Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Experiencing interpersonal violence, perspectives of sexually active, substance-using women living in shelters and low-income housing
Other Titles:	Violence against women
Authors:	Straus, Julie B Golinelli, Daniela Ryan, Gery W Tucker, Joan S Wenzel, Suzanne L
Keywords:	Drug and alcohol misuse;Sexual assault;Housing
Categories:	People with mental health and/or drug and alcohol issues
Year:	2005
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Citation:	11 (10), October 2005
Notes:	This article reports on the experiences of recent violence among sexually active, substance-using women in the US as part of a larger study. Interviews were conducted with 172 women in temporary shelters and low-income housing. Out of this, 42 also completed an in-depth interview on their worst violent episode. Rape and self-blame were more common among sheltered women. Sheltered and housed women differed in their attributions of blame for the worst episodes of recent violence, with the sheltered women tending to self-blame. Women in temporary shelters were vulnerable to instrumental aggression from a range of perpetrators but housed women tended to experience hostile partner aggression. A large portion of both sheltered and housed women did not consider major violence to be abuse or assault, indicating their exposure to violence had desensitised them to the seriousness of the violence. Among the sheltered women, intoxication during violent episodes was more common. It was uncommon for the housed women to be high or intoxicated during the event of violence except when involving issues of sexual jealously or possessiveness, which nearly always involved substance use by both partners. Substance use played a different role in the worst violent events, reported by the sheltered women and by the housed women. Crack use is associated with high rates of criminal and sexual risk behaviour, especially among women who consider themselves as homeless or among the temporary sheltered women. However, crack use was not reported by any of the housed women. In contrast, substance use among housed women and their perpetrators, reported for about one half of the events, was mostly alcohol and marijuana. Many also indicated that their experiences of violence contributed to an increase in their substance use over time, which lends support for the self-medication hypothesis. Also, consistent with other research, the battered women appear to have overly optimistic perceptions of their batterer and their own future safety. Such an optimistic bias appears to be adaptive in coping with stressful life events. It suggests that, if women at high risk minimise threats to their safety or have unrealistic beliefs about their ability to protect themselves, they may fail to exercise precautions to protect themselves. Implications for prevention and treatment are discussed.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/14651
ISSN:	1077-8012
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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