About our Research
We recently completed two research studies with participants who had been out of abusive relationships for at least two years. We conducted these studies to learn how people who experienced battering victimization faced stigma associated with their abuse. Across both studies, we asked participants to describe their prior abuse, how they believed they experienced stigma, the sources of stigma (e.g., professionals, friends and family), and how they overcame their abuse to build healthy, positive lives and relationships.
We are continuing to collect data for this study and invite interested people to learn more about the study here.
The first study involved in-depth interviews with 12 women. We recruited participants in our local communities, and we met individually with participants to interview them for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours each. Our goal was to gain an in-depth understanding of our participants' experiences with abuse, the stigma associated with it, and the ways that they rebuilt their lives following their abuse. Following the interviews, we transcribed the audio recordings so that the interviews were able to be included in our data analyses.
The second study involved an electronic survey with an international sample of 219 participants, including both females and males. The survey included qualitative and quantitative questions. We recruited participants electronically, through personal contacts, list-serve e-mails, and posted notices about the survey on electronic message boards and Facebook pages that are relevant to the topic of domestic violence. Data were collected anonymously, and we gave the participants the opportunity to enter a drawing for one of two $50 store gift cards as an incentive to participate. Participants were able to enter the drawing in a way that did not link their identities to their survey responses. The survey had the following parts: a background questionnaire, detailed questions about participants' experiences with relationship abuse, a rating form asking participants to report the ways that they experienced stigma related to their abuse, open-ended questions regarding those forms of stigma, a rating form asking participants to report the sources of stigma (e.g., professionals, friends, and family members), open-ended questions regarding those sources of stigma, and a series of open-ended questions about how the stigma surrounding experiences of domestic violence and abuse can be overcome.
We used descriptive statistics and content analysis procedures to analyze the data. The findings from these studies serve as the basis for the See the Triumph campaign, and we are using this campaign as one way of disseminating our findings. In particular, we aim to use the See the Triumph campaign to disseminate the findings to a broader audience than we can reach through traditional forms of reporting research, such as through peer-reviewed scholarly journals.
We recently completed two research studies with participants who had been out of abusive relationships for at least two years. We conducted these studies to learn how people who experienced battering victimization faced stigma associated with their abuse. Across both studies, we asked participants to describe their prior abuse, how they believed they experienced stigma, the sources of stigma (e.g., professionals, friends and family), and how they overcame their abuse to build healthy, positive lives and relationships.
We are continuing to collect data for this study and invite interested people to learn more about the study here.
The first study involved in-depth interviews with 12 women. We recruited participants in our local communities, and we met individually with participants to interview them for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours each. Our goal was to gain an in-depth understanding of our participants' experiences with abuse, the stigma associated with it, and the ways that they rebuilt their lives following their abuse. Following the interviews, we transcribed the audio recordings so that the interviews were able to be included in our data analyses.
The second study involved an electronic survey with an international sample of 219 participants, including both females and males. The survey included qualitative and quantitative questions. We recruited participants electronically, through personal contacts, list-serve e-mails, and posted notices about the survey on electronic message boards and Facebook pages that are relevant to the topic of domestic violence. Data were collected anonymously, and we gave the participants the opportunity to enter a drawing for one of two $50 store gift cards as an incentive to participate. Participants were able to enter the drawing in a way that did not link their identities to their survey responses. The survey had the following parts: a background questionnaire, detailed questions about participants' experiences with relationship abuse, a rating form asking participants to report the ways that they experienced stigma related to their abuse, open-ended questions regarding those forms of stigma, a rating form asking participants to report the sources of stigma (e.g., professionals, friends, and family members), open-ended questions regarding those sources of stigma, and a series of open-ended questions about how the stigma surrounding experiences of domestic violence and abuse can be overcome.
We used descriptive statistics and content analysis procedures to analyze the data. The findings from these studies serve as the basis for the See the Triumph campaign, and we are using this campaign as one way of disseminating our findings. In particular, we aim to use the See the Triumph campaign to disseminate the findings to a broader audience than we can reach through traditional forms of reporting research, such as through peer-reviewed scholarly journals.
