Document Type
Article
Language
eng
Format of Original
17 p.
Publication Date
5-2007
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Source Publication
Health Care for Women International
Source ISSN
0739-9332
Original Item ID
doi: 10.1080/07399330701226545
Abstract
In this descriptive study we employ episodic narrative interviews and narrative analysis to explore experiences of abuse and violence within the families of origin of Mexican women entering adulthood. Twenty-four Mexican women, 18 years of age and about to graduate from a residential school in central Mexico, were interviewed about life in their families of origin. Participants were from several Mexican states and of low socioeconomic status. Nineteen of the participants described either witnessing or experiencing violence or abuse within their families. We present an analysis of the interviews in which violence or abuse was disclosed. Women who witnessed violence against their mothers did not see this as prescriptive of their own future relationships and articulated strategies for avoiding entering an abusive relationship. Women who experienced nonsexual physical violence described physical violence as punishment. Women who experienced sexual abuse did not provide explanations for the abuse and described being silent in response to the abuse.
Recommended Citation
Belknap, Ruth and Cruz, Nancy, "When I Was in My Home I Suffered a Lot: Mexican Women’s Descriptions of Abuse in Family of Origin" (2007). College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications. 76.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/nursing_fac/76
Comments
This is the accepted, peer-reviewed, corrected version before publisher formatting.
Health Care for Women International, Vol. 28, No. 5 (May 2007). DOI. © 2007 Taylor & Francis (Routledge). Used with permission.