Lesbian Mothering in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence |
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| Authors: | Jennifer L. Hardesty Ramona Faith Oswald Lyndal Khaw Carol Fonseca Grace H. Chung |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Human and Community Development , University of Illinois , Urbana-Champaign;2. Family Studies , University of Illinois , Urbana-Champaign;3. University of Illinois , Urbana-Champaign;4. Counseling Psychology , University of Illinois , Urbana-Champaign;5. Center for Culture and Health , UCLA |
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| Abstract: | ![]()
SUMMARY Twenty-four lesbian mothers (12 African American, 9 White, and 3 Latina) who had experienced physical abuse by a same-sex partner were interviewed. Three types of IPV were found: intimate terrorism, situational violence, and mutual violent control. Further, relationships between mothers/abusers, mothers/children, and abusers/children were examined. Regarding relationships with abusers, 71% of mothers reported lengthy sagas, 17% had worked it out, and 13% made a clean break from the abuser. Regarding relationships with their children, 48% of mothers hid the violence, 26% minimized it, and 26% openly communicated about the situation. Relationships between abusers and the mothers' children were found to be either co-parental (29%), playmate (21%), abusive (21%), or non-parental (21%). Correlations among relational and demographic variables were also examined. |
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| Keywords: | Intimate partner violence lesbian mothers parenting grounded theory intersectionality |
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