Intimate Partner Violence Among Iraqi Immigrant Women in Metro Detroit: A Pilot Study

• Published in: Journal of immigrant and minority health 2011-08, Vol.13 (4), p.725-731
• Main Authors: Barkho, Evone, Fakhouri, Monty, Arnetz, Judith E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abusive relationships; Adult; Age Distribution; Arab Americans; Arabs; Arabs - psychology; Arabs - statistics & numerical data; Battered Women - statistics & numerical data; Beauty salons; Behavior; Beliefs; Community Relations; Community Resources; Comparative Law; Cultural Characteristics; Domestic violence; Educational Status; Emigrants and Immigrants - statistics & numerical data; Family Violence; Female; Females; Gender-based violence; Health status; Humans; Immigrants; Incidence; International & Foreign Law; Intimate partner violence; Iraq - ethnology; Iraqi immigrant women; Marital Status; MEDICIN; MEDICINE; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Noncitizens; Original Paper; Personal beliefs; Physical Health; Pilot Projects; Police reports; Prevalence; Private International Law; Psychosomatic Disorders; Psychosomatic symptoms; Public Health; Questionnaires; Refugees; Risk Assessment; Self rated health; Semitic Languages; Sexual Partners - psychology; Smoking; Socioeconomic Factors; Sociology; Spouse Abuse - ethnology; Spouse Abuse - statistics & numerical data; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States - epidemiology; Victims of Crime; Violence; Women; Women's Health - ethnology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1557-1912; 1557-1920; 1557-1920
• DOI: 10.1007/s10903-010-9399-4

Violence against women is an important public health problem. The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among immigrant Iraqi women, and to explore the association between IPV and self-rated health. A pilot study using a previously published, self-report questionnaire was carried out among a convenience sampling of 55 Iraqi women in greater Detroit. The overall prevalence of controlling behavior, threatening behavior, and physical violence was 93, 76, and 80%, respectively. Approximately 40% of the women reported having poor or fair health, and 90% reported experiencing one or more types of psychosomatic symptoms. Self-rated health was inversely related to exposure to threatening behavior and physical violence, and positively related to knowledge of one’s legal rights. The prevalence of IPV in this sample was high. Results indicated a significant association between exposure to IPV and women’s physical health and psychosomatic symptoms.