐待的50名越南裔美国妻子和70名未与工作队接触的越南裔美国妻子虐待妻子的各个方面。据估计，这最后一组将包括20名受虐待妇女和50名不受虐待妇女。独立变量包括：促进丈夫统治的价值观/规范，对性别角色和家庭生活其他方面的期望的冲突，移民（移民的原因，丈夫和妻子的移动顺序，每个人的法律地位），以及与移民相关的情况（歧视，就业和职业状况，大家庭的邻近，妻子的支持网络）。关于虐待的模式、性质和背景的定性数据也将用于说明发生虐待的原因，并支持定量分析的结果和/或更好地具体说明因果模型。该研究还将测试和发展理论来解释妻子期望的解决方案（例如，寻求帮助，影响丈夫停止，离婚）和导致替代解决方案的事件（包括继续虐待）一年后。假设与期望和实际解决方案相关的影响包括：1 .妻子对移民法的认知与刑事司法介入的结果；2 .妻子对离婚后果的认知；3 .妻子从少数民族群体向主流群体转移以逃避虐待的需要和影响；4 .妻子的经济实力；妻子寻求帮助的经历。

The research is designed to increase understanding of forms of wife abuse among Vietnamese Americans, describe differences in the situations and characteristics of abused women who are and are not in contact with victim services, and contribute to the development of theory explaining how culture- and immigration-related variation affect behavior. Dimensions of wife abuse will be measured and described for 50 Vietnamese-American wives in contact with the Task Force and known to be abused, and 70 Vietnamese-American wives who are not in contact. It is estimated that this last group will include 20 women subject to, and 50 women not subject to, abuse. Independent variables include: values/norms promoting husband's domination, conflict over expectations about gender roles and other aspects of family life, immigration (reasons for immigration, sequencing of husband's and wife's move, each person's legal status), and circumstances related to immigration (discrimination, employment and occupational status, proximity of extended family, wife's support network). Qualitative data on the pattern, nature, and context of the abuse will also be used to provide description of why the abuse occurred, and to support findings from the quantitative analysis and/or better specify the causative model. The study also will test and develop theory to explain wife's desired resolution (e.g., obtaining help, influencing the husband to stop, divorce) and events leading to alternative resolutions (including continued abuse) after one year. Influences hypothesized to be related to desired and actual resolutions include:1. wife's perceptions of immigration law and the outcome of criminal justice involvement;2. wife's perception of the consequences of divorce;3. need for and effects of wife moving from the ethnic community to the mainstream to escape abuse;4. wife's economic power;5. wife's experience in seeking help.