Violence experiences and coping attitudes in a sample of women who live in a shelter: a qualitative study

Abstract

Domestic violence is one of the major health crises which women confront in Turkey. This qualitative study was conducted in the context of coping strategies theory with 15 abused women who live in a shelter. In this study, data collection was performed using in-depth and audiotaped interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The women provided meaningful insights into how they dealt with the abusive relationships and which coping strategies they used. The most commonly used coping strategies among women were: problem-focused behavioural coping strategies such as confronting the problem, avoidance and family support and emotion-focused coping strategies such as enduring, fatalism and religious appoarch. However, their coping efforts used before their sheltering were all inefficient. In this study, it is recommended to foster the usage of appropriate services and to help women overcome the barriers for accessing these services.